Locked Up


Part Two


It had been one week since they began to wear away at the padding in the walls. Yesterday they had broken through, now Tobi and Allison took turns trying to use the spring's edge to cut through the cloth of the straightjacket. They were still muzzled, the muzzle only removed during feeding time at breakfast, lunch, and supper. Allison was secretly glad that they weren't being drugged, while Tobi assumed they probably hid the drugs inside the food. Either way, they were close to escaping, which was a step in the right direction.

Suddenly, a ripping sound. Tobi looked over at Allison, who was currently trying to cut through the jacket. The ripping sound… Tobi cocked her head. Allison nodded, wide eyed. They had done it. Allison moved her left arm a bit, showing that she could use it to get her other arm free, from her arms to her legs, to Tobi… but she put it back in place. Escaping right now wasn't part of the plan.

The plan was this: Every night, the lights turned off for five seconds, signalling that it was time for bed. They would have about two more minutes before the lights would turn out for the night… however, every night, five minutes after the lights went out a second time, a nurse would come by and turn the light on, to check on them. And so, tonight, when the lights went out, they would have a five minute window to escape from their restraints and prepare for the nurse. Time was on their side.


Mary stood at the circuit breaker, flicking the lights on and off in the rooms to signal it was time to go to sleep. Several voices rose in protest, some muffled, some screaming. Others just remained silent. Mary felt relieved and saddened at the same time when she did this: saddened because so many damaged minds were here, begging for the light to stay on… for whatever reason. She was also relieved because that meant that she could get out of here once her shift was over. Her skimpy uniform (why they made her wear this, she had no idea…) felt tight, she couldn't wait to get it off and go home. She just needed to check all of the patients in this corridor, then she could go home.

Patients 230 was sleeping soundly in the corner, and 232 was doing handstands again. 242 was staring at her (the creep) and Patients 245 and 246…

She turned on the lights. Where were Patients 245 and 246? Their rooms were empty… Panicked, thinking they had somehow escaped under her watch, she opened the door and stepped in. Two seconds later, she found out why that was a mistake. She felt two claws around her neck, then felt herself be driven to the ground. The last thing Mary saw was the concrete floor, then black. </i>


"Did you have to knock her out?" Allison asked Tobi, getting the unconscious nurse's body out of view from the door. She felt her for a keycard, which would get them out, and moved for the door.

"Do you have a better idea?" Tobi asked. "By the way, you realize we're naked, right?"

"Do you want to search for our clothes? Fine," Allison said. "I'll meet you outside." Tobi fell silent. She had a point.

"Let's go," She said. "Before we get caught." Allison nodded, and they ran out the door, closing and locking the cell behind them.


Two and a half hours later, Marshal walked into the corridor. Two guards, one a bear anthro, the other a cougar, stood in front of the door.

"What the hell happened?" He asked furious. "How did they escape?"

"We don't know," The bear replied. "One of them managed to break through the straightjacket somehow, using a spring. She got the other one loose and the two of them ambushed a nurse when she went in to check on them."

"Which one was that?" Marshal asked. He had a feeling… intuition, he figured, of which one it was. He looked through the small window at Allison.

"The tigress," the cougar replied, grinning. "She's a feisty one." The bear swatted him upside the head.

"Enough," Marshal said. "You two did the right thing. Stay here until I tell you to move onto your next shift." They nodded, and the otter anthro walked away. A few minutes later he came back with a few white garments. He unlocked the door and walked inside.


"Well, the guards tell me you two caused quite a fuss," He said, staring down at the two, who were back in the leg restraints and straightjackets.

"Tell that cougar that he's a pervert!" Allison spat. "He fondled my ass the entire way back here!"

"Did not!" Yelled a voice from outside. Marshal closed the door.

"So, what are you going to do now, Doctor?" Tobi growled. Marshal dropped the handful of cloth, and picked up a couple of them from the pile.

"I'm going to have to try a new treatment with the two of you," He said sadly. "This one isn't quite working out." Quickly, he pulled a hood over Tobi's head, fitting it snugly around her neck. It was like a ski mask, in that it had an area uncovered for her eyes. The rest was some sort of flexible rubber, keeping her from talking. Muffled shouts could be heard as she glared at Marshal angrily. The otter turned, taking another hood from the pile and placing it around Allison's head, restricting her as well. Now neither of them could speak, and had limited mobility.

"The only reason why the two of you aren't blindfolded as well is because I want to show you what I'm going to do to you," Marshal said, taking two long cords of rope out of the pile. "Those hoods are my invention by the way. So is this rope, it's strong, nearly unbreakable; but when tied around someone, will be loose enough so they won't get rope burn. It's a genius invention, perfect for what I have in mind for the two of you." He grabbed Tobi by the feet and pulled her to the middle of the floor, which was carpet now, rather than the cold concrete they used to be on.

Tobi struggled. What was he going to do to them? She watched as Marshal wrapped the strange rope around her legs and feet, then tossed it up on a rafter high above them, pulling the rope tight. He opened the door. "I need you two," He said to the guards. "I need you to lift her up using the rope." The two guards nodded and walked inside, pulling on the rope. Tobi gave a shout of fear and anger as she was lifted upside-down by her feet. Allison just stared in horror as Marshal wrapped the rope around her legs, double-checking to see if her restraints were holding. They were. "When you're done there," Marshal said. "Lift her up too," He motioned to Allison.

"Yes, sir!" The cougar grinned, giving Allison a wink. Allison growled through the hood and gave a small shriek (muffled) as she, too, was lifted upside down a few feet away from Tobi.


"Now, listen up," Marshal said. "Notice how the blood is rushing to your head? We've done exercises like this before, too much blood to the head will cause you to pass out, and put quite a bit of strain on your heart. Tests show that someone can remain in an unconscious state like that for about seven minutes, it takes about as much time for someone to pass out as well. So, you'll have to keep yourself in a position like this," He said, lifting Tobi's shoulders until she was bent towards her legs, "for as long as you can. Don't worry if you pass out, a couple of nurses will come by every fifteen minutes to check on you. You'll get a half hour break every two hours, to eat, drink, go to the bathroom, then you'll be strung back up and hung like this for the next two hours. This will be done every day, from right after breakfast to just before you get fed for supper. After supper, we'll blindfold you and put you in separate rooms for the night. Then we'll bring the two of you together for your treatment after breakfast. This will be done for the next… well, until you're ready to behave like civilized patients." Marshal said. The two of them struggled, trying to escape the rope, even if it meant falling flat on their muzzles. The guards left, and Marshal was about to leave, when…

"Oh, and I almost forgot," He said, grabbing a couple of things he had left on the floor. "Allison, this is for you." Marshal pulled the blindfold over Allison's eyes, leaving her blind. Allison screamed, twisting to get her arms free from the jacket, but Marshal held her still. "This is what you get for escaping," He whispered to her, then took two earplugs and put them into her ears. Now Allison was trapped, she couldn't move her legs, or her arms, and she couldn't see. All Allison could hear was her heart beating rapidly in her ears… she couldn't even hear herself scream, or tell if Marshal was in front of her or not. She felt herself struggle, but with no sight, or light, or hearing, she couldn't tell how successful or fruitless it was. Allison sobbed into the blindfold, wanting nothing more than to be able to see again.


Tobi stared at Allison, horrified and sickened by what she must be going through. While Allison couldn't tell if she was screaming or crying, Tobi could see her and hear her quite clearly. Allison screamed, struggling, and Tobi could only watch as her friend rapidly went from anger to sadness. As she turned slowly on the rope, she glared at Marshal, waiting for him to do the same to her.  Marshal saw her glare.

"Oh, I'm not doing the same thing to you," He said. "This is your part of the punishment. You get to see what escaping, or attempting to escape, leads to.  It leads to people getting hurt. People like your friend here," He said. "Maybe now you'll think twice before trying that again." He turned, and finally left, closing and locking the door behind him.


Tobi hoisted herself towards her legs, trying to hold that position for as long as she could to relieve the blood that was rushing to her head. Allison remained still… she had probably passed out. She hoped the nurses would help her soon. Time crawled by… and in the meantime, Tobi thought of a way to escape…


Marshal watched them through the window.

"Don't you think that was a little harsh?" The bear asked. It wasn't the first time Marshal was asked that, and it wouldn't be the last.

"It's necessary," he said without thinking. "I need to show them that there are consequences to their actions, negative ones. This may be the only way…" Marshal shivered. There was something… wrong about this. He shouldn't be so hard on them, he knew that, but if he wasn't, then they wouldn't learn anything. Still… something nagged at him. Something was wrong with this scene, something fundamentally wrong. He stared at Allison.

"Get one of the nurses," He said. "She's fainted." The cougar nodded and rushed off. "And as for you, head back to the security station and do your job," Marshal said to the bear. "I'll make sure she gets taken care of."

"If you say so, sir," The bear said, walking in the opposite direction. Marshal sighed as he leaned up against the wall.


This would get worse before it got better…