TUNDE.
His eyes squinted open for a brief second and closed shut again. The ache in his temple was dull but persistent. He remained still and allowed his body get used to the pain and subdue it to a tolerable level. When he opened his eyes again, he was staring up at the most unfamiliar ceiling in his entire life. A wide gothic themed overhead, magnificently frescoed high ceiling sporting an enormous red painting of the devil staring down at you with barred fangs and bloodlust eyes.
He jerked up but thick chains straddled him to the bed tautly, restraining his movement. For a moment, his mind was numb and he could only stare around the ornately furnished room that gave off an air of horror. No light filtered through because thick red drapes were drawn over the room, casting it into red darkness, illuminated only by the various lit candles and walls.
Everything was painted red - drapes, walls, portraits, furnitures, even the duvet Tunde was laying on but what frightened him the most were the grotesque statues with expressions of torture mounted strategically in every corner. He squinted his eyes at what looked like red smears on parts of the hideous statues.
Were those blood stains?
Slowly, it began to come back to him. The drink, the music, the beautiful women, Dare, Elvis…
Dare?? Elvis??
Where are they?
He sat up with a bolt but the chains tore into him and dragged him back down to the bed. He yelped in pain, for a moment forgetting his friends.
Now, it hit him.
He had been drugged by those beautiful women and somehow he was in a room, a weird fetish looking room and chained to a king size bed with…..
He looked down at himself and froze.
What the??
He was naked. Completely naked. Spread eagled on the bed with what looked like bite marks all over his body. He was more horrified to notice he had an erection too.
His panic rose to a feverish crescendo and his head began swirling. What is going on? Where am I? Where is everybody? Where are my clothes? My friends? What is this place??
As his mind became ravaged with confusing thoughts, a slight creak of the huge mahogany door to his left made him stiffen up.
Some one was coming in.
He tried to move but the chains limited his flexibility to a great extent. He didn’t want to be found stark naked even though his senses screamed that whoever was coming into the room was most probably the person responsible for drugging him and strapping him with chains to a bed.
The door took forever opening and in that time, Tunde stared transfixed. Beyond terrified and appalled.
He wasn’t surprised when a tall and very exquisite looking young woman with fiery red hair walked in.
Naked.
He recognized her instantly.
She was the women he had met at the lounge.
***************************
KABIRU.
Kabiru was not a drinker but sitting with this femme fatale made him feel very carefree about everything. She had told him her name was Rasheeda and he loved how the name rolled off her tongue. She was very beautiful but so was every other lady in this brothel he had seen in the last one hour. She was however very mysterious and he wanted nothing else but to sit with her all day and unravel every twisted, coiled, elusive bit of her mystery.
There was no one else trying to get his attention anymore. It almost seemed like she had signaled for other ladies to stay away.
3 half naked stunning girls walked up to their couch with a tray and drinks, they winked at Kabiru and a surge of energy flowed through him like an icy stream. The feeling was exhilarating. He grabbed a bottle of water off the tray and proceeded to chug it all in one gulp. Rasheeda busied herself with pouring tequila for both of them and while Kabiru scanned the huge dance floor, she brought her own drink to her full lips and offered him his.
“Why are there are no men in an awesome place like this?” He asked. Taking the drink from her. “There are atleast a thousand girls here, very beautiful girls but I don’t see any man. How is that possible?”
Rasheeda smiled.
“The Hotel has more than a 100 rooms, excluding Suites and private lounges. Every room has a man in it. They don’t stay here in the lounge and open floor for long, they prefer privacy as soon as they come here”
“Is that so?” Kabiru mused. The answer didn’t make sense to him but he wasn’t going to push it.
“Drink up, Kabiru. So we can go to my room and spend sometime together” Rasheeda nudged.
Kabiru turned to look at her. Blushing.
“I don’t have any money”
“Forget about money. It’s on me. I like you. I just desire to have your company, that’s all”
Kabiru blushed even harder. No girl had ever told him she liked him but here he was with the most beautiful woman in the entire world gushing over him.
“I really shouldn’t be here long. You know that” he said.
“I know. I will help you find your friends. I told you. Just drink up and let’s get out of here”
The music had slowed to a more downbeat tempo, almost hypnotic that it sent slight shivers up Kabiru’s spine. Rasheeda was staring at him hungrily. He should be flattered but the look bothered him. Ordinarily, it would be chalked up as sexual but she kind of looked like she wanted to devour him.
Literally.
He blushed again.
He looked towards the direction of Oma and saw her standing alone and glaring at him. Waitresses walked past her, intruding into her world, like a scene from a movie. She stood there, alone but surrounded by people.
He couldn’t see Monica anywhere. Where was Monica? Oma was shaking her head at him and looking very terrified.
Kabiru noticed 3 things simultaneously. 2 girls were now walking towards Oma from behind.
Every girl in the lounge was either staring at him or staring at Oma and just as he took a sip of his drink, he realized Rasheeda hadn’t even taken any sip of hers.
The feeling hit him in an instant and he shook his head to clear it. He looked over at Oma, she was standing with the 2 ladies and looking at him. She looked different now. She looked unusual.
“What did you put in this drink?” He asked Rasheeda, looking at his drink and her suspiciously.
“Just something to help you see who your friend really is”
“What?” He looked back at Oma, she looked normal again but she was having a conversation with the two ladies now. “Where is my other friend?”
Rasheeda shrugged
“I dunno. Probably found a man she likes and has gone to a room with him”
“No. Monica would never do that” He drawled. His speech getting slurred. Rasheeda kept staring at him intently. He felt lucky he had only taken a sip. He couldn't Imagine what would happen if he had downed the entire glass like he did the water.
“The water is also drugged” Rasheeda said, reading his thoughts.
He looked at her sharply.
“Why are you drugging me?” The question struggled to leave his lips and he fell back on the couch, fighting to stay conscious. He could see through glazed vision that Rasheeda had suddenly gotten up and abandoned the table. Oma was nowhere within his line of vision and what was worse? Three girls were walking towards him now.
But they didn’t look pretty anymore. They look terrifying, with fangs, claws and bloodshot eyes.
