A Night in the Desert

Chapter X

Idle curiosity took him back to the mine site for his evening walk. As usual it was deserted. There were no signs anyone had been there since her visit. He knew that back in her room Sue Ann would be hungry and thirsty by now, tired and sore, and starting to get bored. He sat on a handy flat rock and looked out over the desert. This was one of his favorite places. He often came here to reflect and plan. She would start thinking about what had happened, what the future would hold for her, and she might even become sullen and resent his seizing her. For this part of her training he intended to deprive her of even the most basic freedom and dignity, then slowly give them back, but in such a way that she became dependent on him. That would bring her submissive instincts to the fore, leaving her little time or incentive to battle him. She would associate asking permission with each activity. It would become a habit, a mindset that linked each little creature comfort to a privilege he granted. A privilege he could withdraw on a whim. That would reinforce her need for external reassurance, by knowing through praise and rewards that she was pleasing to him.

He sat on a rock overlooking the valley below. The sun was setting at the far end. He watched the shadows slowly advance along the valley floor, heading toward him. Was it morally right for him to take her this way? No, but he wanted her, and when he looked at her all he could think of was owning her, whatever the consequences. He would have to live with the knowledge of what he had done. Would she hate and despise him for taking her life away? It was a very real possibility, but he would see to it she had the life she really wanted. She might still turn against him, and if so he would deal with it then, but for now he would risk everything he had to keep her.

He returned to his side of the ridge. He had purchased an old mine in an uninhabited valley, then built up the galleries and shafts he used as his real home, behind the false front of a small house at the mine entrance. He had installed extra bracing, concrete walls, ventilation, plumbing and electricity. Fortunately the previous mine operator had brought in power and water, that was the deciding factor when he went shopping for his hideaway home. Unused shafts he closed off for later use. Some leading to the surface he collapsed to prevent a casual hiker from discovering his hideaway. Sue Ann was in a room created from one of the original mining galleries. He thought of it as his remedial training room, one devoid of comforts or distractions.

He checked the monitors first. She was sitting against the wall. The water gauge showed no additional usage. He ran the tape back and then fast forward to see what she had been doing. The tape showed her standing a few times but nothing more. No sound, she had been sitting quietly. No rules broken so far, he was pleased at that. He went into the kitchen and fixed her some food for supper. While preparing a plate for her he watched her on a monitor he had set up. No signs of panic either, which meant she was adjusting to the situation.

He wheeled the dinner cart past the door and left it in the corridor out of her sight. He worked the locking rod he had built across the door. He had deliberately made it noisy so she would have some warning before he opened the door. She was settling into position on the cushion as he walked in. He knew she must be very tired by now, but still she had followed his instructions to the letter. He walked around behind her and waited for a few moments.. There was nothing to criticize in her posture; he delayed solely to increase her anxiety.

"Hands behind your back" he ordered. She complied immediately. She even had her palms facing outward, a nice touch. He locked the handcuffs around her wrists, turning each hand to face inward as he fastened her wrists together. He wasn't concerned with her picking the lock. She must have learned that position from her stay in the county jail. For what he had planned next it was important that she not be able to use her hands, but this way the cuffs would not cut into the tender skin on the inside of her wrists. From the hallway he brought in his chair and set it in front of her, then wheeled in the cart so he could reach it. "You have permission to eat your supper. However, you are not allowed to use your hands. I will feed you." He put a straw in a glass of water and held it out for her to drink. She looked up at him first, then sipped greedily as he nodded approval. He cut up bits of the meat loaf and spoon-fed it to her, followed by some mashed potatoes. The meat was bland and the potatoes unseasoned, but she ate everything he gave her. He let her drink the whole glass of water, then wiped her face with a napkin. While he had fed her she looked up at him, but once finished she dropped her gaze to the floor again. He sat in the chair, saying nothing, enjoying the moment. It felt good to have her quite literally eating out of his hand.

He put the empty dishes on the cart and took out a pad and blankets from the bottom. He put them in the right hand corner of the room where she could reach. For a moment he was tempted to leave her kneeling and in handcuffs for a few hours, but tonight was not the time. He removed the cuffs and gestured to the bedding. "You are to make a bed for the night. Do so now." He watched as she took the pad, laid it out against the wall, and arranged the blankets over it. When she finished she looked at him, unsure what she was to do next. When he gestured toward the cushion in front of him she returned to her kneeling position, facing him. He made a show of inspecting her work, though he didn't really care how she had made up her bed. He wanted her to see that he paid close attention to what she did.

He pushed the cart out into the hallway and started to close the door. Half way through he stopped. "You have permission to sleep in the bed tonight. When you wake up in the morning you will fold the blankets neatly, roll up the pad, then place them in the sleeping corner. Do not linger." He closed and locked the door. He rushed back to the monitors to see what she would do.

She was still in position. He had been concerned she would be too tired to remember. She didn't wait as long this time before crawling over to the bed and getting under the thin blanket. He adjusted the room temperature down slightly and dimmed the lights; she would sleep easier if it were cool and dark. He could make the room freezing cold, stifling hot, or anything in between. He could close the air vents and shut off air circulation to give it that "stuffy" feeling of low oxygen content. He could dim the lights to total darkness or increase the brightness to a painful glare. He could even modify the humidity, from swampy tropical wet to desert arid dry.

Tonight he would let her sleep. Tomorrow he would begin the compression, using the room controls to confuse her perception of time. She would naturally align to light and dark periods, to think of them as days. Except he intended to gradually shorten the length of each of her "days". Without the means to keep time she would lose track of the date. It was essential that he keep her off-balance, confused, and unsure. She would naturally turn to him as a constant in her new life; she would grow more dependent on him each day. He could see her responding already.

She would be a full time project for the present. He had to closely manage her in order to instill the association of asking or waiting for permission prior to each activity. With repetition it would become a habit but for now he had to provide the reinforcement, linking her self-esteem and pride to her ability to serve and obey him.

He knew it was important to show her there was a fixed structure to her life now, rules she must follow and duties she must perform. She must have the perception that he was strict and paid close attention to detail, that she would not get away with being careless or lazy. That way she would value her obedience, by knowing that he noticed her every act and was alert to any unacceptable deviations. Since she would concentrate on pleasing and serving him, he had to provide a way for her to accomplish that, and she had to know her service was important to him.