Phil laid asleep on top of his bed sheets, dressed in a pair of red silk pajamas. It had been a long night for him. Long but enjoyable, also very lucrative. First, the nightclub he had selected was perfect for him and his endeavors, full of loud music and teenage girls all trying to act grown-up in their makeup and short tight party dresses; they would come in night after night spending their parent’s money.
+++++Then it was all just a matter of him using his charm, good looks, and flashing them his piercing green eyes, and with those plus copious amounts of alcohol and some special pills he always had with him, those teenage girls were soon putty in his hand. After that, it was just a simple matter of getting them out of his car and then back to his place.
+++++Once back at his place, the girls were usually so out of it, Phil found it no problem to proceed to the next part of the evening. First, he removed their clothes, and then he placed them on his couch in very alluring positions; after that, he took pictures of them, and the girls so stoned out of their minds just went along with it.
+++++Phil would take picture after picture of these beautiful young women until his memory card was full. After Phil gets done with them, he would then call an acquaintance of his, and for a small fee plus an opportunity to have fun with the girls, he would take the girls from Phil’s house and dump them off somewhere far away.
+++++That is how Phil made his money by taking the photos he had taken and then selling them to men who enjoyed looking at undressed underaged girls’ images. Phil had been doing this for years and had built up quite a client list of loyal customers well as loyal as men of their sort can be, and for further added insurance, Phil kept careful records on all of them just in case any of them decided not to pay him. Then it was just a simple matter of giving their information covertly to the police so far, he had never had to use the information, but he still kept it hidden somewhere in his house.
+++++After the girls were gone, Phil retired for the night; first, he stripped out of his club wear and then took a bath; after that, he changed into his pajamas, and by then he was so tired he collapses right on top of his bed. It was around five in the morning when he awoke, his throat dry with thirst.
+++++Phil groggily got out of his bed, and still half asleep, walked down the hallway towards his bathroom to get a drink of water. He was about halfway down the darkened hall, almost past the doorway that led to the stairs, when he was stopped by a pair of hands encased in leather gloves, shoving a piece of cloth right into his face. Phil tried to fight back, but efforts proved fruitless as he quickly lost consciousness.
+++++Phil awoke on his back and a hard-cold surface feeling nauseous and with a piercing headache. His whole body, especially his arms and legs, feeling odd. He tries moving them but found he could not, and even more strangely, it felt as if they were both sticking straight up in the air; he could also feel metal around his wrist and ankles. Phil blinked a few times to try to get his vision clear and figure out what was going on.
+++++When he was finally able to see more clearly, he could see much to his surprise that he was in his bathtub and that his arms and legs were stretched straight up, and he could also see that they were chained and manacled and also that the chains were bolted to his ceiling. Feeling downright awful, Phil let out a small groan and said while giving the chains a shake.
+++++“What the hell?”
+++++“Well, it’s about time you woke up.”
+++++It was a female voice; Phil, fighting off nausea and the headache, looked for its source. He finds her at the bathroom window, a tall young attractive woman with short red hair covering the window with a large piece of cardboard and using duct tape to secure it into place. She talks while she works.
+++++“I mean, at first, I was afraid I had used too much chloroform, and then I would have to wait hours for you to wake up.”
+++++Once she was done, the woman stood back and admired her work.
+++++“I also must compliment you on where you live so far out in the country miles away from anyone, and I bet nobody could hear you if you screamed your head off.”
+++++Phil, in a moment of panic, starts pulling on his chains and screaming, “Help somebody help me!”
+++++The woman looks at Phil, smiles, and says, “Yeah, just like that, I should also tell you that it is no use pulling on those chains. I’ve bolted them securely to the ceiling, and no matter how hard you pull, you will not be able to get free.”
+++++The woman walks over, sits down on the toilet next to the tub. Phil stops struggling, looks at her, and after a few moments, a look of recognition appears on his face.
+++++“Hey, I remember you; you’re that girl I talked with at that nightclub a few nights ago.”
+++++“I’m surprised you recognize me without the blonde wig. I should also thank you for giving me your private phone number; it made it so much easier for me to track you down.”
+++++Phil glared at the woman memories came flooding back of meeting her, and how she flirted with him, he also remembered that he considered luring her back to his place for some pictures, but she disappeared before that could happen.
+++++“What the hell is going on?” He asked her in anger.
+++++The woman just stares at him and does not say a word.
+++++“Do you work for one of my clients?”
+++++The woman says nothing.
+++++“Are you friends with one of the girls I have taken pictures of?”
+++++Again, the woman says nothing.
+++++“Say something; dammit, what do you want?”
+++++The woman laughs a cold, cruel laugh, and replies,
+++++“Oh, I’m just here to talk about your side business.”
+++++Phil playing innocent, “What side business?”
+++++“Oh, Phil, don’t play dumb with me. I know what you do at those night clubs how you use your charms and good looks and copious amounts of alcohol you lure underage girls here and then you undress them and then take pictures of them.”
+++++Phil stares at the woman. How could she know so much about his operation? Then a thought occurred to him.
+++++“Are you a cop?”
+++++The woman stares at Phil, “Now, Phil, you know that is a stupid question.”
+++++The woman stands up and proceeds to move over to the bathtub right next to the faucet. Phil strains to lift his head and watches as she then very slightly turns the knob for the cold water, which slowly comes out in a small stream. Phil could soon feel the water touching his backside. The woman sits back down on the toilet.
+++++“Now that I have your attention, I have a few questions for you.”
+++++Phil lifts his head and looks at the water coming out of the faucet; he then looks at the woman.
+++++“What questions?”
+++++“Now, I have been following you around for the past two weeks learning about your likes, dislikes, and your hobbies. I also know that you don’t enjoy your photos by yourself; I know you love to sell your photos to other sickos like yourself. So, I guess my question is, where can I find a list of them?”
+++++Phil playing innocent and with loyalty to his clients.
+++++“What makes you think I have a list?”
+++++“Phil, a man like you, keeps a list of the people he does business with most likely for insurance just in case one of them tries anything like not paying you.”
+++++“Then, you can see why it is important not to tell you?”
+++++The woman again laughs her cruel laugh and says to him,
“I don’t think you understand the situation you are in at this moment. While very slowly, the tub you are in is filling up with water, and you will try in desperation to keep your head above the water, but eventually, the strain will become too great, and then you will take a deep breath as the water covers you. After that, the pressure you feel will build up until finally, you won’t be able to hold your breath any longer, and then you will have no choice but to breathe in, but it won’t be air but the water that fills your lungs slowly suffocating you.”
+++++Phil again tries to get free, thrashing around and using all his might to pull on the chains, but it is no use.
+++++“Tell me where I can find a list of your clients?”
+++++Phil stops struggling and glares at the woman.
+++++“If I tell you, do you promise to let me go?”
+++++The woman smiles at him and says, “Absolutely.”
+++++Phil sighs, “They’re on a thumb drive hidden in the flour canister in my kitchen.”
+++++The woman looks at Phil for a moment, not saying anything before finally saying, “See, was that so hard?”
+++++The woman stands up, and Phil relaxes, glad that this whole ordeal will soon be over, so what if might lose a few clients? There are always more men out there willing to pay for the opportunity to see pictures of underage flesh. He watches the woman as she walks back to the bathroom sink and proceeds to put the duct tape into a backpack she picks up from off the floor. Once she is done, she looks at Phil.
+++++“I’m so glad you decided to cooperate.”
+++++She walks towards the door and then stops, and then she lightly smacks her forehead with her open palm.
+++++“I’m such an idiot. I almost forgot something important.”
+++++The woman walks over to the bathtub, Phil smiling in relief of finally being free, and this nightmare is finally over. But his smile soon crumbles, and a look of horror appears on his face when he sees her turning the cold-water faucet on full blast.
+++++“You said you would let me go if I told you where my client list was; you promised.”
+++++The woman stands up and walks towards the door; she stops, turns around, looks at Phil, and simply says, “I lied.”
+++++Then the woman walks out of the bathroom, turning off the light and closing the door as she goes leaving poor Phil all alone in the dark, pitifully crying out for help as the tub fills with water.

[Image Credit : Photo by Pawel Czerwinski on Unsplash ]

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J. A. Proctor

J.A. Proctor is a writer from southern Indiana. He writes mainly in the YA fantasy and adult thriller genres. Much of his work can be found on Amazon.

Latest posts by J. A. Proctor (see all)

• An Evening Out - February 5, 2024
• Bathtub Talk - January 24, 2024