Forced into Fantasy

I couldn’t help as a massive triumphant smile spread across my face while I pressed the ‘save’ button on my Word Document and closed the slim black laptop balanced carefully on my thighs, moving it to the table beside the couch and stretching out my tired arms.

“Oh yeah… another chapter bites the dust!” I exclaimed to myself with pride.

With a loud grunt I pulled myself up off the couch and walked across the lounge room of my small apartment toward the fridge to get a well-earned drink. It appeared that I had lost track of time since starting the most recent chapter of my latest novel and before I knew it, several hours had passed by in no time at all.

Grabbing a can of Coke, I closed the fridge and made my way across to check my mobile phone for any notifications or messages. As usual, nothing too exciting. Tossing the phone down onto the couch I used both hands to open the shiny can which hissed softly as I held it to my mouth and took a sip. The fizzy burning sensation filled my mouth until I swallowed it down the length of my throat with a forced wince.

Just as I pulled both of my feet up to rest along the soft surface of the couch the sound of my doorbell alerted me to glance toward the door. Lifting my left hand to reveal the face of my watch I notice that the time is 11:40pm and I cringed.

“Oh come on, eleven forty at night… Who the hell could that be at this hour?” I asked myself as I pulled my heavy body up to stand and began to make my way across towards the door.

Lowering my head to the side I glanced out the small window and rolled my eyes as soon as I noticed who it was.

“Oh god…no.”

Shaking my head I hesitantly unlatched the door lock and turned the handle, opening the door inward and meeting her face to face with a forced smile.

“Jess, what are you doing here? It’s really late…”

“Hey girl!” she beamed.

Jess didn’t give me the chance to finish my sentence as she shrugged both of her shoulders at me and with a massive smile, invited herself to push past me and into my apartment.

“Please, come in.” I replied sarcastically as I closed the door and turned to see her making herself comfortable on one of the couches.

“So, Jarred’s out with his mates tonight and of course, I got lonely.” Jess began to explain as she placed the two grocery bags onto the coffee table and began rifling through one of them. “You don’t mind, do you hun?”

I let out a sigh as I made my way across the room to join her on the couch.

“Not at all.”

“I brought all the essentials for a girl’s night in… chips, lollies, chocolate…” she paused and then lifted a large bottle of red wine out of the brown paper bag before speaking again, “… and of course, the wine!”

I frowned.

“Jess, why aren’t you sleeping?” my tone showed the annoyance I was feeling as I grabbed a pillow and cuddled it against my chest.

She raised an eyebrow in response before replying.

“Oh come on, how often do we get to have these nights to ourselves, Ivy?” she enquired tilting her head and putting a hand onto her hip in protest.

I raised both my hands in a form of surrender.

“Alright, alright… fine. Girl’s night it is then.” I finally caved.

“So, what do you feel like watching?” Jess asked, grabbing the remote and eagerly flicking through the movies on my Netflix account. “You in the mood for something funny, jam packed full of action… or something spooky perhaps?”

I can’t help it as a smirk forms. And of course she sees it.

“Ah, scary it is then!”

Around two hours later the movie had finished and it was almost 2:00am in the morning!

I glanced over to see my unconscious friend with her legs splayed out across the longest of my couches, fast asleep with the crinkled wrappers of several chocolate bars and chips gripped softly between her fingers.

I shook my head as a small smile began to form on my face.

“Oh Jess… out like a light.” I spoke softly, ensuring I wouldn’t wake her.

Pulling myself up to stand I worked to quickly gather all of the scraps of paper and plastic, throwing them into the bin and taking a large blanket out from the linen cupboard. I carefully spread it out with a giant flick, taking my time to lay it over her body and making sure I covered both of her feet in the process.

As soon as I’m happy with her, I reach down to pick up my glass when I noticed something strange. A faint red glow illuminating from inside one of the plastic grocery bags Jess had brought in with her. My eyes narrow as I slowly bent down and opened the bag, peering inside with intrigue at the bright red glow now painted across my face.

Nestled down at the bottom of the plastic bag was a strange looking piece of jewellery; an amulet which appeared to be glowing a bright red colour! I gulped with fear as I stood hunched over the bag, my eyes were unblinking as I remained frozen in some sort of a trance.

“What the hell?” I muttered to myself and before I knew what I was doing my hand was reaching down into the bag!

My fingers grasped it firmly and I lifted it up out of the bag to get a better look at this strange looking antique. As I brought it closer toward my face I noticed tiny carvings etched into the outer circle of the silver amulet’s surface.

There were five silver circles in total, each entwined together. I couldn’t help but marvel in wonder at its unique and clearly ancient beauty. And finally, nestled right in the centre of the silver amulet is a large ruby, glistening exquisitely in the light.

“Wow… where in the world did you find this thing Jess?” I asked, knowing fully that she was out cold and couldn’t hear me. “It’s… its beautiful.”

Looking down I notice that the amulet is attached to a long silver chain and with a mischievous grin I pulled the chain up and over my head, resting the amulet down against my chest in admiration.

I knew it wasn’t mine to wear but something inside of me had taken over all thoughts of right or wrong; besides Jess was my friend and was at that very moment fast asleep. I was sure she wouldn’t mind if I wore it around the apartment for a bit.

Once I was showered and ready for bed I quickly grabbed my laptop from the lounge room coffee table and switched off the lamps to let Jess get a better sleep. For some strange reason I still wasn’t tired and decided to do a little more on my novel.

After another hour or so of being deeply immersed in my novel’s storyline and blind to the rest of the world around me, I could feel the need to rest my eyes, even if only for a moment.

And of course, I’d completely forgot about the amulet I was still wearing as I drifted off into a deep and comforting slumber…

My eyelids felt heavier than they had when I fell asleep and at first I struggled to even open them, but the sound of several voices conversing nearby alerted me and my eyes opened instantaneously.

As my vision blurred and came back into focus I let out a slight groan, slowly blinking until I could clearly see my surroundings.

Wait… where the hell was I? This wasn’t my apartment!

Looking down I noticed that the cold floor below my knees was made of stone and then I wondered why I was even kneeling in the first place. And what in the world was I wearing?

Squinting with disbelief I could clearly see the stains covering the thin white dress I was now clothed with and that’s when I felt it; the pain above my head. My wrists ached as I went to pull them down but then realised they were restrained! Something felt familiar about the cold iron surrounding my wrists as I looked up to see them and froze with terror.

I had been shackled to the wall above my head! Someone had restrained me with... shackles?

“What the fuck?” I whispered, pulling against the long chains dangling down from the wall behind me. “What the hell’s going on? Where am I?”

As I turned to the side I noticed the other girls chained up, same as me and I felt a sudden wave of horror flood over me, causing goosebumps to spread across my entire body within a matter of seconds... What? No, no, no!

This had to be a dream! There was no other way to explain it!

But then I saw him and I knew immediately… this was not a dream!

There he was; the ruggedly handsome man who caused my heart to pause and my blood to simmer with thoughts of dark desire and erotic passion. I could already feel myself getting wet between my thighs as my breaths deepened and my mouth opened on its own, parting slightly as I whispered his name.

“Adomis…”