Tales from the Dungeon 1 - Shackled Innocence

This is a sample of the first short story in the "Tales from the Dungeon" series. You can find the first 6 stories on my Amazon Author page.

In a not-so-distant future, the government has made it possible for judges to sentence people to be taken to the dungeon for punishment as a means of deterrent and to reduce jail population. The prisoner receives a shorter sentence but must endure physical punishment, sexual humiliation, and horrible conditions.

This is the tale of Erika Cole, one of the enthusiastic wardens working in the new branch of the penal system.

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It was another cold, grey morning in the capital, but Erika always managed to wake up with a smile on her face. The radio was playing an old favorite from her youth, and she could not help but dance around the small apartment in her underwear while the omelet sizzled on the stove.

Erika was still chewing her food while she applied a light makeup; a pointless gesture, considering her job, but she believed in always looking her best. She put on the black leather pants and knee-high boots. It’s not much of a uniform, she thought as she pulled the tight, black shirt over her head and rolled up the sleeves. But it does look sexy – I guess it’s still the men making the rules. She smiled to herself, put on her watch, and tied the dark brown curls into a long braid.

The subway was packed as usual. Erika was listening to a podcast about medieval architecture when she made eye contact with a well-dressed businesswoman in her forties. The look of disgust on the woman’s face made Erika send her a wink and a kiss; Erika’s outfit was only recognized by people that had found themselves in the claws of the Physical Education Department before.

The huge, grey building greeted her as soon as she exited the subway station, placed near the city center. After a host of security checkpoints and heavy steel doors, she found herself in the locker room.

“How was your weekend?” Angela opened the locker next to Erika’s and stashed her purse and jacket.

“Uneventful,” Erika said and smiled. “It was perfect. You?”

“Family dinner… I’ll take uneventful any day of the week over that.”

They both strapped their belts containing several pairs of handcuffs, a taser and a truncheon around their waists. Angela was dressed in the same outfit as Erika and wore her blonde hair in a tight ponytail.

“Good morning, miss Cole,” said Dave, the clerk, when Erika approached. “There’s a new arrival waiting for you in room C already.” He handed her a tablet with a polite, bored smile; every job could become routine with time.

Emily nodded and looked over the details while she found her way to room C. She opened the door and suppressed a smile. 'This will be fun.'

The room was small, only containing a steel table with two steel chairs, one on each side. One of the chairs was occupied by a nervous-looking, young girl with huge, expressive eyes that seemed to never blink as they stared at Erika like a scared deer caught in the headlights of a car.

Erika looked at the girl. “Isabella Atkins, student, correct?”

The girl nodded.

“It says here that you have been sentenced for… speeding and parking tickets?” Erika raised an eyebrow. “How many did you get to end up here?”

“I… I didn’t…” the girl stuttered. “My… my ex-boyfriend used my car for months, I didn’t know… I didn’t… I could not afford to pay…”

Erika felt a rare sting of sympathy for the girl, but it was not going to prevent her from doing her job. “Well, you’re the one who received the sentence. Your stay won’t be pleasant, but at least it will be short.”

The girl closed her eyes and bowed her head.

“For the next few days, you are the property of the P.E.D. Do you understand?”

There was no response.

Erika slammed her hand on the table. “Do you understand?!” she yelled.

“Y… Yes!”

A smile crept over Erika’s lips. “Good. That means that you do what me and my coworkers tell you to. Stand up.”

The girl stood up and hugged herself. She was wearing a nice, blue dress, out of place in the bare, cold room. Her hair was long and golden, cascading as a wavy waterfall down to her shoulders. Her hands trembled when Erika clicked the handcuffs around the slender, delicate wrists.

“Have you ever been handcuffed before?” she asked.

The girl shook her head.

“Well… you’ll have a lot more experience in a few days.” She grabbed Isabella by the arm and dragged her out of the room. “Do you know why they built this place?”

“N… No…” Isabella could barely speak; she sounded like she was on the brink of crying.

“It was partly built for people like you; to give you the opportunity to pay your debt to society in a very short time, so you can return to living your life.” Erika thought it was a brilliant system. “Above ground, we have most of the cells, especially those for long-term prisoners. Below, we have the Physical Education Facilities. You’ll get to see them soon enough.”

Isabella looked up from the floor. “It looks like a regular prison.”

Erika smiled. She loved this part. She leaned in and whispered: “That is because we are still in the ‘new arrivals lounge’.”

She swiped her security card to open a large, steel door. She could see Isabella’s shoulders tighten at the sight; the anonymous, concrete walls were suddenly replaced with rough stone, dimly lit and dripping with menace. It was based on the dungeons of medieval castles to maximize the feeling of hopelessness and oppression. Everywhere, heavy chains hung from the ceilings and walls, often ending in collars and shackles, ready for the unfortunate souls who entered.
Erika loved it, it felt like a second home.

A distant, muffled scream rang through the dark corridor.

Isabella froze. “I don’t deserve to be here!” she cried, as tears started rolling down her cheeks. “This place is horrible!”

'Dear girl, you have not seen anything yet,' Erika thought as she unlocked a steel door leading to a small room with lockers, old tiles on the walls and floor, and a water hose.

“Take your clothes off and put them in one of the open lockers.” Erika unlocked the handcuffs and pushed Isabella forward. “Quickly.”

She hosed down the crying girl with cold water and allowed her a few seconds to dry herself with a towel before handcuffing her again.

“You see this?” Erika opened a large, metal locker and pulled out a tall, shiny, steel collar.

Isabella’s eyes became even bigger than before. Her body was shivering from the cold. “You’re not going to put that on me, are you?”

Erika smiled. “Of course, I am. It’s standard practice down here. This collar is not coming off until you’re released.” She opened the collar. “See these copper lines on the inside? They’re connected to a small battery inside the collar. Brilliant, don’t you think? If you do not behave, you’ll get a mild, electric shock. Well, mild at first.” She pointed to the floor. “Get on your knees. Now.”

Isabella looked like she was living her worst nightmare as the collar clicked around her neck. Erika could have picked a smaller collar, but she loved how this one looked on the girl; Isabella would just have to deal with the weight.

“I… I can’t breathe, it’s too tight!”

“They always say that, yet somehow, they manage.” Erika locked a chain to the collar and pulled Isabella to her feet. “Let us see if this works.”

Isabella let out a frightened scream when Erika used the small remote that activated the collar’s shock function.

“Excellent.” She looked at the scared, shaking girl in front of her. Erika had a sudden urge to kiss the girl; the thought itself made her genitals throb with desire. “Let us find you a nice cell in the lower dungeons.”

The cell was tiny; a tall person would barely be able to lie down in there, but Isabella would not get the chance anyway. On the way, Erika had grabbed a set of heavy, wide shackles and put them on Isabella after unlocking the handcuffs. The touch of the cold steel made Erika horny and for a second even jealous of Isabella.

“A perfect fit,” Erika said, but the poor girl in front of her did not find it amusing in the slightest.

Erika pulled a chain down from a winch in the ceiling and locked it to the chain connecting the shackles. She left the small cell and locked the steel-barred door. Pressing a button next to the door, the winch whirred and slowly pulled Isabella’s hands upward.

'The sentence said ‘excessive discomfort. This should do it.' Erika stopped the winch; Isabella was standing with her arms stretched fully, balancing on her toes.

“Please! Let me down, it hurts so AAAAAH!” Isabella screamed as the collar shocked her.

“You better be quiet. I’ll see you later. Welcome to P.E.D.”