Shame Of Maastricht by Marie N. Hallen (any book recommendations TXT) 📕

“And some toilet paper,” Anne laughed.

“Yes and the toilet paper too. You guys won’t regret your stay here. Just be careful and obedient, and that’s enough for now I guess”.

Felix came back with three plates with food and three metal cups with water and put them on the floor. He put them on the floor and said “You can eat if you want. If you don’t want to, then just don’t. That’s your choice. We won’t invite anyone. So if you wish to stay hungry - go ahead, we don’t care”.

“And remember, no blasphemy. If you refuse to eat once, you won’t get anything at all,” Bas added. “So no hunger strikes or other bullshit.”

Then Bas and Anne pulled guns on everyone and Felix unsealed their mouths letting them know that in case if they start a riot, they will deal with more serious consequences they could imagine. After that everyone was unchained. Bas pulled Luuk into the left corner of the room and chained him to the pipe. The chain was long enough so he did have some freedom of movement although limited. Same thing was done to Lotte as she was weeping and begging to let her go. Felix put the plates and glasses near everyone and then added a few paper napkins.

“No cutlery guys. You know why, But you can cope with your hands.”

The food was surprising, as they were offered sandwiches, fries and even cheese sauce making them assume the food had been ordered at the local takeaway in advance. They started eating while Anne was unchaining Kate. Bas rushed to the corner and started rummaging through Kate’s bag. He took out her phone.

“I’m not gonna take it from you. However I will do one thing, I hope no explanation is needed,” he said and pulled out the sim-card. Then he dropped the phone back into Kate’s bag and put it on the broken chair. She didn’t see where he put her sim-card.

“I have no words… What the hell is going on?” Luuk said in a low voice while they were eating.

“I’m sure this is some mistake, we don’t have much to offer,” Lotte whispered through tears. “I can’t do anything.”

“Stop crying, dear, we need to wait. Don’t vex them. I already hate this awful troll and his clowns. But at least we aren’t going to starve.”

You Were Warned

Bas and Felix went out and slammed the metal door as Anne unchained Kate and pushed her down on the chair. She taped Luuk’s and Lotte’s mouths again and passed her the plate. Kate finished her meal as quick as she could and put the plate on the floor when she saw Anne approach Lotte.

“What is this?” Anne asked and pointed at the gold necklace with a pendant on Lotte’s neck.

“This is a gift from my boyfriend,” she replied.

“I’m taking it,” Anne ripped it off her neck harshly.

“Don’t touch it! Give it back to me!” Lotte shouted and tried to grab the necklace.

“You don’t need it here anymore. We need everything. I’m also taking your earrings, so shut up and don’t make it worse, or I will call Bas and he will cut off your ears. Will be worse, won’t it?”

Lotte spit in her face and Anne slapped her with her full force. Lotte fell on her back and as Anne approached her to take off her earrings, also gold, Kate decided to go on a rampage. She didn’t even fully realize why she was doing this and why she chose this particular moment, but just let her inner beast lead and guide her in this war. Someone needs to get beaten up today.

She grabbed the chair immediately and hit Anne as hard as she could. Anne stumbled but didn’t fall. She lashed out and pushed Kate furiously making her hit the wall again. Kate didn’t feel the pain at all as if nothing happened. She rushed towards Anne, grabbed the remains of the wooden chair, now broken, and tried to hit Anne once again. This time Kate didn’t succeed, but made her counterpart stumble over another piece of wood and fall over. Kate jumped on her and hit her several times where it was possible. As Anne tried to rise, she kicked her and knocked her out with the heaviest fragment. Anne collapsed and it the room became quiet again. Kate grabbed the necklace from Anne and threw it to Lotte who caught it.

At that moment Felix and Bas broke into the basement accompanied by one more man who looked younger and was dressed in a black tracksuit and a cap. The latter one had a baseball bat with him. They reacted immediately just like the previous time.

Bas and Felix grabbed Kate as the unfamiliar man hit her with a baseball bat. This time she also didn’t feel the pain as if nothing happened, however the other two men wrapped the heavy chain around her body and neck almost suffocating her and pulled her down severely, forcing her to sit down on a metal chair, which appeared out of nowhere but was apparently pulled up by a third man who hit her. Then she got punched in the face, again and again, and although it didn’t feel painful, she could feel blood running down her face. Was it from her nose or from her mouth?

Luuk and Lotte were frantically rattling their chains almost striking sparks from the metal, trying to get closer but could only watch the morbid scene as Bas and Felix were doing their mortification job. Kate managed to bite Felix’s hand severely and then screamed in pain when he revenged on her with another punch. This was the first and only sound she had made so far and it was piercing enough to make the walls tremble. Felix was rubbing his bleeding hand.

Suddenly all three let her go and she leaned back, still restrained by the chain.

“Well, nice try,” Bas said and threw the bat on the table in the corner. “I think we need to fix one thing. How could I forget?! Hold her guys, I’ll be back soon.”

Bas approached Lotte and took the golden necklace from her. If Kate managed to retrieve it a second earlier, he wouldn’t have his eye on it. She closed her eyes and spit out blood. Felix pulled Anne away. She didn’t know if Anne was dead or just badly injured, anyway both options seemed fine. Bas came back holding a leather case. He put it on the table and opened it.

“We call these implements of hell,” he explained to the prisoners. “Now you have the chance not only to see but to try them as well”.

He fished out something which looked like handcuffs and approached Kate. Indeed, there were several pairs of handcuffs, at least three. It seemed like these guys were pretty serious, could boast immense experience and didn’t beat around the bush when it came to pacification of their numerous prisoners.

“Number one!” he waved the handcuffs in front of her nose. “We could avoid this but… You were warned. We do like rebels, you know. But not here! By no means!”

He cuffed Kate’s hands to the arms of a chair.

“Sven, help me fix her neck!”

The third guy in a tracksuit pulled the chain around Kate’s neck and somehow fixed it on the leg of the chair, so that Kate’s head was put back and she couldn't move it.

“I hope you’re not gonna gauge my eyes out,” she thought and started to scream again as Sven squeezed her throat in a fit of anger.

“That’s why, and we’re gonna fix it,” Bas commented. He turned away and started searching through the infamous leather case. She could hear the steel clinking and realized the case was full of instruments used to torture every loser that happened to end up in this place. Bas came back holding a large needle and a thread in it. Sven shut her mouth with his hand as she was moaning desperately.

“Number two! Oh, it was not in vain that I learned to sew as a child, thanks to my mom. Or could I be a good surgeon? What do you guys think? Felix?”

“We will see now,” Felix replied and joined Sven in holding Kate’s face in order to prevent her from moving her head.

Then she saw the needle with a thread approaching her face and this time it couldn’t be associated neither with the innocent needlework, mentioned by one of the tormentors, nor with surgery. Body mods? Perhaps this is the only harmless activity these guys could succeed in without deliberately hurting people. The guys wanted to sew her mouth shut, this is was their plan. She felt a piercing pain as the needle went through her lips. But this was nothing compared to how the thread felt as it followed the needle. It was hard not to scream but men were holding her jaws tightly. And then they finished this surprisingly fast. Her mouth was sewn shut and bleeding on her neck and t-shirt. One drop… Two… Three… Sticky liquid dries up with black patterns on her skin. She tried not to cry as she realized she was from now on deprived of the opportunity to breathe with the help of her mouth. So if her nose gets blocked, she will suffocate. No more tears.

Kate didn’t even have time to think of how she would eat or drink after that. The torturers definitely weren’t going to leave her in peace after this painful procedure. Something else was on their minds because she saw Bas was digging his magic toolbox again.

“Ok, here comes number three!” Bas came back with an extension cord. “Sven, where is the main character of today’s show?”

“I told Anne to bring it, should be upstairs”.

“Goddamn, Sven! Anne is knocked out, I wonder if she is alive at all. The youngster did a really good job. Go find it, I have no idea where she left all that we bought yesterday!” Bas sounded really infuriated and without any obvious reason.

Sven and Felix rushed to the exit as Bas looked under the table in the corner. There was a socket. Kate couldn’t see it as her head was still fixed on the chair, but could hear Bas plug the extension cord into the outlet. She already realized they had an unlimited fantasy and could do anything if they felt like it.

“Please not a rape… everything but a rape…” she was praying silently as the most vicious memories flashed through her mind.

Not this time. She was blessed by something more significant and life-changing. Primarily body-changing. Felix and Sven came back and brought something. Bas pulled the extension cord closer to the chair where Kate was sitting. She still couldn’t see anything and tried to guess what kind of surprise she would experience next. Finally Bas loosened the chain so that Kate could move her head and neck. Felix and Sven turned the chair around so that she saw terrified eyes of Luuk