Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience.
 
 Author: Hungry Guy
Title: PUZZLES
Summary: The Dark Mistress teaches a pair of unsuspecting subs the joys
of extreme BDSM.
Keywords: F/M BF WM ws scat copr Fdom interr oral rim Mpov Fpov
Language: english

   PUZZLES BY: Hungry Guy (hungry@stoolmail.zzn.com)

   The dark mistress pondered her dilemma.  She had no control over who
took what pills at a rave.  As other pushers had done, she donated her
samples to the promoter's supply even though her motive was a bit different
than most.  Yet, her dope was popular, and she usually had a selection of a
few potential victims each time.  Her last two pairs of subjects had
perished of starvation and dehydration within days of being placed in her
dungeon.  The third, she hoped, would be the charm.

   ###

   This was the first rave Eric had attended.  Sure, he had attended lots
of parties in his time, but this was excellent.  Glancing at his watch, it
was just past 1:00 and a surge of people had just added their bulk to the
crowd.  The techno music was loud.  Beer and dope was free for the taking.
Even though it was in an abandoned warehouse across town in the ghetto,
there were plenty of white guys and even white girls here.  And the girls
were hot, hot, hot!  But he was frustrated that Jill, the girl he most
wanted to hook up with, was with her friends flirting with a bunch of black
guys.  Oh well.  He might still get lucky tonight, if not Jill, then
someone else.  Hey, you never know.  Even geeky guys sometimes get lucky.

   But wow, that last pill, the red one branded _Degradation,_ made all his
senses super intense.  Wow, what a rush!

   ###

   Keisha had been to so many raves that this one was no big deal.  She was
hanging with some sistahs at a table by the DJ.

   Tanya reached out and held Keisha's long braided hair out and said,
"You're lookin' good, girl!"

   Sonya then said, "Keisha!  Look at Duane making an ass of hisself!"
Duane, and a bunch of other brothers, were all hitting on white chicks, of
course.  Honkeys ought to get back in their Beemers and get out of the hood
and back to their own clubs!

   She remembered what her mamma once told her.  Always stand tall and be
proud whatever else happens.  Duane's an idiot, she put him out of her mind
and resolved to have fun at this party!

   Keisha grabbed at a plate of pills on the table and nabbed a red one she
had never seen before.  _Degradation?_ Worth a try.  She swallowed it down
with gulp of beer.

   ###

   Eric woke.  Where was he?  It felt like the time he woke from an
operation in the hospital -- one moment, the doctor was poking him with
needles and telling him to count backwards, the next moment, he was awake
on a gurney with a nurse handing him a glass of water.  But this time,
there was no nurse.  Alertness came to him quickly.  He was laying on his
back, but he was embedded in the wall.  What the hell!  His head seemed to
be supported from underneath by some narrow brace.  His body was immobile,
like he was in some kind of shell.  He turned his head to look around.  He
was in a room about ten feet wide by ten feet long.  He couldn't tell how
far above the floor he was.  One wall had some sort of large recess with
some gadget below it.  It was hard to tell at this angle.  His wall had two
indentations above him, closer to the ceiling.  He tried to reach for the
mechanism, but his body was encased in some sort of cylinder with very
little room to move his arms or legs.  The far wall was barred, and seemed
to have a barred door, like a jail cell.  Then he noticed her.  There was a
girl laying on the floor.  A black girl.  She was naked -- completely
naked. She seemed to be unconscious.  It was hurting his neck to be looking
around so he faced back up toward the ceiling to wonder what in hell was
going on.

   ###

   _What kind of jackass pill was that?_ wondered Keisha.  _Knocked me
straight on my ass.  Damn this floor is hard.  What the?_

   She was no longer at the rave.  She was in this, like, room.  And she
was naked!  Was she raped?  Then she saw the jail bars!

   _Damn, busted for dope!_

   She stood and walked to the bars.

   _What the hell!  This ain't no jail.  Looks like one of those places you
play laser tag at the mall.  Huh, what was that noise?_

   She spun around.  There was a guy's head sticking out the wall?  A white
guy!  With bright red hair.  She crouched back down and leaned with her
back to the bars.

   _This guy's head is sticking out the wall about waist height above the
floor.  There's four round holes in the wall.  Two about four feet above
his head and about two feet apart.  And two about a foot above the floor
about two feet apart.  The dude's head is resting on some sort of thick
metal plate situated vertical-like with a shallow hard plastic bowl just
under the back of his head.  But how do I get out of this shit?  The door
is weird too.  The lock is made out of some kind of clear stuff, like glass
or clear plastic.  There is some kind of steel pin going through a bar
holding the door closed.  The pin is hanging from some wire up over a
pulley and back down to an empty can.  All this contraption is behind that
clear glass or plastic.  There's a clear plastic tube sticking out of the
thing angled down as it came out of the lock.  The tube is about four
inches long.  The end of the tube inside the door curved down and into that
little can.  It looks like if you could somehow fill that can with water or
something, it would pull the pin up and unlock the door.  There was some
kind of name for this kind of contraption!  What was it?  Rube Goldberg! 
They call this a Rube Goldberg machine!  But how do I fill that can with
water to open the door?_

   She tried to stick her finger up the tube, but it wouldn't go in far
enough to bend down and touch the can.

   She tried to lean over, her head nearly to the floor, with her ass
against the tube, to pee at an upward angle into the tube, but even when
her aim was right on, she couldn't pee with enough force to pee up the
tube.

   She was also getting thirsty.  She looked around again.  There was a
drinking fountain in the room recessed in the wall.  She could use a drink.
There was some sort of seat in front of the drinking fountain with two rods
sticking out of it.  How could someone sit on that, she wondered.  She went
over to it.  She tried to stick her head in the recess to get her mouth
over the faucet, but she couldn't fit.  It seemed that the only way to get
in position would be to sit.  She tried pressing one of the buttons to see
if water would come out, but no water came from the fountain.  She looked
at the two rods sticking out from the seat in front of the fountain.  One
was bigger than the other and set about three inches apart.  They each had
some kind of trigger button on them.  Then she noticed a sign on the wall
next to the fountain.  "Press all four buttons simultaneously to drink."
But what does _simultaneously_ mean, wondered Keisha.  That's honkey talk!
But then she got an idea.  She gingerly sat at the fountain.  The two rods
sliding up her two lower orifices.  The front one felt good, but that back
one hurt and felt yucky.  She pressed the two buttons with her two hands
and water came flowing gently out the faucet.  She reached her head in and
took a drink.

   Her thirst quenched, she stood and then sat on the floor by the dude in
the wall.  Maybe he knows what the hell is going on?  And why in hell am I
naked?

   "Hey, you know what's going on?" she asked.

   "Where am I?" he answered.

   "You're stuck in the wall about four feet above the floor.  What
happened at the rave?  Do you know anything?"

   ###

   Eric watched the girl get up and explore the room.  She studied the bars
for quite a while before going over to that recess in the other wall.  She
fiddled with the thing for a while until she sat down.  He heard water
running for a bit, then she stood and came over to him and spoke.

   "Hey!  Y'know what's go'n on?" she said.

   "Where am I?" he asked back.

   "Yo stuck in th' wah' 'bout fo' feet 'bove the floh'!  Wha' happ'n at
th' rave?  Y'know anyth'n?"

   Eric could barely understand her through her ghetto accent.  "I was at
the rave, then I popped some dope, then I was here.  That's all I remember.
How about you?"

   ###

   Keisha thought about that.  "What kind of dope did you take?" she asked
him.

   "Some red pills.  I think they were labeled _Degradation_ or something.
Some dominatrix type woman all in leather was giving them out."

   "Yeah, that's what I took too.  That bitch must have snatched us!  We've
got to get out of here!"

   "How are we going to get out?  I'm stuck in this wall!  Is there a door
by those bars?"

   "Yeah, there's a door.  But it's damn weird!  Everything's, like, rigged
or something!  To open the door, you got to stick some kind of hose into a
tube and fill some can with...  Damn!  Damn!  I know!  _You_ can open that
door!"

   "Great!  Open the door and get out and get the cops!"

   "No.  I can't open the door.  But _you_ can!"

   "Me?  Why me?"

   "Cause, like, well, you're a guy.  And you got-- Well-- You can open the
door and I can't!  You'll see if you can get out of the wall!"

   "I don't know how to get out of this damn wall!"

   "Wait!  There's a sign here, like the fountain!"

   "What's it say?"

   "It says, uhm, 'To release the captive, lift the four levers re--
recess-- Damn!  I can't read that word!"

   "What word?"

   "R-E-C-E-S-S-E-D"

   "That's 'recessed'."

   "Damn!  'To release the captive, lift the four recessed levers simul--
wait, I remember this word -- simultaneously and push the top two up until
the top half clicks into place."

   "So there's four levers in this wall holding me?"

   She fiddled with two of the lower levers.  Inside each of the circular
recesses was a lever that lifted easily enough.  The two top ones looked to
be about the same, but she didn't want to stand and reach over his head so
he could see her titties from underneath.

   She finally answered, "Yeah!  But I can't reach all four of them at the
same time!  No way!  Two of them are down here by the floor, and two are up
over your head!"

   "I guess I need another person, at least, in this room to get me out of
this wall."

   "Yeah!  I guess you do."

   At that, Keisha pondered.  She stood and walked back to the barred door
and its strange lock.  He has to pee into that can at the end of the tube
to fill the can and make it pull the pin up to unlock the door.  She
figured that out.  She figured out how to get water out of the fountain. 
So it's up to her to figure out how to get the white guy out of the wall so
he can pee up the tube to unlock the door.

   She stared at the wall with the guy's head sticking out for five
minutes, ten minutes, a half-hour.  "Holy shit!" she shouted.

   "What!" he shouted back.

   ###

   Eric laid on his back wondering if whoever put him and that black girl
here was just going to leave them there.  It seemed that there was some
kind of puzzle here.  The black girl already figured out the water
fountain. And she claims to have figured out how to open the door, and that
she needs to release him first to open the door.

   His thought was shattered when she shouted, "Hoe sheeh'!"

   "What?" he asked.

   In a moment, she was standing by the top of his head facing the wall. 
The view was startling, he was looking up at her face, upside down, between
her breasts.  Her nipples pointed down and out -- and hard.

   "Ah knows how ta ge' choo out'a thayh.  But choo ain't gon' like ih'!"

   He was afraid to ask.  "Just get me out.  Okay?"

   He heard her suck in a breath and say, "Hea' goes!  Hold yo' breath!"

   ###

   Keisha took a breath before making the jump straight up and forward.

   "Here goes!  Hold your breath!"

   Keisha grimaced and placed her hands on his forehead, crouched, and them
jumped.  She landed with a _smack!_

   ###

   Hold my breath?  What's she going to do, Eric wondered.  The answer to
that thought came in an instant as she placed her palms oh his forehead and
pushed herself up toward the ceiling.  The next thing he knew, his head was
being crushed by the weight of her body, while, at the same time, being
squeezed by her powerful thighs, as he stared straight into her ass crack.
In a moment, he realized that his nose had been pushed up into her anus,
and something was tickling his chin.  Moments passed as she wiggled and
squirmed.  The weight of her body was crushing his head, yet it was
bearable.  At times, it seemed that her weight increased and then subsided,
increased again and subsided again.  His lungs were starting to strain to
release his breath, but he was totally immobile and unable to speak.  His
straining lungs managed to push a squeak of air out that came out sounding
like a quick fart.

   ###

   It took Keisha a moment to steady her balance after jumping up on his
head.  Her feet were dangling a few inches above the floor, and she had to
clamp her legs against the sides of his head to keep her balance.  She
immediately grabbed for the two levers just above her head.  The sensation
was bizarre.  Like the time some fresh air charity took her horseback
riding in the country when she was a child.  It felt just like that. 
Something was sticking up her ass, and felt very uncomfortable, but it
didn't go as deep as that rod when she used the fountain.  At least her
clit was pressing down on something soft, maybe his lips, that thought gave
her a tingle.  Well, stop daydreaming and get this thing open!  She flipped
her braids back that had fallen in front of her face.  Then she looked down
her side and reached into one of those holes with one foot.  She slid her
foot under the lever and lifted it.  It lifted easily.  She did the same
for the other foot and lever.  Concentrating on her arms, she started to
push up on the two hand levers.  The top part of the wall started to lift
up!  The first couple of inches were easy.  But the higher she lifted it,
the heavier it got.  She let it down again and let out a sigh.

   Just then, she heard a little fart come from below, but she didn't fart.
The strain, however, had built up a real fart and she let it out.  It was
one of those long quiet hot ones that burned coming out.  But the funny
thing was that she didn't smell it afterward.  It should have stunk! 
Where'd it go?

   Never mind that, and she took a deep breath again for a second try. 
This time, she lifted it higher, but it didn't click into place.  She
dropped it again and had to take a few breaths.  She got ready to try
again, but he started squirming under her ass.  That ain't going to help,
she thought.  She took another deep breath and lifted it again.  This time
she noticed two red lines on separate adjacent panels that moved closer the
higher she lifted the top wall.  Maybe she had to make the lines meet to
get the top wall to click in place.  She pushed with all her might, and got
the two red lines to within an inch of each other.  But she couldn't quite
get them to meet.  Damn!  One more time!  This time she just closed her
eyes and just kept pushing.  She opened her eyes and saw that the lines
were almost touching, when one of her feet slipped off the lever.  Damn! 
Last try.  I hope this guy can breathe!  Again, she mustered all her
strength and pushed again, concentrating on lifting and on keeping her feet
on the levers.  Slowly, she raised the wall.  Sweat was pouring off her
forehead, down her chest and down her back.  Just a little more.  Just a
little more.  Then the lines touched, and he heard a loud _click._
Exhausted, she let go of the handles and let out a deep breath.  She had to
sit and catch her breath for a few moments.  Then she wiped the sweat from
her forehead and reached down to feel the floor with her toes.  She
couldn't touch the floor with her toes.  Even though her toes were only a
few inches above the floor, the sensation of being unable to touch the
floor was frightening.  She finally slid herself back off his head and
dropped to the floor, landing on her feet.

   ###

   Eric let out an explosive breath, and then fought to catch his breath.
After his breathing calmed down, he realized that the top part of the wall
was a foot above.  He was free of this trap!  He started to slide himself
out of the hole -- and then realized that he was naked.  What the hell, so
was she.  He slid himself out a little more, rolled over onto his chest,
and crawled out until he could bend down and reach the floor with his
palms. He finally pulled himself out and fell to the floor on his shoulders
with a _thunk!_

   He spun around and then sat upright.  He looked up at the black girl,
looking down at him.  Her hair was all in braids and she was kind of cute.
And she was extremely black, even for a black person.  Her skin was black
as coal.  It made her eyes stand out like beacons, her skin was so totally
black.

   It surprised the hell out of him when she kneeled down in front of him
and said, "So ya' wan'a fuck?"

   "What?" is all he could say in answer.

   "Yo!  Ya' wan' _fuck?_"

   "Well, I-- I mean we hardly know each other?"

   "Bro!  I jus' been sitt'n on yo' face!"

   "Yeah.  So you have!"

   "We's both naked an' ah'm ho'ny as fuck'n hell!"

   Eric wasn't sure.  He had never been with a black girl before.  Not that
it should matter, of course.  But it was a new experience.  They're both
naked, and she was just sitting on his face with her pussy pressed against
his mouth and his nose up her asshole.  He reached out tentatively to touch
her.

   ###

   Keisha took in the view.  This white guy was even more bleached-white
than most honkeys.

   _Mustn't get out in the sun much,_ she thought.  _And get a look at that
carrot top!  Pretty blue eyes though!_

   Seeing the hard-on this white dude had ever since he crawled out of that
hole in the wall made Keisha even hornier than from sitting on his face
pushing that damn wall up with all her might.  Losing her patience with his
shy ass, she grabbed his hand and flung herself on him and mashed her mouth
to his.  Ooh, she was so wet she could feel herself dripping!  She crawled
higher on his body and pressed one of her nipples to his mouth.  After he
got that one hard and wet, she switched him to the other nipple.  Then she
grabbed him and rolled over, pulling him on top of her.

   ###

   Eric panicked.  "Um, wait!  I don't have any rubbers!"

   She answered, "Who cay's fo' rubbers?  Don' choo' know that the man
gives you mo' money fo' the mo' babies yous gots anyways?"

   At this point, her logic seemed irrefutable to him, and so plunged into
her.  He pumped and pumped, and came quickly.  She rolled back on top,
facing him, snuggled her head on his shoulder, and exhaustion quickly
brought her to sleep.

   Wow is all Eric could think!  That was fantastic!  But now she fell
asleep on top of me!  I still don't even know her name.  Eric succumbed to
the inevitable, himself, and also fell asleep.

   ###

   The dark mistress giggled with glee!  This was the first couple to solve
the puzzle of the wall trap.  The show immediately afterward was a surprise
bonus!  The MPEG, she was sure, would be a hit in the newsgroups!  She was
posting it to some binaries group at that very moment.  Now, would they
solve the door puzzle before they starved to death like those before?

   ###

   Keisha woke after what seemed like a full night's sleep.  She opened her
eyes to see him meeting her gaze.  "Sleep good?" she asked.

   "Yeah!  I slept pretty good.  How about you?"

   "Yeah, I slept good too."

   She then shimmied down his body to where her body was between his legs.
She put him in her mouth and started sucking.  It didn't take long for him
to come in her mouth.

   "Hair trigger you got, white boy!"

   "Yeah, well.  Brown sugar gets me hot!"

   "Yeah?  You got brown sugar before?"

   "Well, no, you're my first."

   She looked around.  "And it'll be your last unless we get out of this
fucking jail!"

   She stood, and he stood next to her.

   She grabbed his hand and walked over to the door.

   "See this thing?" she asked as she pointed to the tube and can mechanism
behind the clear surface.

   "Yeah, that's weird."

   "Sure is.  You got to stick it in this hole and piss in that can to open
the door so we can get out of this place."

   "What?  You're shitting me!"

   "No shit!  Look at that!  Look how it works!"

   He studied it for a few moments.

   "Yeah, you're probably right."

   "Damn, I'm right!  Now start pissing so we can get the hell out of
here!"

   He cautiously stuck his member in the tube, the end reaching through the
short tube, up and over the hanging can.  He stood there for a minute,
grunted, then pulled himself out.  "I don't have to pee right now."

   "Damn!" was all she said.

   ###

   Eric was a little miffed that he couldn't pee on cue.  But he was
thirsty.  He walked over to the fountain, leaned over the funny seat with
the rods, stuck his head into the alcove and pressed one of the buttons,
but no water came forth.

   "Tha' won' work fo' yo'" she said from right behind him.

   "Huh?  Why not?  I'm thirsty?  How do I get a drink?"

   "It's like th' doh'.  Yo got' sit on th' pegs and press th' butt'ns to
make th' wat'r c'mout."

   He tried to sit, but the front peg poked him in the balls.  "I can't sit
on these pegs.  How do I make it work?"

   "Y' need two ho's t' sit.  You's only got's one ho'.  It ain't gon' wo'k
fo' yo'."

   "Here." He motioned for her to sit.  "You sit so I can drink.  Okay?"

   Keisha sat on the pegs again.  Eric tried to squeeze his head in the
alcove to get his mouth to the fountain, but there wasn't enough room for
both of their heads.  She couldn't lean back far enough, and he couldn't
lean past her.

   "Damn!" Eric said.  "I'm dying of thirst!"

   "Yeah, and ah gots to piss sumth'n wicked too!" added Keisha.

   "I don't know what you're going to do to pee.  I guess you'll just have
to pee on the floor.  But maybe you can fill your mouth with water, then
let me drink from your mouth?  That might work."

   "Sho.  Ah can do tha'."

   Keisha sat at the fountain and filled her mouth with water without
swallowing.  But she couldn't bend her head and Eric still couldn't touch
his mouth to hers while she sat at the fountain.  She got up out of the
contraption and they put their mouths together and he drank from her mouth.

   "Can you do it again?" Eric asked.  That wasn't much water and I'm
really thirsty!

   This is a pain, Keisha thought to herself, but she sat and drank again
to give Eric more water.  And again, and again.

   Keisha also drank for herself too.  With every passing minute she had to
pee even worse.  Keisha looked around the room.  She tried to see if there
was a drain in the floor or anything to piss into.  But the whole floor was
a bare soft rubbery mat with no drain or anything.

   "Ah don' wan' piss on th' floh'!  Tha's nasty!"

   She sat again and grimaced while holding her bladder closed for a while.
"Try an' see if'n yo' can pee in th' ho' again." she told Eric.

   He tried, but only a few drops came out.  "Well, if we can fill it a few
drops at a time, we can get out."

   Later that day, he peed in the can again, but he saw there was a tiny
hole in the bottom of the can.  "Damn!  Peeing a few drops at a time won't
fill the can!  I have to drink a lot of water to fill that can with one
piss."

   ###

   Keisha was in a funk.  "Yeah," she said.  She knew there had to be a
trick to opening that door that he had to pee in the can, but he can't
drink enough water from the fountain.  And it was a pain for her to sit and
stand giving him little mouthfuls of water at a time.  Suddenly, she looked
up and stared at Eric with her mouth agape!

   ###

   Eric was worried now.  "What?" he asked.  "Why are you looking at me
like that?"

   Keisha looked down and thought for a second before she answered.  "Ah
knows what we gots ta' do!  An' yo' _really_ ain't gon' like ih' this
tahm!"

   Eric paused for a moment at her latest conclusion, wondering what he
will have to suffer through this time.  Though, he had to admit, having her
sit on his face was an erotic thrill despite the suffocating, and the
reward afterward made up for any discomfort.  "I'm afraid to ask, but what?
Do we have do something kinky again, like when you sat on my head to open
the wall?"

   "Yeah, we got's to do somethin' kinky!"

   "Really?"

   "Nasty!"

   "Nasty?  Like what?" he persisted.

   "Like only ah can drink, but yo' can't.  An' only yo' can piss'n the ho,
and ah can't."

   "Yeah?  So?"

   "So ah's got's t' drink from th' fountain.  Yo' got's t' drink from me."

   "Huh?" Eric answered.

   "Shit!  Jus' lie on yo back on the flo' and let me sho' yo'!"

   Eric dutifully lied on the floor and, once again, Keisha stood,
straddled his head and sat on his face facing his feet.  She wasn't as
heavy as the last time she sat on his head.

   ###

   She kneeled over his head, but she still pressed down with a goodly
amount of weight so the pee wouldn't seep out and make a mess.  This was so
nasty, and she was afraid her muscles would be too tense to let her pee. 
But she had to pee so bad that it gushed out of her the instant she relaxed
her muscles.  What a relief!  Poor guy!

   ###

   Wow!  Eric thought again.  How is her sitting on my face again going to
get the door open?  Again, his nose was up her anus, and his mouth was
directly under her clit.  Then she pressed down and pushed his jaw open
with her pelvic bone.  He wondered for a second why she did that -- then
the answer flooded his mouth!  She was peeing in his mouth!  Gaaak!  It was
awful!  Bitter and gritty.  He tried to wave her off him, but she had him
pinned down good.  He tried to grab her and push her off, but she just
grabbed hold of his wrists and held his arms still.  He had to swallow
several times before she finished.

   ###

   It took Keisha a while to empty her bursting bladder.  He tried to smack
her after she started pissing in his mouth, but she couldn't stop.  It felt
so good to finally empty her bladder.  All she could do was grab his wrists
and hope she could keep him from flailing his arms.  Done, she stood up off
his head and she heard him let out a sigh.

   "Sorry if you didn't like that, but that's the only way you're going to
drink enough to piss that hole!"

   "Yeah, well," he said.  "Let me know, next time, before you do something
like that again!  Okay?"

   "Yeah, sure," she answered.

   "Oh man!  I feel like I'm going to be sick!"

   "Get used to it!  I'm thirsty again, and you're the only one who can get
us out of here!  And you got to drink from me to be able to pee enough!"

   "Yeah, sure," he answered.

   ###

   I wonder, thought the dark mistress gleefully.  Did she just do what I
think she did?

   ###

   For the rest of the day, Keisha forced herself to drink from the
fountain regularly.  And she had him drink her pee whenever she had to. 
She hoped he would have to pee soon, and enough to unlock that damn door.

   ###

   This is so gross, though Eric.  I'm sick of drinking that black bitch's
piss!  Who does she think she is?  Just like a woman, fuck one and they
think they own you!  Well, I suddenly realize that I do have to pee pretty
bad, he thought.  He walked over to the door and stuck it in the tube once
again.  He could feel her eyes on his back as he started to pee.  He pee
streamed out of his dick through the tube and into the can.  Slowly, it
started to fill.  It slowly lowered on its cord, lifting the pin that held
the door locked.  His bladder emptied with the pin almost, but not quite
clear of the door latch.  He pounded the lock, but it didn't break.  If he
could just break that clear plastic-whatever-it-was, he could just lift the
pin out and open the door.

   ###

   Keisha walked over to him and saw the can half full.  Damn!  She hugged
him from behind, wrapping her arms around him and laying her head on the
back of his neck.  "It's okay, bro'.  We'll just keep trying."

   He turned around in her arms, put his arms around her too, and kissed
her.  "Uhm, you never told me your name.  I'm Eric," he said.

   "I'm Keisha," she told Eric.

   "Nice to meet you Keisha!"

   "Yeah, you too," she said.

   It seemed like a day had gone by, so they lay down on the floor for the
second time.  At that moment, Eric's stomach growled.

   "You're hungry, ain't you?" Keisha asked Eric.

   "Yeah!  I'm starving!"

   "Then why don't you eat me?"

   "Huh?"

   It was the perfect opener.  Keisha loved being eaten.  "Eat me before
you fuck me."

   "Then eat me too!" he answered

   "Get on your back."

   Eric rolled on his back and she lay on top of him with her pussy in his
face and started sucking his dick.  It wasn't long before he filled her
mouth.  She swallowed and said, "You better make me come too!"

   He continued sucking and swirling her clit with his tongue.  It felt so
good!  The tension built up, let go, built up some more, let go again, then
built up some more each time building up higher, until she finally came,
her whole body bouncing and throbbing on top of his.

   "Hey, bro', you do that good for a white guy!" she told him.

   "Thanks.  I think," he answered.

   Spent, she laid her head down, using his groin as a pillow, and dozed
off.

   ###

   Not again, Eric thought.  How am I going to sleep with her on top of me
again, and with her pussy in my face yet.  Well, at least it's a nice view,
heh, heh.  In fact, the bright pink slit of her pussy stood out like a neon
sign against her pitch-black hairy skin.  It was a visual treat!

   When she woke in what was probably the next morning, she had to pee
again.  They didn't talk much.  She drank from that fountain over and over
again.  And he lost count of the times he drank her piss from her pussy.

   "Hol' it in!  Don' pee till yo' really got t' go, bro!" she told him.

   He knew she was probably right, so he held it in all day.  That evening,
he couldn't hold it any more, so he tried the door again.  Keisha held his
hand as he stuck his cock in the tube and peed into the can.  He slowly
filled the can, and the pin slowly lifted.  Higher and higher, it slowly
rose.  It slid completely up out of the slot holding the door!"

   "Yes!" they both shouted together.

   Keisha grabbed a bar and pushed the door open.  They walked out of their
cell.  But where were they?

   The corridor beyond the barred wall and door was painted black.  The
ceiling was uncomfortably low, too.  Had he been a few inches taller, he
would have had to crouch as walked -- Keisha too, as she looked to be about
as tall as he was.  Looking down both directions, Eric saw that the narrow
corridor twisted in different directions, with side hallways branching off
at odd angles.  He could see what looked like strobe lights flashing from
one narrow corridor.  Neon lights shown from another.  Eric took Keisha's
hand and said, "Which way?"

   "I don' know!  I'll follow yo'!"

   Hand in hand, they walked down one way, turned a corner, followed the
corridor as it twisted left, then right, came to another intersection, then
down another way.

   "This is a fucking maze!" Keisha said, as they stopped in yet another
intersection of the dark and poorly lit spaces.

   "Yeah, this isn't just some jerk's basement.  This has got to be some
kind of warehouse or something.  It's damn huge!"

   "They's gon' be anotha' trap!  I jus' know it, bro!  We got's t' get
ou'a here!"

   "I remember something about mazes from a comp-sci class.  You have to
just hug one wall or another and you have to come to the exit or at least
to back where you started."

   "Jus' get us out of hea', bro!"

   They walked a little later and passed another side corridor, but this
side corridor had a stairway going up.  "Damn!" he said.

   "Wha'?" she said.

   "That hugging the wall algorithm doesn't work for three-dee mazes! 
We're screwed!"

   "Damn!"

   ###

   Keisha didn't understand his fancy honkey talk.  She wished he would
talk normal.  But now that this white boy's her squeeze, well, she'll deal
with it.  At least she got the gist of what he said; there's no easy way to
find their way out of this maze.

   He didn't take the stairway.  Instead he led her down another corridor,
then another.  He seemed to be trying to head in as straight a line as he
could.  That made sense.  She'll just follow him.

   They came to another stairway, this one going up.

   He stopped for a moment and told her, "If we're below ground, we should
be going up.  But if we're above ground, we should be going down.  Hmmm. 
Well, if we're below ground and we go down, we'll just get deeper and get
more lost.  But if we're above ground, and we go up, maybe we'll come to
the roof.  So it seems that up is the more logical choice!  Right, Keisha?"


   Keisha thought about this for a second.  She understood what he was
saying.  They don't know if they're upstairs or downstairs.  Going
downstairs will only work if they're upstairs.  But going upstairs will
work whether they're upstairs or downstairs.

   "Yeah, you're right, bro!  We got to go upstairs!"

   They took the stairs up, and were in the same kind of dark maze with
strobe lights and neon lights occasionally stabbing the darkness.  At the
top of the stairs, the corridor went straight ahead.  But at a ninety
degree angle was another stairway going back down.  But that didn't
correspond to any stairway they passed before.  This maze must have
interleaved mazes on each floor.  Plus, a little further down was another
stairway going up yet again.

   This maze has got to be damn huge!

   They followed the straight corridor and wandered this level of the maze
for a few hours.  Both their stomachs were growling incessantly since they
hadn't eaten for two days now.  Eventually, They came to a lit alcove.

   "This is interesting," Eric told her.

   Yes it was, she thought.

   On one wall was another one of those recessed fountains with the two
rods sticking up from the seat.  But there was a selector switch on the
wall.  One position was labeled, WATER.  One was labeled, JELLO.  One
labeled, CHOC-PUDDING.  One, VAN-YOGURT.  One, MILK.  And one, OJ.  She
switched it to CHOC-PUDDING and took a seat as she had done often enough
before.  Not surprisingly, chocolate pudding oozed out the spigot.  She
sucked and swallowed pudding to her fill.  Then she took a mouthful and
stood.  She fed Eric chocolate pudding, mouth-to-mouth.

   ###

   They wandered the maze for a few more hours.  Eric was relieved that
they wouldn't starve or die of thirst.

   They had found more food and water dispensers scattered throughout the
maze.  Though it was bizarre to eat and drink from Keisha's mouth.  At
least he didn't have to drink her pee any more!

   But speaking of pee, he had to pee pretty bad again, and he would
eventually have to take a dump.  They had also come across a few alcoves
with toilets, but the toilet seats seemed to be locked down somehow.

   Eventually, though, they both had to pee desperately.  They stopped to
study a locked toilet.  It was in a small alcove.  Facing it on the
opposite wall was a seat with two posts, like the seats at the dispensers.
Only there was no dispenser.  The post seat faced the toilet, and had two
hand pedals and two foot pedals.  It also had what looked like an overhead
bar that swung over the user's head, like those used at theme parks to lock
people into roller coasters.

   "Would you mind, honey?" Eric asked her.  She sat, impaling herself with
the two posts, pressed the two hand levers and the two foot pedals.  Eric
then tried to lift the toilet seat, but it was still locked down.

   "Try lowering the bar," he urged.  She reached up and pulled the bar
down over her head and against her chest.  He was rewarded by being able to
lift the seat.  He relieved himself with a deep sigh.  He then sat, and
took a dump.

   "Eww!" said Keisha, facing him from just a foot or two away.

   "Lift the bar now that I'm seated," he said.

   She tried to raise the bar, but it wouldn't lift.  "Damn!  I'm trapped!"

   He finished, then lowered the seat.  "Try it now," he said.

   The bar listed easily and she stood.

   "Now, how m' ah s'posed to m' business?  Damn!  Ah can't hol' it in no
mo'!" She squatted in the corner of the alcove and peed on the floor.

   ###

   The dark mistress laughed at her subjects' wanderings.  She had built
this multi-level maze out of a two million-square foot warehouse.  Her
thousand-dollar investment in that dinky little computer company IPO back
in the early 80's, at the advice of one of her geek slaves, had given her
oodles of _fun_ money in the 90's.  It was sure lucky that she cashed out
before the crash of 2000!  Her subjects had been lost in her maze for four
days, and had not even come close to finding the next puzzle room.  She was
pleased that they had discovered how to avoid starvation and dehydration,
and the many MPEGS she had uploaded to the newsgroups since their
wanderings were quite popular among her fans.  But the messes the black
woman was leaving behind were disgusting.  Why didn't they see what they
were expected to do?

   ###

   Keisha and her guy had wandered the maze for nearly a week, it seemed.
It occurred to her that they could have left a trail of turds along the way
to mark her route.  _Damn that I didn't think of that before!_ she thought.
_But then, could I really shit a single turd on cue every time we came to a
corner?  Probably not._ Keisha was fearful, now, that there was no way out
-- that this was like a closed world they were trapped in.  Forced to
wander it for the rest of their lives for some mad reason.  Fortunately,
they had found alcoves with actual cots to sleep on.  That was wonderful!
Keisha loved Eric's skillful tongue.  He fucked pretty good too, but being
a white guy, he was a little smaller than she was used to.  But he was as
good as any brother with his tongue.  She even hoped he would hang with her
when, or if, they got out of this place.

   The maze seemed to go on forever in every direction.  Subtracting the
differences between going up and down stairs, they had climbed three levels
above that cell room they started in.

   But now they were at a dead end of sorts.  They last climbed stairs a
day ago, and had not since found any more stairs going up.  So they
reversed their strategy, they would go down.

   They headed downward for the next week, eventually coming to the
bottom-most level five levels, relatively speaking, below the top most
level they had come to a week before.

   Frustrated, they sat in their current sleeping alcove for a whole day
before trying to search for the way out.  Keisha was pleased at one thing,
however.  They fucked and sucked all day long.  Eric may be small compared
to brothers, but he could get hard again in a heartbeat.  And when he was
truly drained and could no longer perform, that wonderful tongue was as
good as a cock up her pussy.

   The following day, "day" being an uncertain term, they ventured out
again.  They could only go up when they came to stairs, but this time they
weren't actually trying to head upward.  They simply wandered aimlessly,
sometimes going up stairs, and sometimes downstairs, as whim moved them.

   Another week went by, and they came to a strange door.  Keisha looked at
Eric with hope in her eyes, and Eric met her gaze.  Could this be the exit,
wondered Keisha.

   She pushed the door, and it opened effortlessly.  Inside was a short
hallway about ten feet long with another door at the far end.  She walked
in and stood holding the door open.

   "C'mon, bro!  This is the way out!" she cried to Eric.

   "Could be," answered Eric with a shrug.

   She grabbed his wrist, and pulled him in, not wanting the door to close
and lock, separating them.

   "Or it could be another trap," Eric said.

   "Don't say that, bro!" she answered.  "Stay here and don't let go of
that door, bro," she told him.  Then she walked to the next door and pushed
it open.  Beyond was another short corridor with another door at the end.
Damn!

   She went back and grabbed her man by the hand and said, "Lets' go"

   Then she grabbed the door just as he let go and it was about to close
behind them.

   "Hey!" she said, "I got an idea, bro.  Can you shit right now?"

   "Maybe.  Why?"

   "Try and shit right there.  Maybe we can hold this door open with a
turd."

   "That's gross!"

   "Yeah, well, everything about this maze is gross, bro!"

   Eric squatted by the door jamb and pooped out a pretty big log.  He
pushed it against the door jamb with his toe.  Keisha let go of the door,
but the heavy door closed, squishing the turd as if it wasn't even there.

   "Fuck!" they uttered together as the first door closed behind them.

   But she looked back and was that the door, which opened inward into the
hallway, had no handle to pull it open by.

   She walked up to the second door with Eric by the wrist, and walked
through into the second short hallway.  They walked to the third door and
pushed the door open.  "Damn!" she said.

   "It looks like another trap room, like the room we started in."

   Keisha looked into the room.  It was another small room about the same
size as the first room.  The room was empty except for a cot on one wall.
But there was a passageway in the far wall.

   ###

   "I don't know about this, Keisha," said Eric.

   "Yeah, le's tra' t' geh' bah' in th' maze, bro!"

   They let the door close and they walked back to the second door.  But,
indeed, it opened inward and had no handle with which to pull it open. 
Damn, Eric thought.  They were trapped again!  Eric pounded the door with
his fist, then they turned about and entered the new trap room, letting the
third door close behind them.

   ###

   The dark mistress was in an orgasmic state at the latest development! 
They would have to do the ultimate act in order to escape!  Bwa, ha, ha,
ha!

   ###

   Keisha sat on the cot for a moment, patting it in invitation for Eric to
sit with her.  He did.  They kissed.  The sucked.  They fucked.  They
slept.

   They woke.  They got up and walked up to the passageway.

   There was no door or anything separating the two rooms.  Still, she
pulled Eric by the wrist as she explored so they couldn't be separated by
some trap.  She walked into the adjacent room holding tightly onto Eric's
wrist.

   In the second room, on one wall, was a food and drink dispenser with the
obligatory rod-seat.  On the other wall was a platform about six inches
above the floor, about six feet long and two feet wide, with a strange box
at one end with a hole in the side and a toilet seat on the top of it.  And
there were two shackles located midway down the platform, and two at the
far end of the platform.

   Keisha went over to the dispenser, took a drink of water, got out, gave
Eric a drink of water from her mouth, sat again, took a drink of pudding,
got out and gave Eric a mouthful of pudding.  They wouldn't starve or die
of thirst in this room, this time.  She looked around the room again. 
There was yet another passageway into a third small room.  But first she
examined the platform with the box at one end with the toilet seat mounted
on the empty box.  The box was hinged and swung open to the side.  And what
were the shackles for?  It made no sense.  There was just an empty box with
a hole in the top on which was mounted a toilet seat.  There was no
plumbing.  How could it possibly be used as a toilet?  And why was it at
one end of a long narrow platform?  Weird!

   With firm grip on Eric's wrist, she walked through the passageway into
the third room.

   In the third room was a door at the far end.  She tried to push it, and
it was locked as she expected.  There was also a pair of those toilet and
rod seats.  The toilet was just adjacent to the doorframe.  The toilet seat
was locked down, also as she expected.  She sat in the opposing rod-seat
and locked herself in with the bar.  "Try and use the toilet, bro!" she
said.

   Eric lifted the toilet seat and did his business.  She, of course,
couldn't lift the bar while Eric was sitting on the toilet facing her.

   He stood and looked in the toilet, and said, "Hey, Keisha!  Come over
and take a look at this!"

   "Put the seat down, bro.  I can't lift the bar while the seat is up!"

   "Yeah, right." He lowered the seat and Keisha released herself and
stood.

   "So what do you want to show me?"

   ###

   Eric was frustrated.  He said, "I can't now.  But the toilet looked like
it emptied into some container below it, like a pail.  I could see some
kind of mechanism attached to it."

   "Ah knows," she said with a sigh, "yo' got's t' fill the pail t' op'n
th' doh'!"

   "That's going to be hard.  The pail had a bunch of small holes in it. 
It won't hold water."

   "Then damn!  How's we gon' get out'a heeh'?"

   ###

   This time, Keisha knew what they would have to do to get out.  She
didn't even have to give it any thought.  Eric sure wasn't going to like
it. Damn, he might not even be willing to -- even to escape.

   "Bro!  I have to tell you something.  There is some sick person setting
these traps for us.  You know the kind of things we've had to do to get
past these traps and puzzles?"

   "Yeah?"

   "Well, you might not be willing, but it's the only way we'll get out of
this room."

   "What?  What do we have to do _now,_ Keisha?"

   She told him.

   He turned visibly green after listening to what she described.

   ###

   Eric felt apprehensive, frightened even, at the thought of what Keisha
was about to do to him.  Eric lay down on that platform, and rested his
head in the lower half of the open box, with his neck in the half circle of
the hole in the side.  The base of the box, where the back of his head
rested, was slightly cushioned on hard plastic.  She closed the box over
his head, and hooked a latch on it.  She closed the shackles around his
wrists and ankles.  There was also a belt that strapped across his chest
that they didn't notice before.

   "Do you really have to strap me down and put those shackles on me?" he
asked.

   "Ah really do'n know, bro."

   He had no choice but to trust her now.  He was staring up at the ceiling
his face framed by the toilet seat, the seat level with his face.  His head
was held immobile by the confined space of the box.  And his body, arms,
and legs were strapped and shackled securely.

   Keisha stood over him looking down at him.  "You ready, lover?" Keisha
asked.

   "I guess so." He had to fight back a nauseous feeling in the pit of his
stomach.

   Keisha turned her back to him.  Her buttocks swung unto view over his
head.  Her black ass came down onto the seat, onto his face.  He opened his
mouth just before she placed nearly her full weight on his face.  For a
split second, he saw the knot that was her anus deep within her black hairy
ass crack come down over his mouth.  His nose was sticking into her pussy,
and he was staring into her muff.

   "I'm sorry I have to do this to you, bro.  But it's the only way."

   He couldn't answer, of course.  He looked up between her legs, past her
belly, to the bottoms of her breasts, to the bottom of her chin, and into
her large nostrils.  She closed her legs together, blocking the view and
plunging him into darkness.

   He heard her grunt.  He felt slight movement against his lips.  Her
anus, directly over his mouth, quivered for an instant.  He heard her moan.
Her anus puckered again.

   ###

   Keisha was straining.  She had to take a dump.  Could she really do this
to her man?  But she had no choice.  He had no choice.  It was the only way
they could get out of this trap.

   She felt his nose rubbing the inside of her pussy.  She felt his lips
quiver against her asshole.  She pushed.  It was almost there.  She grunted
as she shit a lump out her asshole into his mouth.  Ahhh, that felt good.
She wasn't done yet, so she leaned back and picked some lint out of her
belly button.  She heard a jingle from behind.  She glanced back quickly,
and saw he was straining and pulling against his shackles.  I guess it was
a good idea to shackle him down after all.  She grimaced again.  Ah, here
comes another one.  She strained to push a thick long lump out of her
asshole.  She sighed and flicked the gunk from her belly button off her
fingernails.  Ungh, she shit another lump.  She examined her fingernails.
Wow, it must have been a month since Sophia last touched up her
fingernails. Each of her fingernails was painted glossy black, with dark
purple stars and moons.  You couldn't see the design unless you looked
close.  They were still in good shape and you could hardly tell where they
had worn away from the cuticles.  Oops, another lump slowly oozed out her
asshole.  She sat there for a few more moments, puckering her asshole,
before she knew she was done.

   She stood and looked down.  Eric swallowed hard.  Then started gasping
for breath.

   "You okay, bro?" she asked.

   "I'll live.  Then again, maybe I won't.  I feel sick!  Get me out of
this thing!"

   She opened the box and helped him sit up.

   He sat up.  Man, his breath stunk like shit!

   _Urp!_ "I feel like I'm going to puke!" he said.

   "Try and keep it down, bro!  Try!"

   "I'll try!"

   ###

   Oh man!  Oh man!  That was gross.  I don't think I can do that again. 
I'm going to puke it up anyway.  I feel sick.  He put his hand on Keisha's
shoulder and rested his head too.

   "Trah' n' keep it down, bro!" she urged again.

   He felt a stomach spasm, as if he was about to puke, but he fought it
down.  Do I really want to keep it down, though, he wondered.

   Keisha pulled him up.  "C'mon, lah' down nex' t' me."

   He followed her to the cot, and she laid him down.  She walked away for
a moment, and gave him a mouthful of cool water.  Then she lay with him. 
He laid still, and the urge to puke slowly subsided.  Though it threatened
to erupt a few times.

   ###

   Keisha was both happy and sad.  Happy that Eric was keeping with the
program -- working together to get past this latest trap.  But sad that she
had to do this awful thing to her man.  His skin was even turning yellow,
but she didn't dare tell him that.

   After several days, he had eaten her shit countless times, and he had
filled the pail under the toilet about half full.  A little dial next to
the door that originally was at EMPTY, was now at 1/2, suggesting that when
they filled the pail, the door would unlock.

   ###

   Eric was in a funk.  Keisha was a cool girl.  Sometimes, he wondered if
they would end up going out together when, and if, this was all over.  But
on the other hand, after a steady diet of her piss and shit straight from
her cunt and asshole for days, sometimes all he wanted to do was get away
from her and never see her again.

   Ever since he started drinking her piss and eating her shit as her human
toilet, she wouldn't kiss him.  He could hardly blame her for that.  After
a couple of days, he could tell that his body just smelled like it was made
out of shit.  At least she still liked it when he ate her pussy, and she
still let him fuck her.

   He had just eaten from her asshole a few minutes ago.  Man, it was all
watery this time.  And smelly, really smelly, as if shit wasn't smelly
enough.  And now he had to shit, himself.

   That gauge by the door was nearly to full, and each time he shit, they
tried to rattle the door open.  He told Keisha that it was her turn to
impale herself so he could shit.  As he was going, they both heard an
audible _click_ from the door.  He finished up.  When they stood, the gauge
as pointing at FULL.

   ###

   Keisha pushed the door, half expecting it to be locked still.  It
opened! It opened into -- a small alcove.  Another trap?  No.  Ahead was a
door to a bathroom -- a real bathroom with a toilet, sink, and shower.  To
the right was a door to a bedroom, with a real bed.  To the left was a door
to a living room.  There was a sofa and a big-screen television against the
far wall.

   They entered the foyer, hand in hand, and let the door close behind
them. Keisha was terrified that Eric was withdrawing from her.  She didn't
want to lose him.  She loved him.  He was her man.  She was his woman. 
They had beaten this thing together.  After what they just did together,
they _had_ to be tight!  She hoped he saw things the same way.

   Still holding on to Eric's hand, she walked into the bedroom.  There
were no traps here.  In the bedroom was a huge bed -- probably king size.
There, on a dresser, were their clothes they were wearing at the rave, all
clean and neatly folded.  Extra clothes too, in their sizes, were there. 
This was so romantic, Keisha thought.  Still, they were captives, and they
had to get though a terrible ordeal to get here.

   They reentered the alcove, and peeked in the bathroom -- a real bathroom
with a large deep bathtub, a shower stall big enough for two, a normal
toilet, and a sink.  Soap.  Toothpaste.  Toothbrushes.  Shampoo.  Aspirin.
Other stuff a man and a woman would need.

   ###

   Eric looked around as Keisha pulled him through this little apartment.
The hallway led out into a small circular windowless living room full of
sofas and throw pillows with accent lights all around the ceiling following
the wall.  Very nice -- much how he would like to build and decorate his
own place someday -- with numerous small, specialized rooms.  The three
other walls of the living room had archways to other rooms.

   Through one archway was a media room with a HDTV television, a VCR, a
DVD player, a Playstation and an X-Box.  The walls were lined with shelf
upon shelf full of tapes, DVDs, CDs, and video games.  Through the other
archway was a game room with a billiard table and oak book cases filled
with board games like Trivial Pursuit, Pictionary, Scrabble, Chess, Chinese
Checkers, and others too numerous to mention.

   A third archway led into a dining room with a small dining table.  Off
the dining room was a kitchen with all the latest appliances.  Stainless
refrigerator, dishwasher, trash compactor, electric range, built-in
microwave, and all the rest.  Though another door from the kitchen was a
huge pantry with shelves full of packaged food.  They weren't going to
starve any time soon, but does this mean they are going to be kept here
forever now?

   Still, this was incredible.  It seems they have beaten the maze.  The
struggle was over.

   ###

   Keisha took it all in.  Yet, glaringly absent was a telephone and
computer -- no way to communicate with the outside world.  Receive only. 
No clocks either.  No way to really know how many days had gone by, or
whether it was day or night.

   Except for those missing things, this must be how rich folk live, she
thought.  Though rich folk can leave their mansions when they want.  She
explored the pantry, looking at what they would be eating for the next few
days.  Weeks?  Months?  Years?  Then she noticed the freezer doors, like
that deli on 168th street she had worked at last year.

   Now, it's time to take a long hot bath, make them a meal fit for a king
and a queen, and then fuck her man in a real bed.

   Whoever had set this up must show himself soon -- explain it all to
them. Then she and Eric will go to The Man and put his sick ass in jail!

   ###

   Eric went back into the bedroom.  Off through another arch was a small
tiled room with a hot tub.

   "Wow, Keisha, look at this!"

   "Oh man!  Bro!  We's in heav'n!"

   He got in the hot tub, and she got in and sat on his lap.  They played
and fondled each other for some time.

   Eric wasn't sure about bringing this up again, but he asked her,
"Keisha, you mentioned babies some time ago.  How many children do you
have? Who's taking care of them?  "

   "She'h, I ain't got no babies.  Ever' guy ah' been wit' missed th' mark.
Di'choo' hit the' mark ya' think?"

   He shrugged his shoulders, thinking, oh man, I hope not!  For one thing,
there's only one bedroom in this place.  Not really set up for a family in
here.

   Later, they got out of the hot tub and he went into the bedroom to root
through his stuff.  Even his wallet with all his cash and credit cards was
there.  Not a dime was missing.  But damn, his cell phone was gone.  No way
to call for help.

   And what about his job with the City Screamer?  It must have been
several weeks by now since the rave.  He'd have been terminated by now for
not reporting to work.  Well, he always wanted a more responsible position
than copyeditor for some gossip rag, anyway.  Also, his family must have
reported him missing to the police.  He wondered if they have any leads? 
How close are the police to finding them in this place?

   Well, it wouldn't be so bad to spend some time with Keisha now that he
didn't have to drink her piss or eat her shit any more.  They'll get out.
If whoever was behind this wanted to kill them, they'd be dead by now. 
They'll be let out eventually.  That's only makes sense.

   In the meantime, it would be wonderful to be with Keisha.  He loved her.
But how did she feel about him?  He knew the score.  He always saw white
girls with black men wherever he went, but he hardly ever saw a white guy
with a black woman.  He wasn't stupid.  He knew why that was.  So, would
she still want to be with him after they got out?

   Keisha walked in after him.  "What cho' think'n 'bout, bro?" she asked.

   "Oh, nothing.  Just how nice it'll be when we get out of here."

   "Yeah, tha' be nice, bro." He thought he heard her choke back a sniffle.


   ###

   The dark mistress was satisfied.  They had beaten her maze.  She was
disappointed that she would be letting them go soon.  But there will be
others.

   ###

   Boom!  Boom!  Boom!  Eric woke with a start!  What's that noise?  A week
had passed since he and Keisha had beaten that maze and had been living
together in that little windowless apartment.  But where was he now?  He
looked around.  It was dark.  Lights were flashing.  Music was booming. 
People were everywhere.  The din was overwhelming.  He sat up.  He was
sitting at a booth.  He was back at the rave.  No.  This was a different
rave.  Everything was all different.  The band was different, but the band
could have changed since he passed out and came to.  Were the people
different?  He couldn't' be sure, but it looked like there were all
different people here.  Wow, what a dream!  Okay, no more dope.  This is
too weird!  He checked his watch.  Huh?  10:30?  Wasn't it after 1:00 the
last time he looked -- just before when he popped those pills?  Okay.  It
was all a drug-induced dream.  Maybe it's time to get out of here.  Get a
livery cab back to midtown, and catch the next commuter train home.

   He was almost to the door, where the crowd had thinned out a little,
when he heard a ruckus coming from across the room.  He stopped to look
back, there was someone making a big stink to get down some crowded stairs
from the balcony overlooking the floor.  A black person.  A black woman. 
She was waving frantically at someone over here by the door, but no one
here was noticing her.  He looked back.  Wow, he thought, it's hard to tell
from a distance, but she looked a little like that girl from his drug trip
-- extremely black skin, with hair all in braids.  _Though you were just a
figment of my drug-induced imagination, I'll miss you, Keisha!_

   He turned back around and walked out the door, and onto the street. 
People were milling about.  Some black dudes arguing over something.  Some
white guy leaning against the wall staring into space.  A white girl and
black guy making out next to the steps.  A black couple arguing over
something or other.  Some white women were arguing among themselves whether
or not to enter.  A taxi, letting a bunch of people out.  Other people,
white and black, guys and couples, just milling about.  _Wait a second!_ he
thought.  _This really isn't the same rave.  Well, maybe it is.  Empty
warehouses and burnt-out tenements all look alike._ He looked up at the
street corner and, what?  This is about ten blocks away from where the rave
was.  He started to dial the cell phone, and noticed the date.  _Who messed
with the date on my phone?_ Someone set the calendar ahead about 25 days!

   At that moment the door burst open.  That black girl with the braids
came dashing out the door and down the steps of the warehouse-come-rave. 
Wow, tight purple low-rider pants, and a tight black tank top showing her
bare midriff.  Yes!  She looked just like the girl in his dream.  Exactly
like her!  His subconscious must have fixed on this very girl just before
the hallucination started.  Lucky guy, whoever she's chasing after!  She
then caught his eye looking at her.  He started to step aside to let her by
in her mad rush, as she jumped onto him, wrapping her arms around his neck
and her legs around his waist, nearly knocking him over.

   "Eric!  Bro!  Din'choo see m' wav'in t' ya?"

   "Uhm!  Keisha!  I..."

   "Oh Eric!" Tears were dripping from her eyes.  "Ah though' ah's neva'h
gon' see m' honey 'gain."

   Eric didn't know what to say, so he kissed her.  He suddenly felt a
million eyes on them as he stood there kissing this black girl wrapped
around him.

   "Uhm, what now?" he asked.

   "Ah' lives jus' down the'h wit' m' two girlfriends." She pointed to some
boarded up storefront down the street with tenements above it.  "Tain't
thah' fancy place we got's to at the end, but ah gots m' own room!"

   "Good enough for me," he said as he carried her away.

   * END *