Read Release In The Dark (DARK erotic romance series) for Free Online Page B

She
presses the button and the stage starts to revolve once again. I
hold the position until the stage rotates one full circle. The girls
start to change their poses and I limp up, hissing out a curse under
my breath at the stab of pain up my leg. I stand up and bend over,
gripping my ankles with shaky hands. The next pose is relatively
easy, and I drop to my hands and knees almost with relief. Finally I
kneel and lace my fingers together behind my head, staring up at the
blinding spotlight.
    The next group of girls are
already getting into position on the stage. Someone passes me and
reaches out a hand to help me up. I grasp the hand gratefully.
“Thanks,” I mutter, grabbing my clothes off the floor.
    “ You did all right,”
the girl whispers. “The Warden always picks on the new girl.
I think it's their Standard Operating Procedure,” she adds. I
recognize her as Kara Aadin, the girl whose name was the first to be
called by the Warden this morning. She is a petite young thing with
curly auburn hair, lively eyes and dimples.
    We file down the steps in
silence and stand with the other girls as we hurriedly pull on our
tank tops and shorts. I watch the other girls, including Pam and
Kylee, go through their poses almost effortlessly. They must have
done this countless times. They look almost bored doing it.
    Finally, all the girls have
finished. The Warden whips out her tablet and checks something.
Looking up, she announces, “It looks like you are having the
Water Treatment tonight.”
    “ Water Treatment?” I
mumble. “What the hell is that? I don't like it already.”
    “ None of us do,”
Kara mutters at my side.
    I turn to her in surprise,
whispering, “What is the Water Treatment?”
    “ That's the theme for
tonight. The props and entertainment for the evening go according to
the themes. Sometimes it's Fire Works, where we have to walk across
red hot coals and our costumes will be set alight on stage, and the
ashes will fall off our bodies. Sometimes it's Captives in Chains,
and we'll be led onto the stage in shackles and blindfolds. You get
the idea.”
    “ So—what do we have
to do?” I ask with trepidation.
    “ You have to hold your
breath and keep your eyes open underwater for the longest time. It's
torture.”
    “ Oh.” I gulp. “And
why...”
    I clamp my mouth shut in a hurry
as the Warden walks past. Kara looks down and warns me against
speaking further with a quick shake of her head.
    The Warden goes to the side of
the stage and types a command into the screen mounted on a stand. A
series of clicks and beeps are heard and my jaw drops when I see a
gigantic column filled with water rise through that round hole in the
middle of the stage. The humongous column keeps rising, and I watch
some small bubbles rush to the top of the column and disappear. A
harness attached to a metal wire starts to descend from the ceiling,
knocking lightly against the towering glass column.
    The Warden stands on the stage
and holds the swaying harness. Her eyes narrow as she scans the
crowd of us standing in front of the stage. “You!” She
points her finger in my direction.
    I start and look behind me. The
two girls behind me stare back at me with round eyes. Every head is
turned in my direction.
    The Warden is pointing—at
me.
    Oh shit.
    The Warden always picks on
the new girl.
    I look up at the Warden. Her
finger is pointing straight at me, her eyes narrowed. “Miss
Zen,” she says in a mocking tone. “Would you care to
join me on the stage? Now.”
    I try to swallow but my throat
feels too tight, too dry. I walk forward with leaden steps.
    “ Take them off.”
The Warden jerks her head at my clothes.
    I obey with a gulp.
    With quick movements, she
fastens the harness around my naked body and tugs the wire. She taps
me on the shoulder. “When you're inside, you have to keep your
eyes open, and your mouth closed.”
    “ Inside?” I sputter.
    “ You'll be lowered into
the glass column and fully