Sallas 2: The Gilded Cage

Chapter Description: Anna is getting settled in her new home and circumstances when she hears a mysterious ringing. She follows the sound to discover... an opportunity.

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The next few days were tense. There had been no contact from Mr. Sawyer, and no one had told Anna or Ryan what, if anything, they should be doing. Anna went round the house meticulously looking for cameras and microphones as if she was in a thriller movie. She found none. Either they weren’t being watched in the home, or the government were better at hiding the devices than she was at finding them.

When Anna wasn’t searching every nook and cranny for spy equipment she was desperately trying to help Jane. She told Jane of old experiences, both good and bad, and tried to get her to remember who she was. It was no good. There wasn’t even a hint Jane could remember anything other than Anna and Ryan’s names. The more Anna thought about it the more she doubted Jane remembered them at all, she had likely just had it drilled into her who her new “masters” were.

Honestly, there wasn’t a lot for Anna to do. She was denied any freedom to leave the gated community, the one time she had walked up to the gate she was told to go home, and she didn’t want to test what would happen if she persisted in trying to leave. She had explored the rest of the small neighbourhood, and it gave her the creeps.

From the outside the gated community may have looked like an ideal place to live. The houses were all modern, gardens were immaculate and there wasn’t a lot of traffic aside from people going to work or coming home. There was a large play area for children and, to Anna’s disgust, the infantilised women. There was a supermarket that served everything the community would need, and she was told that if they didn’t have something that Anna wanted it could be ordered. Essentially it was a quaint little town, the kind Anna had always wanted to live in.

But when the surface of this idyll was scratched there was a lot to hate. The high hedges that surrounded the area hid a large steel fence. The security at the front gate were heavily armed. As she walked around, she saw more than one man looking at her until she looked back at which point they hastily diverted attention, whether they were leering husbands from other families or spies from the government she could only guess.

Anna had noticed that nearly all the women were at least partially regressed, and it seemed like half of them had noticeable surgical modifications. She knew she can’t have looked much better than the others in her thick diapers and frilly dresses, but the demeanours of the other women were different, it was like there was nothing between the eyes. It gave her harsh reminders of her time at college where women were an accessory for the men to show how big and strong they were.

Essentially, Anna’s first impressions of this being a gilded cage, a prison, were confirmed. She wasn’t allowed out without permission. Ryan, too, seemed to be stuck. The other men came and went as they pleased but when Ryan tried to head into town the guards stopped him just the same as they did Anna.

With little to occupy her Anna wandered around the house absent-mindedly. Ryan was asleep after spending most of the morning being given the run around on the phone as he tried to work out what his job was actually going to be and when he started it. Jane was cleaning the kitchen, a chore she did like clockwork despite it being spotless and Anna trying to convince her she didn’t have to. It seemed like nothing short of tying her down would prevent her from cleaning.

Anna looked in the wardrobe of “her” nursery. She hated to think of it that way, but it was clearly their intention. She still slept in the same room as Ryan, but the nursery was where her clothes were kept. The clothing she had been provided with was perhaps one of the biggest blows for the proud woman. Even living with her adoptive parents growing up she had always had a sense of her own style. She enjoyed rebelling against what she was expected to wear much to her father’s chagrin. Now her choice was gone. Her clothing were all pastel pinks and creamy yellows, frilly dresses and stretchy onesies, thick footed-sleepers and skirtalls. To make the matter worse they were all daubed with infantile designs. Anna had tried to buy some more grown-up stuff, but it all got conveniently lost in the mail. She knew their packages were being inspected. The feeling of being trapped in a prison grew stronger.

Ring. Ring.

Anna looked to the doorway. She thought she heard a phone ringing but that must’ve been a mistake, it didn’t sound like the usual ring. She closed the door to the wardrobe and walked out on to the landing. She went to the top of the stairs and looked down to where the landline was. Jane was holding the handset and looking at it with a confused expression.

“Hewwo? Hewwo?” Jane said to no response.

Ring. Ring.

The ringing wasn’t coming from the phone in the hallway. Anna turned her head; it sounded like it was up there with her. She slowly walked along the landing looking left and right.

Ring. Ring.

Anna looked up. The sound was coming from above her. There was a hatch the ceiling and the sound seemed to be coming from above it. She looked around for something to hook the latch. There was a small cupboard off to the side and sure enough there was a long pole inside it. She picked it up and started trying to hook the latch. It took her several attempts but finally she was able to get it. The door swung down, and a ladder slid out, it clanged as it hit the floor but then all was still. Anna waited to see if she had woken Ryan, but he seemed to be deeply asleep in the bedroom right next door.

Ring. Ring.

The sound was unquestionably louder now. Anna tested the ladder, and it seemed sturdy enough. She started climbing. As her head slowly rose above the floor, she saw an attic that neither she nor Ryan had explored. It was remarkably clean as far as attics went though there was a layer of dust over the mostly empty space. There was a cord next to the hatch that she pulled, and a light flickered to life, the naked lightbulb somehow made the place feel even more sinister.

Ring. Ring.

Anna climbed up and made her way to the back of the room. The floorboards creaked as if they weren’t used to holding weight but, on the final support beam, she found what she was looking for. Taped to the wood facing away from the hatch was a cell phone. Both the tape and the phone looked like it had been placed there fairly recently, there was no accumulation of the same dust that had left footprints as Anna walked across.

Ring. Ring.

Anna pulled at the tape and took the phone. The screen was lit up with the words “Unknown Caller.” Anna didn’t know what to do. Was this some sort of test and by not reporting the unauthorized phone she would be sent away to Finishing School? Did one of the people setting the house up for Ryan and her just forget his phone? Anna bit her lip as she wondered if she should answer. If the phone was legit this might be a way for her to contact the outside world. It could be very handy.

Ring. Ring.

Anna swiped her finger across the screen and gingerly held it to her head as if it was a bomb that might explode. She listened but apart from the faint crackle of background noise there was no sound coming through. She checked to make sure the call was connected and then put it back to the side of her head. It seemed both sides were waiting for the other to speak first.

“Hello?” Anna finally asked.

“Anna Manning.” The voice on the other end was muffled but undeniably female. Anna swallowed.

“H-How do you know my…” Anna began.

“We know a lot about you.” The voice cut Anna off, “We’ve known about you since you left college with your husband. We’ve been… watching you.”

“You’ve… What?” Anna didn’t know what to say and was getting flustered. She spun on the spot as if expecting the person on the other end of the line to be in the room with her, “Who is this?”

“We’ve seen your records from school. Quite the little troublemaker.” The voice continued, “We’ve had reports from your time since. We have been following you with interest. You show great potential…”

“Listen, I don’t know who you are or what you want…” Anna was getting heated. She hated the feeling of powerlessness that was coming over her. These people seemed to have connections, it was enough to make her paranoid, “But if you don’t explain what the fu-…”

“Ah, there’s that firebrand I was told about.” The voice chuckled, “I was told to expect a wild tiger, I was worried you’d become a little house cat.”

Anna remained silent. She was angry but that emotional side of her had caused trouble many times before, she was determined not to rise to the bait. She didn’t know who these people were, but they certainly didn’t sound like they were with Mr. Sawyer or the Sallasian government.

“Tell me, Anna Manning.” The voice said seriously, “Has that big house tamed you? Have they quenched the fire with lavish toys and killed your spirit with the promise of safety? Or do you still yearn for your freedom? Do you still hunger for the emancipation of all the sisters suffering under testosterone-fuelled masculinity?”

“Look, if you don’t tell me who you are or what you want, I’m going to hang up.” Anna said. She wasn’t going to answer any questions that were liable to get her in trouble. She pulled the phone away from her head and her thumb hovered above the end call button.

“We can get you out of Sallas.” The voice finally said.

Anna froze. She looked at the phone as if not comprehending what it was. She felt like she must have misheard what the other person had said. Getting out of Sallas had been her dream from the moment she was plucked out of the car crash that had killed her parents. It had always seemed almost impossible.

“If you want it.” The voice added when Anna remained silent.

What a ridiculous question. Of course, Anna still wanted out of Sallas. What woman in a reasonable state of mind wouldn’t want to leave? She may have relative safety and comfort, but the cost was great. She wondered who could possibly get her out of the country. There could only be one answer. She slowly moved the phone back to her ear.

“You… You’re…” Anna realised she was whispering as if there were government spies right behind her, “You’re the resistance?”

Anna thought about the news reports she had seen on television and in newspapers. The protests and sabotages, all carried out by a group known to most as simple terrorists. Anna had contemplated trying to contact them herself though she’d had no idea how to even start looking. It was surreal to now have them calling her.

“We prefer The Rose Resistance.” The voice replied. Even though the person on the other end of the phone was hiding their true voice Anna could still hear pride when she spoke the name, “And you can call me Thorn.”

“You can get me out of Sallas? What about Ryan and Jane?” Anna asked quickly. She was so desperate to leave that she found herself wanting to trust this random voice even if she had little reason to.

“Indeed, we could.” Thorn answered, “All three of you.”

“How can I trust you?” Anna asked desperately. She would cling on to anything if it meant having hope that she wouldn’t be stuck in this life forever.

“The Sallas National Mall.” Thorn replied instantly. She was clearly ready for the question, “That great eyesore of a building. In the main concourse by the fountain and under the large “S”. Go there. We will be waiting. We’ll be in touch. Goodbye, Anna Manning.”

“Wait I can’t…” Anna started quickly before the phone went dead. She looked at the receiver as the screen went dark, “Leave the compound…”

Anna quickly hit re-dial to call Thorn back. A pleasant pre-recorded male voice informed her that the number wasn’t in service and hung up. Anna looked down at the phone and wondered just what in the hell was going on.

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