The Cell Pt.1

Jacob woke up with a start and looked around. He was on a cot that consisted of nothing more than a thin mattress and frame in the corner of a room with a stone floor and walls, and no furniture excepting the bed he sat on and a small metal table. The room was cold, lit by a lone bulb set in the ceiling, and distinctly not his own. He shifted to hang his legs over the side of the cot, and noticed that he was completely naked. What had happened? He had no idea where he was, let alone why he was there, and no way of finding out.
He hadn't been sitting long before a woman's voice spoke from a box mounted on the far wall. “Hello Jacob” it said, “I'm glad to see you're awake.”
“Who are you? What's goi--”
“I hope you enjoy your new lodgings, I assure you we've gone to great lengths to ensure everything has been provided to perfectly suit your needs. Please take this time to acquaint yourself with your new surroundings.” There was a click, and the voice vanished.
“What the hell are you talking about?” Jacob demanded, but no answer came. He decided to take a look around, but there wasn't much to see. It became clear that the walls and floor, which Jacob had originally assumed to be stone, were actually made of concrete. There was also a door beneath the box on the wall. To Jacob's surprise it had a handle on the inside, though upon closer inspection he discovered it to be locked. As Jacob wandered the room he became intensely aware of the cold and returned to his cot in the corner in an attempt to keep warm. It didn't help much, but it was better than nothing.
Jacob stayed huddled in the corner for hours before he heard a noise beyond the door. He rushed over to listen, but heard nothing else until the voice came again.
“Hello Jacob” the voice began. “I see you've begun to grow accustomed to your room. I'm glad. However, you seem to be rather cold. I've left you something to help fight off the chill. Your door has been unlocked, and you'll find your gift waiting for you behind it.” With another click, the voice disappeared once again.
Jacob felt at the handle and, just as the voice said, the door had been unlocked. He pulled at it, revealing a small room. Smaller even than his own, this room contained only a ceiling light, another door, and a long, slim box. He stepped over to the box, and carried it back into his own room, closing the door behind him. He placed it on the table, and lifted the lid. Inside, Jacob found a dress. It was a simple thing, dark blue and straight, and looking like it would fall just a little below his knees. He lifted the dress up in front of him and muttered to himself “This must be a joke.” Setting the dress back down in it's box, Jacob walked back to his bed and curled up, trying to keep warm.
Try as he might, Jacob couldn't help thinking about the dress. It was so cold, and anything would be better than just huddling like he was. He didn't even have to put it on, he could wrap it around himself like a blanket. The more he thought about it, the more appealing the idea sounded to Jacob, until eventually he got up and walked back to the table. Returning to the bed, dress in hand, Jacob couldn't help noticing what a nice shade of blue it was. It was a nice dress, all around. The material was a little itchy, but it seemed like a small issue at the moment.
Jacob curled up again, and tried to wrap the dress around himself with little success. There just wasn't enough material there to wrap all the way around, and he couldn't ever cover enough of himself to really keep warm. Worse still, the mattress itself never warmed, it stayed as cold as the air around him. Jacob couldn't do anything to keep himself adequately covered, but he did his best, remembering that anything was better than nothing.
After a few hours of twisting, turning, and adjusting, Jacob was starting to rethink his plan. He clearly couldn't cover himself the way he had planned to, but if he put the dress on, it would cover most of his body as well as provide a protective layer between his skin and the cold mattress beneath him. Every time this crossed his mind, he started to see more and more logic to it, but still every time he rejected it. He wouldn't put on the dress. The voice wanted him to, wanted to humiliate him, but he wasn't going to let that happen. He wasn't going to give in.
Hours passed, and Jacob only got colder. The mattress was freezing against his skin, and the air seemed to be getting even more frigid as time went on. Finally he made a decision. If the voice wanted to humiliate him, it already had. He had spent hours writhing around on a bed rubbing himself with a dress, wearing it couldn't be any worse than that, and then he would at least be warm. He stood up, and stepped into the garment. It was still itchy against his skin, but that didn't matter. It was a barrier against the cold air, and that was more than enough to overcome any itchy fabric or embarrassment. Jacob lay down on the bed, the dress protecting him from the harsh cold of the mattress beneath him, and quickly fell asleep.

When he woke up, Jacob found himself in the same cold, concrete room, on the same bed, and still wearing the dark blue dress. He sighed to himself, and sat on the bed staring at the wall. He had hoped it was all a dream, one he would wake up from, but apparently not. He looked around the room, and saw a jug on the table. Jacob stood up and began to walk over to inspect it. Had the floor always been this cold? It had been cold before, but surely not this cold. He immediately returned to the bed, where the chilled mattress was at least warmer than the concrete beneath his feet.
As he sat, he realized just how thirsty he was. He had no idea how long it had been since he had had anything to eat or drink, but it must have been hours. He looked around the room again and focused on the jug. It had to have something to drink in it. He could tolerate the concrete for a few seconds if it meant water. He stood up and dashed across the floor to the table where the jug sat. He tried to lift the jug and carry it back to the bed, but he found that it was chained to the table. He couldn't even lift it much more than a few inches, let alone carry it anywhere. Struggling against the frigid floor, Jacob bent over and poured some of the water within into his mouth. It was lukewarm, which surprised Jacob considering how cold the air was, and there was a strange taste to it, but it was water.
Jacob took a couple mouthfuls and rushed back to his bed. It wasn't long though before he was thirsty again, and faced with the same problem as before. Even the bed seemed to be getting colder, especially against his legs which the dress didn't quite cover. He tried to hold them above the mattress, but it only did so much good.
As he sat and waited, he heard another click from behind his door, the sound of a box being set down, then another click. A few seconds later, the intercom clicked on, and the voice came again.
“Hello Jacob. I see you've taken advantage of the clothing we've left you. I'm glad. We've left another gift for you beyond your door, and we hope you find it useful. It appears that you will.” With that, the voice disappeared again, and Jacob knew better than to try a response. Instead, he looked toward his door and tried to decide if he wanted whatever was on the other side. Before, it had been this humiliating dress, but the dress had helped keep him warm. What if it were something else that would help him? Anything more to keep the cold at bay would be much appreciated. He would have to make a run across the floor, and stand still long enough to open the door, grab whatever was on the other side, and run back, but if it would help, it would be worth it.
So Jacob readied himself, and made a mad dash for the door to his room. The floor was cold, and he ran in place to prevent any one bit of skin from spending too much time in contact with it. Once he got the door open, he ran forward to grab the small flat box that had been placed in the exact center of the floor of the room beyond. Once he had it, he ran back to his bed, and pulled his feet up and off of the harsh concrete below. After doing his best to warm his feet, Jacob turned his attention to the mysterious package. It wasn't very big, and he wasn't sure what might be inside.
Once he got it open, he couldn't believe his eyes. First the dress, now this? He supposed he shouldn't be surprised though, as he let the long, sheer stockings fall from his hand onto the mattress. He sat there looking at them, his legs cold against the material. The longer he looked, the more he justified putting them on. They weren't thick enough to keep him all that warm, but they'd be something. Nobody would see, and he was already wearing a dress anyway. How much of a difference would it really make?
Finally, he reached down, picked up the stockings, and started to pull them on over his legs. The material clung tightly to him as he pulled it up over his knees and onto his thighs, caressing him and hugging him like nothing ever had before. The sensation was wonderful, and Jacob closed his eyes as he ran his hand over his smooth, covered legs. It felt so good to rub them, to touch them. So good to feel a hand moving up and down his thigh, so good to touch someone, to know he was bringing someone such pleasure...
“Woah, woah woah” Jacob said out loud to himself. “Hold on now, not getting carried away.”
With that he shifted his weight on the bed and noticed how much the stockings helped keep his legs warm. The room was still chilly, and the mattress was still uncomfortable, but both were now at least tolerable. A wave of tiredness washed over Jacob. He could barely keep his eyes open long enough to move the small box from earlier before laying out on the bed, and falling asleep.

Jacob woke up parched again. He slipped off of his bed and walked over to the water jug on the table. The concrete was still freezing against his stockinged feet, but he could deal with the cold if it meant getting a drink. The jug was still chained to the table, but he knew what to expect this time, and didn't waste time trying to move it, instead bending over and pouring the lukewarm water into his mouth before moving back to the bed.
As he sat on the mattress, Jacob realized that he had to use the bathroom. He looked around his room, but there was no sign of a toilet or anything else he could use as one. Just the bed, table, and door. He began to wiggle, getting more and more uncomfortable as he sat. He waited and waited, until the voice came again.
“Hello Jacob. I'm glad you've been enjoying our gifts. It's occurred to me that by now you'll probably be needing to relieve yourself. You'll find there's a restroom down the hall, which you may use if you feel the need. I've unlocked your door and left you another gift which you may find useful.” With that, the speaker switched off, and the door unlocked.
Jacob was impatient, and didn't hesitate before running to his door. He was in such a hurry that he didn't even stop to inspect the box left for him in the room beyond. Instead, he went straight to the second door, found it unlocked, and opened it. He needed to stop to open the second door, which was lucky because had he kept pace, he would never have been able to stop himself from stepping into the shallow pool of water that covered the hallway beyond.
The pool was extremely shallow, no more than an inch or so deep. It wouldn't have prevented anyone's passage through the hall if not for the several hanging cables with exposed ends partially submerged in the water. As Jacob looked at it in disbelief, he caught out of the corner of his eye a glimpse of a sign to his right.
Danger it read, Electric current present in water. Please remember to wear rubber shoes when crossing.
Jacob looked at the sign and then again at the pool. This was getting ridiculous. He turned around and looked at the box sitting in the room behind him. It didn't take a genius to guess what was in there. He walked over and opened the box to discover precisely what he had expected. Inside was a pair of rubber coated high heeled shoes. The shoes themselves were rather plain. No adornments, a small strap around the ankle, and the heels were only about two inches high. They were the same dark blue as the dress and though clearly coated in rubber on the outside, the insides appeared to be standard shoes.
Jacob wasn't really in the mood to think too much about the voice's latest gift, so he grudgingly put the shoes on and stumbled over to the door. Having never worn heels before, Jacob wasn't accustomed to walking in them, but managed to avoid falling by keeping a hand to the wall at all times.
He approached the pool and looked out into the hall. There were two doors, one at the far end, and one to his left in the middle. From where he stood, Jacob couldn't make out anything about either door, so he decided to try the one in the middle first. He looked at the pool, and decided that he didn't have time to think the situation through. He had to go. So, he lifted his foot above the water, and took his first step toward the door. Thankfully, he was able to walk through unharmed. He took step after shaky step, still holding the wall for reassurance, until he reached the door in the middle of the hall. It was a simple door, with a plaque on it reading Women. Jacob looked over to the other door, and could see another plaque but couldn't make out what it said, so he began to walk toward it.
Though he wasn't willing to step away from his guiding wall, Jacob found that he was getting better at walking in his new shoes. On one hand, it was a little exciting considering it meant he was able to make better time and get to the restroom more quickly, on the other Jacob was still aware of his situation, and he couldn't help but imagine what his friends or family would think if they could see him now, walking down a hallway in a dress, stockings, and high heels. He tried to push that out of his mind though, and he focused on the fact that he really hadn't had any choice in the matter.
He walked toward the other door, but when he came close enough to read the plaque his stomach dropped. It said simply Staff and had an impressive and very technical looking locking mechanism attached to the handle. Jacob sighed in exasperation and turned back to the door in the middle of the hallway. He should have known that he would be forced to use a so called women's bathroom. Really though, what did it matter? It wasn't like there was anyone else to bump into, and if there were they'd probably be in the same situation. Beyond that, any toilet would serve his purposes, what did it matter what the sign on the door said?
When Jacob entered the bathroom, he immediately saw a stall and ran into it, already getting ready to go. As he did though, he noticed something very strange. The toilet in the stall didn't have a seat that could be put up or down, or even a cover for that matter. It did, however, have a very strange piece that jutted up at the front, presumably between the legs. There was a hole in this piece at the level of a user's penis, and Jacob suddenly understood it's purpose. He could see now that the entire thing was designed to force the user to sit down in order to pee.
Growling to himself in annoyance, Jacob sat and inserted his penis into the hole in the toilet. Finally, he could go. As he sat there, he thought about what had happened to him since waking up parched. He thought about how quickly he had put on the shoes and started to grow accustomed to them. It disturbed him, just as it had earlier, but once again he felt himself start to slip away the harder he thought about it. Still, he was worried about what was happening, so as soon as he returned to his room, he immediately took off the heels, and left them by the door. He might need them to go to the bathroom, but there was certainly no use for them here. He walked across the cold, cold floor and back to his bed where he sat, and the last thought that passed through his brain before being overcome by sleep was how nice it would be to wear some kind of shoes to avoid touching the freezing concrete.