Baby Cage (5 page)

Reminding myself how good a research project would look on my resume and grad school applications, I opened the door of my little sedan and smoothed out my sweater. I had on tights and denim skirt along with some fuzzy boots. I looked reasonably professional and relaxed at the same time. With a glance at my reflection in my car’s window, I pulled a few loose strands of hair back into my ponytail. I looked young but serious.

Perfect, I thought, breathed out again and made my way up to the house. Fighting back images of this being the wrong house or having gone to the wrong place, I knocked and stood there with my hands crossed in front of my torso.

The door opened and Kayla appeared. She swept her eyes over me. I felt as though I were being evaluated again. “Well, don’t you look cute?” I didn’t like the way she said that last word. She made me sound like a little girl.

Shoving down any annoyance I might have felt, I nodded politely and commented about how I liked their home. Kayla motioned for me inside, touched her hand to my forearm, and directed me back to a small office toward the back of the house.

This office had been equipped with a desk, a pair of computers, and a few file cabinets. Kayla motioned for me to sit down on one side. She took the office chair at the opposite spot.

Again, I nodded in spite of my irritation. I really didn’t like the way she talked down to me. A moment later though, Professor Rowland walked in and sat down beside his girlfriend. “Hey there,” he said to me with a little wave.

“Hi.”

“So tell us about yourself,” Professor Kayla Kline sat up straight and leveled her gaze on me again. Seth’s eyes bounced back from me to her, like he expected there might be some interesting fireworks. Reminding myself to stay calm, I considered my words and spoke with care.

“My name is Lena Cantor. I’m a freshman at school. This is my first semester. College has been something of a transition, but it hasn’t been as bad as I expected from what my high school counselor and teachers said to me.”

I considered lying or evading. It would have been easy to shrug off the question and say something about how I had always been a bit more mature than my peers. It would have been true as well, only he watched me expectantly. Somehow, it seemed like a lie would be too big a risk, especially if he could get access to my school file.

“Yes. I’ve always had to be responsible for myself. Money and time management really aren’t challenges for me.” I spoke with confident ease. I wanted to present myself as a young, capable woman who could achieve whatever goals I set for myself.

“So you never got a chance to be a little girl,” Kayla said with a nod as though this detail mattered a great deal.

“I guess you could say that.” I cocked my head to one side and considered her remark. In all honesty, she was right. In some ways, I had denied being a child. I couldn’t remember ever being really young. Only then a different memory flashed. I got to go to summer camp one year. I must have been six or seven and one of the youngest kids there. As a prank on my cabin, some of the older girls grabbed me and dressed me up. They put makeup on me and treated me as though I were a very big doll. They even forced to wear a big puffy dress, all ruffles and bows.

This sort of question made me think about working in groups or teams. In both of their classes, Professor Kline and Professor Rowland had talked about how communication and perception affect group dynamics. A huge part of being a successful employee in any profession came down to one’s ability to work with other people.

“I can lead. In fact, I prefer it, but I can take orders when absolutely necessary.”

“That’s good.” Seth glanced over at his girlfriend and fellow teacher. “Did she fill out the paperwork correctly?”

“She made all the necessary signatures,” said Kayla as she flipped through the pages again. “If we decide to take her, we can start right now.”

“Right now?” I tried not to choke, but the words escaped my mouth anyway. “You guys haven’t told me what this would even mean?”

“It’s fairly simple. We have a device we’d like to test,” said Seth. “We’ll use it to study how you communicate and the effects it has on the rest of your personality.”

Kayla lowered the papers, and at once I had the sense that she had come to a decision. I looked back at her expectantly, nervous about what this might mean. I thought of my classmates and how none of them deserved his sort of honor. I wanted her to pick me. I wanted to be the one who got to do this project, no matter how it turned out. Reminding myself to breathe normally, I relaxed and struggled to stay calm.

“I think you’ll do.”

At once, I exhaled and felt the tension rush from my body. “Thank you!” I was practically gushing, but neither Seth nor Kayla seemed to mind.

“C’mon. Let’s show you to your room.”

“My room?” I didn’t bring anything. I started to feel unprepared, “Do I need to go pack? I can get my stuff and be back here in just a few minutes.”

“You’re cute,” Kayla said and reached over. She pinched my cheek. I didn’t quite believe it at first. She made it sound as though I were a little kid, but that couldn’t be right. They had just authorized me to be a part of their research project.

I pushed any doubts aside right as Seth put a hand on my forearm and started to lead me back through the house. It was nice and clean, but I couldn’t really make out anything past their little bits of art. They had a few romantic prints and small figurines set out on the shelves. The floors were mostly covered in fine rugs or thick, plushy carpets.

The way they nudged me through the house made me feel really young. I didn’t like it but buried my personal feelings. A part of doing well as an adult was being able to hide my feelings and act appropriately.

Finally, Kayla stepped around me and stepped up to another bedroom door. “This is where you’re going to be staying. Most of the research will be completed here, but we’ll do some other projects outside. If you behave yourself, you might even be able to get outside.”

I chuckled a bit awkwardly. Sometimes teachers liked to make stupid jokes; I assumed this one of those times. It was a bad assumption.

Seth put his hand to the handle and pulled the door open. Before I even peeked inside, a scent wafted out and filled my lungs. It smelled fresh, a scent I could almost recognize. Without meaning too, I made the association. The connection clicked, and I realized it was the clean scent of a daycare center. It smelled like a baby’s room, a mix of talcum powder and whatever soaps went into making sure a baby stayed nice and clean.

I wondered if the research would require the same kind of soap. Or maybe Seth and Kayla simply liked the scent. Maybe they wanted to have kids. All of those possibilities flashed through my head as I felt Seth’s strong hand at the small of my back. He nudged me forward and I stepped across the threshold.

“What?” I asked, “What is this?” I viewed it all, and yet the panorama didn’t make sense. I blinked once or twice as though a hallucination had swallowed my sight.

“It’s your room, honey,” Kayla took her spot beside me and wrapped her fingers around my wrist. I only barely made the connection. Between the two of them, I felt very trapped.

“But this can’t be right.” Eyes wide, I took in the scene around me. The walls were a powder pink and covered in cartoon prints. There were rainbows, smiley faces, and colorful dancing ponies. The furniture was even more bizarre. There was a table with straps off to the side, a rocking chair, and a crib. It even had a diaper pail next to what I could only assume was a changing table. Each piece had clearly been designed for a baby. I imagined this being the happy room for some little baby.

But it was sized for an adult. I could have fit into any one of these things, but that couldn’t be it. They picked me for a research project. This had to be a joke. Or something. I blinked again and tried to come up with some theory, some explanation.

“It is absolutely right. And I think you’re going to have a good time here.” Seth nudged me forward. I didn’t move at first, so he shoved a tiny bit harder, just enough to make me stumble forward. I regained my balance and moved several paces into the room.

“What are we doing here?”

“Sit on the table,” Seth told me. He walked me across the room then sat me down on the table. I flinched when I felt the mattress crinkle beneath me. Beneath the flannel cover, there must have been a plastic shell. It started to swing my legs back and forth and held my hands together over my lap.

“Don’t worry,” Seth patted me on the head. Again, I blinked because I couldn’t believe it. He did not just pat me on the head like a little puppy. He did it once more. “Just relax, sweetie. We’re going to get you all settled.”

“Settled? I am not staying here!”

“Shush, little girl,” Kayla said.

A second later, Seth came back. He held his hands behind his back, obviously hiding something. “We’re going to be testing one device in particular and its effects on your personality. Now, you’ve already signed the contract, so this is going to happen.”

“What? What’s going to happen?” I snapped back. I wanted to intimidate him with just the piercing threat of my sharpened tone. Seth didn’t mind. Kayla just giggled to herself like a big sister who looked forward to teasing and playing with a new plaything.

“First, we’re going to put this on you,” said Seth as he held up the item. Again, I tried to get my brain to understand it. Why would he have something like that?

It was a collar. It was a pink, leather collar with a little heart tag that read “Baby Girl.” This seemed like too much. I had been prepared to negotiate and deal with my instructors. I wanted to help them, but not like this. I still didn’t even understand what this was exactly.

“Bow your head.”

“No!” I said. “I’m not doing anything until you explain exactly what is going on.” I thought I sounded so firm and decisive, just like any adult.

Kayla disagreed. Faster than I could have imagined, she grabbed my wrists and yanked them behind my back. Before I could even think of fighting back, she rolled me onto my side, then shoved me down onto my back. She manhandled me with skill and power. I didn’t have a chance, especially once Seth grabbed my ponytail and yanked my head back.

I wiggled and tried to pull myself free. It wasn’t a full fight though. I didn’t gnash my teeth or scream out. I should have, but some part of me didn’t understand how serious this really was. I got another glance at the collar, and I saw the series of tiny needles. My eyes widened, but then he looped it around my neck, pulled it snugly against my skin, and the points pricked my skin.

Kayla let go of me and stepped back. Seth did the same, crossed his arms over his chest, and smirked with half of his mouth. I tried to sit up and lifted my arms to get the collar off. I felt something at the back of my neck.

The world started to spin. The room got hazy for a second. I had to flutter my eyes to regain some sense of equilibrium. It cleared up a bit, and I tried to work the latch at the nape of my neck. I just had to get the lock off. I glanced back at Kayla and spotted it. The key dangled from a key she wore around her neck. It hung there, right above her breasts.

“Ah, so you figured it out,” said Kayla as she lifted the little silver key. “You signed several contracts. You agreed to be a part of this research project, so that’s exactly what you’re going to do.”

“You can’t keep me here against my will,” I said through gritted teeth.

“Actually, you agreed to it. You gave your consent,” Seth explained, sounding very much like my teacher again. “Now, are we going to have to strap you down?”

“You wouldn’t,” I said, my gaze jumping from Kayla to Seth and back again.

“That’s cute,” she smirked and pulled one of my hands off to the side. She kept my other hand pinned against the small of my back. It was hand against hand, and since I was desperate, I should have been able to break Kayla’s hold on me. Something was wrong. Something happened to me.

The collar. One of its effects must have been to make me weaker. Those needles must have injected some kind of sedative. The thought should have terrified me, yet I remained somewhat calm. Sure, I struggled and tried to tear my wrist away from Kayla’s grip, but I wasn’t crying or screaming. I couldn’t tell which parts of my reactions came from the collar and which were genuinely mine.

In my weakened state, Kayla slipped the wrist into a restraint. The fabric manacle tightened, she buckled it into place, and even though it didn’t have any locks, I wouldn’t have the manual dexterity necessary to get it off. I’d need a free hand, but Kayla took care of that in another second. She went for my other wrist.