Kelly’s Challenge

Kelly looked at the ninety nine keys in the box. If she went through with this, there would be a hundred, and she would be confined until she found the right one with which to release her. If she carried this through, she would put the last key in the box, and then deliberately knock the box to the floor, scattering the keys everywhere, no knowledge of which was her key, or in which direction it had gone. It would be her severest challenge, and one no-one could help her with.

She had been into self bondage for a long time, challenging herself to get free. Each time she tried harder than the last to make thing difficult, but had always, to date, found her way out safely. This idea came to her at a pub quiz. She watched as the winner of the quiz chose a key from the pile on the counter, and tried to open the box. They had failed, but the guy behind the bar assured everyone that the right key was in there somewhere. Kelly wondered how it would work if she were restrained, padlocked into position, with lots of keys to choose from, but only one correct one. That would be a real challenge. She knew almost immediately that it could take days to find the right key, especially if she were blindfolded. She could end up trying the same key several times, without knowing it,

How many keys though? She hit on the figure of a hundred, all roughly the same, but with only on correct one.

She spoke to the guy running the quiz who had bought the keys from a supplier. He had bought a set of twenty, but said the retailer would supply as many fake keys as was required. Over the next few days Kelly contacted the retailer and asked about a lock and a hundred keys, suggesting it was for a prize draw. After adding, untruthfully, that it was for charity, the man sold her the set with a discount.

Now Kelly looked at the keys in the box. Ninety nine keys that would not open the padlock. Ninety nine chances of being wrong. Only a single key would release her.

She knew she would be taking a great chance if she did this. She had no idea where the keys would fall. She knew they would scatter on the tiled floor, but had no idea how far and wide. She would also be hooded, so would not be able to see where they had gone. If she carried this out, she had to rely on eventually finding the right key, and with limited movement, that would be no easy thing.

She placed the key into the box and began to shake them around, losing sight of her key almost immediately. She had considered marking it, but that, in her eyes, would have been cheating, and Kelly never cheated when she did self bondage. There was no point in setting herself challenges if she cheated. The box was then placed on the table, ready for when she decided to go through with it. If she changed her mind, she would have lost nothing, but if she followed through she would be risking everything.

She was fully aware that if she didn’t get out within the first day, things would start to get messy. She would be on the floor, unable to reach the toilet. This was not something she was happy about, and was, perhaps, the thing holding her back. She did not relish rolling around in her own excrement and piss. Nor would she have food or drink until she finally released herself.

Kelly looked again at the box of keys. There seemed to be thousands in there, but she knew that in reality, there were only a hundred. Which was hers would be pure guesswork now.

The ropes and straps she would be using were on the table next to the keys. As was the hood. This she had bought from the internet. She had tried it on a few times, and knew that once it was on and her challenge had started, she would see nothing through it. Not a shred of light came through, it had fitted her so tightly. This, too, would be a challenge, as Kelly had a fear of the dark, and always slept with the light on. To plunge herself into total blackness would be to face her fears full on, and another reason why she was not sure she should do this. But that was what challenges are all about. To achieve what had not been achieved before, to go that one step further. This, though, was several steps in a single move, and, to Kelly, very frightening.

Her annual holiday would start the next weekend, which is when she planned on taking the challenge. She had a full four weeks off, but really didn’t expect to be confined for anywhere near that time. She had other challenges she wanted to try as well. One of which, was to sleep with the light off.

Every night for the next week when she got home, Kelly spent time looking at the things on the table, and clearing everything except the table from the room. She didn’t want anything that could create further hazards once the challenge started. By Friday night, the room was empty, and ready. She still wasn’t sure she could go through with it, as she took a hot bath, and pulled her hair into a pony tail behind her head. At least, if the worst came to the worst, she would not get excrement in her hair.

She looked at the wine on the table, and poured herself a glass, sipping it slowly.

The plan was to set her alarm early on the Saturday, come to this room, and start the challenge, that was the plan, and Kelly was already nervous about it. With all her other challenges she had relied on her own ability to get free. But this time, it was not going to be that easy. This time she had to find the only thing that would allow her to get free, without being able to see it, or know where it was. And blindfolded as well.

Placing the glass on the table she picked up the hood. As she had done every night, she placed the hood over her head and closed it, trying to contain the panic she felt when the light disappeared. Each night she had managed a little longer before the fear hit home. But she still knew that this challenge would leave her unable to get it off, regardless of her fears.

Removing the hood she poured a second glass of wine, draining the glass in a single swallow.

Had she bitten off more than she could chew with this challenge? maybe there was another one she could try? Or, perhaps, do it without the hood, but that would, in her own mind, have been cheating. Not cheating on the challenge itself, but cheating herself.

Sipping the third glass of wine slowly, she set her phone for five the next morning. That would herald the start. From that moment on, she would be honour bound to fulfil the challenge, this was always the way with her challenges. Once the alarm went off, she could no longer change her mind. The very fact that she had set the alarm, had completely taken away her choices. No longer could she back out.

Kelly lay in bed, not sleeping. The clock seemed to be moving slowly, as if delaying the inevitable. The radio played soft night music, that would normally send an insomniac to sleep, but still she lay awake. She knew she could cancel the alarm, and no-one would know. Except her. And it was her that was being challenged. She knew she wouldn’t cancel it. If she didn’t go through with this, now, she would never do anything again. It was almost two when sleep finally took her, allowing her only three hours before the alarm would wake her to her fate.

Stretching her arm out, Kelly cancelled the alarm. It took her several seconds to waken up, and remember what day it was.

Walking to the bathroom she took a shower, looking at herself in the mirror. As always, she had slept naked, and until she finally released herself, whenever that may be, she would now remain naked. All of her previous challenges had been done that way, to ensure that no clothing was able to help her get free, ot stop her from freeing herself. This challenge would be no different in that way.

Slowly, she made her way down stairs and to the kitchen, where the challenge would take place.

The table still stood holding the items she would need for the day, as she stood looking at them she again felt the fear of when the hood went on. It had been okay so far, as she had been in control, but soon, she would have none.

The blinds in the kitchen were all closed, so no-one would see in if they came by. To all intents and purposes, it would be as if she was away on her holidays.

Standing by the table she picked up the first of two leather cuffs, that would go around her wrists. The cuffs were special in only one way. Each of the buckles would be locked by a small heart shaped padlock. The keys for these, were in her bedside locker, and could only be regained once she was free. Placing them around her wrists, she buckled them shut, making sure they would not slide off her hands, before locking each buckle. The next item was a short piece of rope that she used to tie her ankles together. She didn’t want it too tight, but enough so she could not separate one ankle from the other. This would help restrict her movements later on, when the challenge itself started.

Another piece of rope was tied around her legs, just above the knees. Now, her legs were tied as one, and she knew that once on the floor, she could not get to her feet again. The belt that fastened around her waist also had the same locking buckle that her cuffs had. This, again, could not be unlocked until after her ordeal. At the back of the belt was a large ring, to which her hands would be locked in a short time. The key to that lock, was currently somewhere inside the box on the table.

She had placed the lock where she could find it after the hood went on.

The hood. It sat there on the table as if daring her to back out. She still could, and it was as if the hood were daring her to do so. Slowly, her hands shaking, she picked up the hood and raised it above her head. Tears were already in her eyes as she began to lower it, pulling it down over her head, taking with it her most prized possession. Light.

Working quickly, before she lost her nerve, she pulled on the lace that would tighten the hood, and hold it firmly in place. Two days ago this had been easy, as she knew it would be off in a few minutes. But now her hands shook badly, and it took her much longer to secure the hood. She placed her hands on the table, locating the padlock that would complete the restraints. Holding it on hand, she used the other hand to find the box of keys. It was resting on the edge of the table, and with a single flick of her wrist, the box fell.

Kelly’s heart leapt as she heard the keys hit the floor. She could hear them rolling, hitting woodwork and scrambling all across the kitchen floor. There was no way she could know which direction her key had gone in, much less it’s exact location.

Breathing heavily, her hands moved behind her back, finding the ring attached to the belt. In less than a minute, unless she stopped herself, she would be at the mercy of luck. Holding her breath she held her hands in place, and fed the loop of the padlock over the two rings connected to her cuffs. The snap as the lock closed, rang like thunder in her ears. Now she had no choices. It was find the key, or remain like this until someone came looking for her, but that would be four weeks away.

Struggling, she began to kneel, knowing that she had to be lying on the floor to have any chance of finding the key. She no longer knew what time it was, but her heart pounded like a drum as she felt the cold tiles under her knees. She had no protection as she allowed herself to slide towards the floor, banging her head on it as she did so. She could feel the monsters waiting for her in the dark, as panic showed its ugly face. She regretted this already, and wished there was some way to end it now. But she knew there wasn’t. there was only one way to end this, and that, was to find the one in a hundred keys that would release her from her own hell.

Her hands shook frantically behind her as she tried to get her hands free of the cuffs, but without the key, they refused to come free. Her head screamed for release, and Kelly knew she had to control the panic, or she would never survive this ordeal. She tried counting slowly to ten, controlling her breathing and heart rate as best she could. Blood pounded in her ears, as the panic continued.

She felt a key by her fingertips, and made several attempts to pick it up, before finally holding it in her right hand, and finding the lock with her left. Three, four times she struggled to find the hole, eventually doing so, but the key refused to turn. Tears welled up in her eyes at this first failure. It could be anyone of the keys, or maybe the key wasn’t in the box? She was sure she had put it in, but what if she hadn’t?

Once again her hands began to shake as the panic grew. Her breathing speeded up, and Kelly had to fight hard to control herself again. She knew there was no-one in the house with her, but the darkness could have hidden anyone or anything before she woke up earlier. After several minutes, she managed to calm herself down a little, and began searching with her fingers for another key.

Key after key refused to turn in the lock, as Kelly continued to struggle with her bonds and her fears. She had lost count of how many keys she had found and tried. Maybe she had tried the right one, but had not turned it enough?

Time had lost all meaning to her. She could have been on the floor for minutes or hours, she had no idea. She could only squirm around the kitchen floor, searching for keys, hoping to find the right one. She knew she should have kept the box next to her, and placed the used keys inside it, but it was too late for that now. She had no idea where the box was. In fact, she had no idea where in the kitchen she was herself.

Her fears were abating a little, with no-one coming to attack her, but still she feared that they may. If only she could get the hood off, but she knew that it was impossible until her hands were free. Again and again, she found keys that refused to turn. Desperation set in as she searched frantically with her finger tips for more keys.

She heard a car outside her house, and froze. What if they came to her door? What if they found her like this?

Once again her blood pounded in her ears as the panic rose to fever pitch again. Even when she heard the car move away it did little to suppress the fear. Someone could have got out of the car, and was waiting outside her door for the right moment. She found a key, but her finger refused to hold on to it, hearing the metallic sound as it dropped to the floor. Though only a light sound, to Kelly it was like thunder. She froze again, hoping the noise had not travelled to whoever was by her door, waiting for her.

She told herself time after time that there was no-one there, but even as she searched for the fallen key again, she listened carefully to hear if the door opened.

Finally, she placed the key in the lock, but, yet again, it refused to turn.

How many keys had she tried? Surely she had tried them all by now?

Wriggling her way around the kitchen floor she found more useless keys, as she began to think she would never get out of this. She had allowed herself four weeks, but what if she were still bound by then, trapped in her own device.

Would someone come looking for her? What would they do when they found her?

She was sure she could hear noises, not realising that the noises were only the rings on the cuffs scraping across the floor. Another key, another failure. Was she trying the same keys all the time? Had she moved too far away from her key?

She knew she was by the cooker, as she had banged her head on it twice. She needed to move, but she was afraid, in case someone was there. It took a lot out of her just to force herself away from the cooker. She headed back to what she though was the centre of the kitchen, her hands scrabbling to find the elusive key that would release her. How long she had been trying was beyond her. It felt like a lifetime, but she knew it could not have been more than a few hours. A few hours? She still had four weeks before anyone would come looking for her.

Kelly knew she should not have taken this challenge. she could have stopped herself, but she didn’t.

Suddenly she heard a click, as the key turned in the lock. Almost immediately, her hands came apart. She was free.

Forcing herself to sit upright, she scrambled with the lace of the hood, trying to get it off. Her fingers shook, both with relief and fear that she could not untie the lace. She tried to calm herself, but her heart was racing, the blood was pounding again. Slowly, the lace started to unravel, and she was pulling at the hood, even before it was loose. Daylight screamed at her eyes, as she finally got the hood off.  At the same time, she threw up, the combination of her fears and the relief that the ordeal was over.

Her stomach ached, her head hurt, her eyes could no longer stop the tears as she struggled with shaking hands to release the ropes around her legs and ankles.

Once free, she lay breathless on the floor, ignorant of the vomit close by. It took her several minutes to get to her feet and walk to the sink, pouring herself a glass of water. She glanced at the clock on the wall, showing it was four in the afternoon. Eight hours. It had taken eight hours to find a single key. Eight hours inside that hood.

She moved to the lounge and poured herself a strong drink, sinking to the sofa. Tears filled her eyes again, and in moments she was sobbing relentlessly. She knew she had challenged herself too much. The hood had been one step too far. Even then, she knew the light would stay on at night. She could not handle the darkness. Even as she sat there crying, she knew she had the rest of her holiday to fill. She looked at the bag of ropes close to where she sat. Four weeks?

16.01.10