Into Another World - Sean's Story 3

Into Another World - Sean's Story

Part 3

Posted: December 30, 2005
Title: Into Another World - Sean's Story
Author: Ian Howe

*****

Not much further now - just to the top of the dune - there will be a village... Sean took another faltering step forward and nearly cried out when his right foot touched the ground.

No, cancel ground. It was sand. Bloody fucking sand. Scorching, hot, bloody fucking sand. And it went on forever.

After finally reaching the top of the dune he groaned in despair. Instead of a village - or any sign of civilisation - all he saw was sand. More sand. More dunes. An endless desert.

A while ago - how long? He had lost all sense of time - he had been relieved that he couldn't see the oasis anymore. Now he almost wished that he could turn back.

Tears were streaming from his eyes; the sunlight reflected by the sand was unbearably bright. He tried to re-arrange the dark blue silk sheet he had draped around him, so that it would protect his eyes. Maybe he should have chosen another direction...

Slowly, Sean began to descend from the dune ridge. There would be another dune, and, maybe, a village behind that one... He was not sure if he believed it, but he knew that he had to continue.

Another lance of agony stabbed through his right foot. He fell and tumbled down the dune. Sitting up cursing, he curled his hands into fists in frustration. After getting to his feet, he didn't even bother to shake the sand out of the sheet. It was useless. Bloody stuff was everywhere.

The hammering in his head momentarily distracted him from the throbbing pain in his foot. The heat was merciless and his dry tongue appeared grotesquely swollen. He could not swallow. Grinding his teeth, he took another step. Just to the top of the next dune...

Sean had known that he had to get away. There simply was no other choice. Of course, these guys he had met earlier, Ian, Hugh, and particularly this weird Sheik Urban, were completely bonkers, but they appeared to take their delusions seriously. He could not take the risk of staying, not even until his foot was better. Who knew what these nutters were up to?

If he hadn't been so sick, he'd have suspected that one of his former, and mostly much younger co-stars had framed him. This reeked of a plot by, say, Orlando or Elijah. But he had quickly abandoned that idea as the kids would not have had the resources necessary to pull this off.

His second thought had been a set-up by Jeremy Beadle. Not that he had really believed in it, but the truth was simply too outrageous. This was the twentieth century! Rich Sheiks did not kidnap other people! Slavery had been banned for ages. And - his mind balked - a harem...

Sean shuddered. While he might be able to relate to an Arabian potentate surrounded by beautiful women, the concept of a - male - harem... And the guy wanted him to participate...

The view from the next dune's ridge was the same as before. Sand. Dunes. Infinity. If he could make it to the top of the next one...

As soon as the older bloke had left him the day before, Sean had considered his options. Top priority was to get out of the Sheik's house. If he could evade the Sheik's men - Ian had mentioned friends, so there were bound to be more men - and find the nearest police station, he could report what had happened to him. He knew how fantastic the story sounded, but his name would make the old Bill accept his word.

It had been a simple plan. As for the details... Rest until dusk had set in. Find clothes. Also, some kind of crutches would be useful; his foot hurt like perdition. Check the cupboards for anything useful - and he had frozen in shock at his discovery.

There were shelves - lined with dildos, vibrators, whips, handcuffs, and other, bizarre-looking toys that he didn't even want to think about. Whatever their applications might be...

He had experienced the cuffs and knew that the Sheik would not hesitate to subject - subject! - him to any of these objects.

No way! He abandoned his search, wrapped himself in the silk sheet from the bed after donning a pair of black boxers he had spotted next to a bowl of water, and fled, ignoring the pain in his ankle.

To his big surprise, he had no trouble escaping. Upon hearing distant laughter, he headed in the opposite direction. Finding the gate un-guarded and closed, but not locked, he was out in the street less than two minutes later.

Sean reached the top of the next dune and sank to his knees. This would never end - he saw himself walking through the desert until the end of days. The pain in his ankle and his head were increasing. But to stay with the Sheik was - unthinkable. Better to perish out here than go back to that place.

Once he had left the house, he found out that the Sheik's estate made up most of the settlement. Not having met anyone, he could not ask for directions. On the other hand, that meant that he had not run into any of the Sheik's men, either.

When it was nearly completely dark, he had left the village by one of the two roads. He had limped along it until the moon came out, then decided to take his chances in the open country. After he thought that he had covered enough ground to be safely away from the road, he had stopped and let himself collapse on the ground, still feeling weak from his recent ordeal and needing to rest. Despite the chilling cold he had fallen asleep almost immediately.

Having awoken in time to see the sun rise, he opted to go east. It did not take him long to discover that he was in a desert region. Until now, he had assumed that he was somewhere in Britain, in a remote part of the countryside, but now he found that he was completely at a loss concerning his whereabouts.

Wherever he was, the only thing that mattered was to get away from the mad Sheik, as fast and as far as possible.

That conviction had brought him to the summit of the next dune. Sean swore. He was exhausted. His head was pounding. His feet hurt - not only his sprained ankle, but each contact made by his bare soles with the scorching sand shot a lance of pain through him. He knew he was dehydrated. And it was getting hotter by the minute. Maybe he should just lie down and give up...

He sank down for a break. Desperate for just a little bit of shade to hide from the blazing sun, it didn't matter where he rested. There was no protection to be found. Nevertheless, it felt good to have a break. He had been surprised how demanding it was to hike through the sand. Oh, he had walked on beaches before, but now it seemed to him that his feet sank deeper and deeper into the sand, and he had to struggle harder with each step.

Having no idea what time it may be, he knew that the day was not yet over because he could not remember that a night had passed. The scenery was unchanged, sand, more sand, dunes, and ever more sand. Sean shook his head and cursed at the stab of pain that this movement had caused.

Squinting his eyes, he wondered if the afternoon sun was relenting its intensity. Maybe evening had come. From what he knew about desert climates, the blazing day would be followed by a freezing night. Considering his weakened state, it might well be his last.

His thoughts went out to his daughters. How unfair it was that he was not allowed to see them again. He snorted bitterly. Lost in the desert or not, his ex-wives had already made sure of that. They were the only thing left that had mattered for him. So he might as well die. Suddenly the thought made sense. At least he would be free from the pain, free from the longing for his little ones...

Hugging his sheet tighter, Sean tried to settle into a more comfortable position. He thought he saw a few moving speckles, but that was probably just his overwrought mind playing tricks on him. His eyelids drooped...

There! This time he was not mistaken! The figures approaching him were real! He got up, flinched and groaned when his foot touched the ground, and waved. A group of six riders was headed in his direction.

Sean stumbled towards them and came to halt against one of their camels, hardly believing his luck. Whoever these people were, they had to help him.
His legs buckled and he collapsed in front of the riders. Their leader dismounted and pulled down the veil that protected him from the sun. The last thing Sean saw before his exhausted body gave out was Ian's worried face.

The only memory Sean would later have from their way back to the oasis was that of being firmly cradled in somebody's arms. It had felt strangely secure, but he was not coherent enough to dwell on it.

He regained consciousness in the same room he had been in before, in a half-sitting position, supported by somebody, while somebody else dabbed his face with a cool, wet cloth. A third person tried to coax him into drinking, which he gladly did once he understood what was expected of him.

Slowly, he managed to focus on his surroundings. There were a lot of people present this time, and he wished they would leave. He recognised Ian, Hugo, and Karl - Sheik Urban - and three men, the latter dressed only in black silk boxers. His head was throbbing again and he groaned.

The Sheik lifted one hand and the room fell silent. Urban's eyes fell on Sean's face, as he addressed him. "Eat. Drink. Rest. Then you'll have a bath and a shave. I'll decide on your punishment later."

Sean nodded, too dazed to understand the meaning of Karl's words. All except for Ian and an auburn-haired man with slate-blue eyes of roughly Sean's age left the room. The stranger held a tray with a steaming bowl in his hands.

Ian gave Sean a stern look and said, "Viggo will feed you some soup now."

The blond wondered about Ian's choice of wording and suddenly realised that his hands were chained to the bed. He blanched and pulled at the chains that were long enough for him to lie in bed, but too short for anything else.

Ian sighed and stopped him. "Save your strength. They will hold. Do as the Sheik has ordered now. Eat, drink, and rest. Everything else can wait until tomorrow." He nodded at the other man, "Viggo. The soup."

Viggo gave Sean a shy smile. He looked at the chains and then at the older man. "Ian, don't you think we can unchain him? So he can eat?" Another, insecure smile was directed at Sean.

Pondering this suggestion, Ian sighed again. He bent down and took Sean's chin in his hand. "You hurt him and you won't know what hit you!" he threatened, but he released Sean's right hand from the cuff. "Only while you're eating."

Viggo set the tray in Sean's lap and the blond polished off the soup, surprised at his hunger. When he had finished, Ian tied his hand to the headboard again. "Sleep now," he commanded before leaving the room. "If you need anything, Viggo will be here with you."

Sean eyed the other man warily and Viggo shrugged. "Might be a good idea to sleep. You look like shit." He lay down on the bed next to Sean.

"Hey, wait a minute..." Sean started. Viggo gave him an apologetic glance.
"Bed's large enough for two. And we don't have to do anything if you're too tired..." His look turned predatory.

Sean shuddered and hurriedly closed his eyes. He was bone-weary and his exhaustion overwhelmed him before he could think any further.

Viggo smiled and wrapped the blanket around the sleeping figure next to him before settling down for the night himself.

*****

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