[Author's Note: I'll try my best not to bloviate but I want to introduce the story a bit.
- Kaleidoscope is not really part of the title. It's an umbrella term for a series of stories that I'll be posting. These stories will be 12 chapters in length and each chapter will be told from the point of view of a different character. Once a chapter is done, you'll probably see that character again but it'll be through somebody else's eyes.
- No Proscenium is the actual title of this story. The Proscenium Line is the name for the invisible line on a stage that separates the performers from the audience. It's the stage equivalent of the "fourth wall". So a performance that has no proscenium is one where the performers and audience are not separated. The audience might actually be an active part of the show.
- This story will be very different from my other story on this board. There will be certain chapters in which characters will be maliciously disregarding another character's physical, mental, and emotional well being. It won't be anything that you haven't read on here before, but I would never want to normalize or glorify anything that I consider to be antithetical to my BDSM ethos. So I'll probably have disclaimers before chapters like 4 and 6.
- While there will only be 12 chapters, most chapters will have multiple parts. Some chapters might be one or two parts. Chapters like 6 and 11 will have significantly more.
Thanks. I hope you enjoy the story.]
March 24, 2022
Drew: Are you out of your God damn mind?
Lexi: Come on. What’s the worst that could happen?
Drew: You could get assaulted by the three frat bros that are going in the room with you.
Lexi: That could happen regardless of my proposal.
Drew: But if you’re tied up, you’re less able to defend yourself.
Lexi: Do you really think that three guys who have just signed a whole bunch of legal waivers and provided picture identification are going to assault me when they know that there are a half a dozen cameras recording their every move?
Drew: No. You said what’s the worst that could happen though? I answered.
Lexi: OK. What’s the worst that could REALISTICALLY happen?
Drew: I could get fired.
Lexi: Why would you get fired for my idea? I’m more likely to get fired.
Drew: Do I really have to answer this question with a straight face?
He looked at his co-worker incredulously and she gave him a wry smile in return.
Lexi: Because I’m the boss’ daughter? You think that matters to him? I’m very expendable.
Drew: Bullshit. Somebody will go down for this and it will be ME. I’ve known your dad a long time. And he is a fair man. He is a generous man. But he is not going to fire his own daughter. He’s going to fire the weak-willed idiot who let her implement her reckless idea.
Drew Bannon was a down on his luck 24 year-old. He’d graduated college almost two years ago at this point and was having a lot of trouble breaking into the workforce. He was sitting on an English major with a theater minor. He was trying to get his teaching credentials and it was not going as swimmingly as he’d hoped. He’d applied for numerous jobs in copywriting and editing and had only gotten to the interview stage a handful of times. He’d taken jobs as a server at local restaurants but the pay had put him on a brutally strict budget. Finally, about nine months ago his childhood friend Lexi (Alexa) had gotten him a job working at an escape room.
Lexi’s dad was a successful software engineer and entrepreneur. Lexi had graduated college at the same time as Drew. Her younger sister was attending college locally. Her father had already paid off his mortgage. And while he still worked in software, he was very financially secure and was looking to spend more time indulging his passions. Her father loved puzzles. He loved solving them. He loved making them. He loved a mental challenge. Crosswords, riddles, word games, all of it. So Lexi’s father, Greg Huff, and his best friend and partner Dean had opened an escape room. Greg had designed all of the puzzles and the tech for the room and Dean had created the story and the game flow. They were a great pair. They had room in their current space for a second room, but Dean’s recent move to Savannah, Georgia had slowed their expansion. So right now their company, CryptIQ Escapes, operated only one room. That room was called Lunatic’s Lair.
Lunatic’s Lair was not unlike many other escape games that one might play. The concept was not too out there. A group of people are locked in a room for 90 minutes. They have to complete a series of puzzles and challenges to escape from the clutch’s of a sadistic serial killer. If they do, they escape with their lives. If they don’t, they die and are never seen or heard from again. Breaking the immersion, what actually happens is that the room fills with smoke from a fog machine and ominous music plays over the speakers before Drew opens the doors and lets them out. Knowing that they have been defeated by the game. Escapes rooms are a bit of a niche market, and not the most profitable endeavor. But what CryptIQ Escapes had going for it was that their room was easily the top room in the San Diego, California metro area. It was top notch. People loved it and the enthusiasts could not wait for Greg and Dean to open their second room. The puzzles and technology were up there with some of the top rooms in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, and Miami. And the storytelling and immersion were next level also. The room featured an actor in the room with the players that added to the immersive feel.
That’s where Lexi came in. She and Drew normally worked the room together. Drew did the introduction and worked the mechanical board that operated many of the room’s puzzles. He had an array of six monitors that showed him all angles of the room and he could hear everything that was happening inside. Lexi usually was the in-room actress. There were other employees, but Drew and Lexi were on shift together 90% of the time. Lexi played “Parker”, the lover of the titular lunatic’s son. She was held hostage by the lunatic to keep his son in line as an unwilling assistant and apprentice. She’d seen many unfortunate groups of captives fail to their doom and guided the current unfortunate batch in their quest. People liked the inclusion of an in-room actor. It really helped with the immersion. She was locked in a cage to start the room, but at about the 25% point of the semi-linear narrative the players would get a key that would open the cage. After that she could come out and walk amongst them. The room was actually four rooms in total. The opening room had very cool mechanics and secret passages that led to other areas as the lair expanded beyond what the players initially imagined that it was.
Lexi: Come on, Drew. I really think that this idea could take the game to the next level. I think it gives it an extra kick in the pants.
Drew: Fine. Run it by your dad first. If he OKs it, then I’ll get on board.
Lexi: We both know that that isn’t going to happen.
Drew: I agree. We do both know that. Because he would think that this is a ludicrous and reckless idea.
Lexi: That’s why he’s the puzzle guy. And Dean is…was…is…the story guy. This is about shock value. It’s about immersive feel. It’s about giving the players something that they’ve never witnessed in a game before. It’ll make it feel more real. It’ll instill more fear. It’ll make them feel like a lunatic is really keeping them prisoner and could be there with them at any moment.
Drew: A lunatic will be with them. It’ll be you. You’re the lunatic. I don’t think that tying you up inside the cage to start the game is a good idea.
Lexi: It’s the perfect opening shocker. Finding a young woman bound and gagged.
Drew: It is a shocker. I’ll agree with you there.
Lexi: So what’s the problem? Let’s give it a try.
Drew: It’ll effect game flow.
Lexi: How? Literally none of the puzzles change. The game flow is entirely the same whether I’m bound and gagged or not.
Drew: Lexi, what is your role in the game? I don’t mean “Parker”. I mean…what is your purpose?
Lexi: I get it. I’m the hint system.
Drew: Exactly. We don’t have a cutesy little TV monitor that players can turn to and get hints. They can’t just wave their hands at a camera and clap three times and have some hint slid under the door for them. If you have a gag in your mouth…then I have to come on over the speaker and tell them things. And a disembodied voice saying that maybe spending 20 minutes alphabetizing the killer’s books and waving his coasters over every surface hoping that magnetic locks magically open something for them isn’t the best use of their time…ruins the immersion.
Lexi: I have thought about this.
Drew: Good. I was worried you’d forgotten why you were in the room.
Lexi: This group is the perfect guinea pig group.
Drew: Why? You said they’re from a college fraternity.
Lexi: They are. But the guy that booked the room is an expert. He’s done almost 200 rooms.
Drew: How do you know that?
Lexi: I may have stalked him online a little bit.
Drew: What?
Lexi: I wanted to find the right group to workshop this idea with. And it’s good to know your clientele. He’s a big escape room enthusiast. He’s posted on message boards that he doesn’t like when rooms give unprompted hints. This group isn’t going to want hints.
Drew: What if they NEED hints. What if they don’t notice the pattern over the side door. What if they never find the key to get into your cage?
Lexi: Well, on the plus side, they won’t be able to assault me if they can’t even get into the cage.
Drew: Ha Ha. Very funny. You’ll be stuck like that for 90 minutes.
Lexi (sarcastically): Oh no. 90 whole minutes.
Drew: And they’ll want a refund.
Lexi: Then I’ll give them one. But I promise you that I’ll be able to talk them back into the room again. And don’t think that I can’t provide hints just because I’m gagged.
Drew: Oh really?
Lexi: I’m a queen at non-verbal communication. I’m crafty. This group will pass the test. Their power user leader will write us a stellar review. And then business will be even better.
Drew: Word of mouth will spread and we’ll attract a clientele that likes looking at bound and gagged girls.
Lexi: Do those people have money?
Drew: Yes.
Lexi: Money to pay to play our escape game?
Drew: Yes.
Lexi: Good. Then they’re welcome to the show.
Drew: I still think that your dad won’t like this.
Lexi: Oh. I KNOW he won’t like it. Which is why I’m not even going to let him find out about it, until the reason he finds out is that his pockets are overflowing with money. I love that old geezer, but his daughter is going to have to drag him kicking and screaming into the modern immersive entertainment landscape.
Drew: This is going to be a disaster.
Lexi: I just want a chance to make a splash, Drew. I want to innovate. And I need your support on this. Please, Drew. Please please please please please.
She hit him with a full on display of sad puppy dog eyes. She puffed her bottom lip out in a pout and just really stared at him pleadingly. Begging him to side with her.
Drew: You can cut that out. You already know I’m going to do it. God help me.
Lexi immediately broke into a mischievous smile and started rubbing her hands together.
Lexi: You’re the absolute best, Drew. And don’t let anybody tell you differently.
Drew realized that they were technically the same position within the company. But Lexi was ostensibly his boss. She had vouched for him. She had brought him on. And the fact that he was her good friend was likely the reason why her dad paid him what he had to imagine was well above the standard hourly wage for a position like this. He wasn’t living large. This wasn’t going to be his career. But he was paid a livable wage.
Lexi was also one of his best friends. Definitely his oldest friend. They’d known each other since they were five. He’d known her father Greg for a long time. He still wasn’t sure what her dad thought of him. Lexi always said that her dad was such a sweetheart and a big softie, but Drew usually saw him as a very stern man. Possibly because he was very protective of his daughters. And most people often assumed that Drew and Lexi were in a sort of “will they or won’t they” type thing. They were currently perfectly happy just being good friends. Drew didn’t know whether Lexi would consider him one of her best friends. She had Jessica and Katie and Elizabeth and Nina. But he definitely considered her one of his best friends. And easily his best female friend.
She was great. She was smart. She was funny. She was outgoing. She was empathetic. And, yes, he did definitely think that she was easy on the eyes. Even if that attribute of her was overlooked. Lexi’s sister was the popular beauty queen of the family. Lexi, though the older sister, was kind of the odd duck. She had been a bit of a geek and a theater kid. She loved to play complicated table top board games. She and Drew had done musicals and improv comedy all throughout high school. She wasn’t a traditional showstopper. But she was definitely attractive. And her fun, goofy energy threw that attraction into hyperdrive for a lot of guys. She stood about 5’5”. Her build was fairly normal. She was limber and slight of frame, but had some curves that would draw the eye. She wasn’t Scarlett Johansson by any stretch, but he’d seen her rock a swimsuit and had to try not to look too closely.
But she dressed pretty conservatively. Jeans, T-Shirts, the occasional sundress. She was not a mini skirt or halter top girl. It’s not that she NEVER wore them. It’s just that they were rare enough that when she did…he took notice. She had a pleasant, winsome face with adorable little dimples when she smiled. She had bright blue eyes that were the hallmark of her entire family. Her father had them. Her mother had them. Her sister had them. Her hair was a sandy blonde that was a little darker than the rest of her family’s. She never wore it in any sort of consistent style. Today it was presently pulled back into a ponytail, but he imagined that this was just for ease of keeping it out of her face. When she went in as “Parker”, she’d let it fall naturally.
Lexi: The group is going to be here in like 15 minutes, so let’s get me ready.
Drew: You’re already in costume. Your makeup is done. Just ditch the ponytail and you’re “Parker”. I’ve already reset all of the puzzles. I went by Greg and Dean’s chart. I double checked them. Everything is set.
Lexi: No. I mean let’s get ME set up.
Lexi rummaged through a bookbag that she had behind the main reception counter and pulled some items out and set them on the counter. One roll of standard grey duct tape and a couple of lengths of jute rope. Drew’s heart began to race as she took up the items in her hand and began the walk down the hall to the starting room. This was happening. He had been playing devil’s advocate to her argument because he thought that they could get in trouble. She WAS being reckless. But in the absence of consequences, this was something that excited him greatly. He was into it. And maybe a good deal of the resistance that he had put up was that he didn’t want her to know just HOW into it he was. Bondage was something that he enjoyed. It was something that he very much enjoyed. And his insides were absolutely aflutter right now.
Lexi opened the door to the room and they walked in. Against the back right wall of the room was a sizeable cage. A full grown adult could not stand up in it without crouching, but Drew could easily kneel down inside of it without his head touching the roof. The cage was about 6’ x 4’. Lexi would be able to lie down in the cage without issue. She walked into the cage, crouching as she did so. He followed her in. She sat on the floor with her legs crossed underneath her. She set the items in her hands down on the floor of the cage and placed her wrists behind her back expectantly.
Drew: Am I using the rope or the tape?
Lexi: Tape first. And tape my wrists tightly. I’m going to be thrashing around on the floor. I’m really going to be playing it up with the acting. I don’t want anything to come loose. And I don’t want to be able to escape on my own.
Drew: You have to be able to escape on my own. How else would you get out?
Lexi: The players are going to have to release me.
Drew: The players CAN’T release you! They’re not allowed to touch you. That’s stated very clearly in the rules spiel that I give. It’s on ALL of the forms that they sign. Do. Not. Touch. The. Actors.
Lexi: Oh yeah. Oops. I’m going to need you to amend that rule with them. Let them know that they’ll OBVIOUSLY have to touch the actor at some point, but to be careful and use proper manners.
Drew: Really?
Lexi: Yeah. Let’s give them a treat. Let’s let them feel like real heroes today.
Drew could hardly believe what he was hearing. But he picked up the roll of duct tape and began to tape Lexi’s wrists behind her back. He crossed her slender wrists and began to wrap duct tape tightly around them. After five rotations of the tape her wrists were tightly pinned, but he pulled the tape up and started wrapping between them in a vertical cinch pattern to really make sure that she couldn’t get out. Finally he ripped the tape off the roll.
Drew: Damn it. I don’t think they can free you, even once they’ve gotten in the cage. I mean…they can. But it’s going to burn like 10 minutes of their time.
Lexi: I’ve got a plan. Just keep going. My elbows next.
Drew was being thrust down this rabbit hole now with the clock ticking until their clients arrived. What was her plan? Where was she going with this?