Here's a sort of preamble to the very final part, which will be coming next week....
5pm
Tanya was having her dinner when the phone rang. She answered it and found herself speaking to a panicked Holly.
"Tanya! The party is tonight!"
Tanya wrinkled her nose.
"No Holly, it's next week, you know that!"
"No, Rose just told me, they phoned her and told her the party has moved forward a week, anyone that can come is getting double their money!"
"Shit", said Tanya. Nothing was ready! All her plans, all her schemes, were they to amount to nothing? "Is Rose going?"
"Of course not, she knows what's happening. I warned everyone I knew, but I think they've asked a lot of kids to work it. What are we going to do?"
Tanya thought for a moment. As much as she wanted revenge on Mrs Tomkins, the most important thing now was stopping this obscene sounding party.
"We're going to have to call the police. You come round here and we'll phone them together."
6pm
"That's right sir, they're going to strip and humiliate lots of people" Tanya told Officer Dawes.
"And just how did you come about this information, young girl?" the grizzled policeman enquired.
"Errrr, I overheard someone" lied Tanya, "someone who was planning the party."
"Okay, listen girls, I'll send an officer round to pick you up. In fact, I'll do it myself. We'll take a ride down to that party and see if there's anything going on. But I warn you, I don't like having my time wasted" he said, with a mouthful of donut.
6:30pm
The rain beat down on the windscreen of the patrol car. Tanya and Holly sat in the back, looking anxiously at each other.
"We're not going to have to go inside, are we?" asked Holly, wary of her last encounter with the Tomkins family.
"Of course. But don't worry, I'm here. Ain't nothing gonna happen on my watch."
He drove on.
6:45pm
Tanya gazed out through the window and saw the exclusive dining place. Dawes swung the car into the parking area, and continued driving.
"I think this is where you park sir" said Tanya.
"Best we go in the back way," replied the officer. He pulled up at the rear entrance. A battered sign read KITCHEN STAFF ONLY. The three of them exited the car and Dawes ushered them inside.
It was dark in the kitchen.
"Excuse me sir, I can't see" said Holly. She was vaguely aware of something, almost a presence in the room with them. Then the lights were switched on and Holly and Tanya found themselves staring at Mrs Tomkins, her friends and family.
"Girls, girls, girls, you're just in time! I knew my family wouldn't let me down. This is the best birthday present I could hope for!" cackled Mrs Tomkins.
Tanya faced Officer Dawes. "See? Do something!" she cried.
Officer Dawes looked sympathetic. "Sorry girls, nothing I can do. They're all yours, Mrs Tomkins."
"Haha! Even the police have a price girls. There's nothing I can't buy, nothing!"
A number of guests rushed the bewildered girls, grabbing them from behind. A sack was put over each of their hands, and they were plunged into darkness.
9:30pm
The party had been in full swing for several hours, and the guests were getting drunk, their ruddy faces even redder than normal from the expensive wine. Tanya and Holly were in a dark room, each tied to a pole with their hands up. Both were blindfolded, but were still fully clothed.
"Tanya, I'm scared" said Holly.
"I know, me too."
"What's going on in there?"
"I don't know, Holly. But I'm sure we're going to find out sooner or later."
9:45
Rose crept through the corridors. Holly's sister was aware that Holly had been missing for a while, and had come to the party to look for her. She stealthily made her way past the kitchen and climbed the stairs until she was able to peer over and get a good view of the party.
She would never forget what she saw.
At first glance it was like a normal gathering. Mrs Tomkins sat at the head of the table, naturally, and her guests were being waited on by the staff. And then she saw that, apart from their aprons, the staff were nude. She recognised a lot of them, teenagers from the neighbourhood. They all looked embarrassed, ashamed. The guests would slap their asses as they walked by, male or female, it didn't seem to matter.
Then Rose noticed the plates.
Except it wasn't plates. The guests were eating the food from the prone naked bodies of more teenagers. There was Nancy, a girl she had gone to school with, lying naked, her nudity only partially covered by some salad and slices of chicken. Rose looked at Mrs Tomkins. She was flanked on either side by her daughters, Louise and Emily. Mrs Tomkins was holding something in her hand, what looked like a leash. Rose followed the lead and found that it led to another young girl. The leash was tied to a collar round the girls neck. It was the only thing she was wearing. She was licking water from a bowl.
It was insane, sickening, the sort of Bacchanalian orgiastic feast you only read about in the works of De Sade.
It had to be stopped.
10pm
"Okay everyone, it's 10 o'clock!" shouted Mrs Tomkins. "Now, I promised you a big surprise, didn't I?"
"Here here!" bellowed the crowd.
"And most of you were at my last party, am I right?"
"I'll say!" shouted Captain Orton. "That common tart got what she deserved!"
"Well, tonight, it's round two. Bring her out!"
All eyes fell on the entrance behind Mrs Tomkins, as Tanya was wheeled out, still blindfolded and tied to a pole.
"But not just one….tonight we have a genuine criminal! Someone who broke into my house! Bring her out too!"
The crowd boo-ed and jeered as Holly was brought out and positioned next to Tanya. Their blindfolds were removed, and their eyes struggled to take in the sight. They had not been able to stop the madness. All around them were naked and humiliated teenage boys and girls, most of them crying. But, Tanya thought, if they had been just the warm up…..what the hell was in store for her and Holly?
Holly had already started crying, faced with the braying mob. She looked away, not wanting to make eye contact. She thought she saw something….up on the 2nd floor. Holly could have sworn she saw her sister, Rose. But that couldn't be, could it? What would Rose be doing here?
"Alright everyone" sneered Tomkins. "Let's have some fun. But first, a toast. To wealth!"
She raised a glass and everyone started cheering.
Up in the wings, Rose heard the popping of corks. She could see Holly and Tanya, bound to poles. Rose knew that something awful was about to happen.
Rose knew she had to act fast.
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