Going out, but...

Quietly Lena walked toward the door to leave. The last thing she wanted was to have Sandra walk in on her and then have to explain why she was in her apartment. Reaching for the doorknob, she turned it slowly and opened the door. Carefully, she looked both ways to make sure nobody saw her, then she left, closing the door behind her.

Quickly, she made her way out of Sandra's apartment building before driving off. As she drove, she could not get that mysterious picture of what appeared to be Sandra on her knees, collared to an unknown person, off of her mind. She had a hard time believing that the young girl in the picture could have been Sandra because Sandra never showed any interest in that lifestyle. At least none that she shared with Lena.

While Lena drove, she realized that she had her hand on her throat with her thumb and fingers reaching around the sides of her neck. Suddenly, she felt a slight jolt and tingling sensations as she imagined that it was her in the picture with the collar around her neck. She also noticed she was now breathing heavier and she was feeling a bit flush. Ever so slowly she removed her hand from her throat and slowed down as she approached a busy intersection. "What the hell just happened?"

Stopping at a red light, Lena shook off the strange feelings that suddenly overtook her. As the tingling sensations abated and her breathing regulated back to normal, she checked her phone, particularly the picture of the strange website and what appeared to be a password. She decided to wait until she returned home to go to that website when she could sit in front of her laptop and be more comfortable. She was certain, or at least hoped, that this website would be beneficial to finding out what was going on with Sandra.

Lena decided to take a detour on the way back to her apartment. She drove past the entrance of her place and sped down the street. She had a bit of an uneasy feeling about Sandra and she wanted to see if she was still at that sinister house in that very nice neighborhood. After all, Sandra should be at work at this time of the day. After driving for several more minutes, she pulled into that very upscale development.

While she made her way through the side streets, she rolled up her window and put on her sunglasses to disguise her look. Slowly, she approached the house. Lena turned the radio off and slowed down even more. All of the cars were parked in the same exact spot, including Sandra's. Again, she scanned the windows and doors to see if she could see anything or anyone, but just like last time, everything was closed tight.

Speeding off after she passed the house, she began to drive home. She was now genuinely concerned about her friend. While she drove, she once again looked at the picture on her phone of that strange website and possible password.

"I should have taken a picture of the actual photograph," Lena said softly as she was mad at herself for not doing that in the first place.

While she drove, she tried calling Sandra, but as usual there was no answer. Setting the phone back on the passenger seat, she tried to process everything that has transpired with Sandra recently. Her mind wandered back to searching her apartment and discovering that dark, deviant, photograph along with that website. Just then, Lena's face turned white as she remembered something very important.

"Fuck, I forgot to turn the light off in Sandra's apartment," she said out loud as she pressed the accelerator all the way down and sped toward Sandra's apartment for the second time.

"How could I be so stupid," she moaned as she pulled back into the parking lot of Sandra's apartment.

She parked her car and scanned the parking lot for Sandra's car which was not there. With the key in hand, she exited her car and walked back into the huge apartment building. Her heart was once again racing and she trembled a bit as she walked up to the door. She knocked softly twice to make sure the apartment room was empty before entering. With a trembling hand, she pushed the key into the keyhole and turned it, opening the door.

Lena opened the door just enough to reach for the light switch when she looked at Sandra's bedroom door. Her heart was racing and her breathing was heavy. She wondered if there could possibly be any clues in there.

"Should I?" She thought.