Romy

154

Since you were little, you and your step-sister Romy would invent and roleplay all kinds of fantasy scenes - sometimes with full-fledged acting, sometimes sitting on the sofa and just talking, inventing a story. Then the two of you got older and went away to school. You're back together for the summer, staying with Uncle Jack and Aunt Jill, who share a house but aren't married to each other; they're step-siblings like you and Romy. One rainy, gloomy day, you and Romy are sitting on the couch and you start reliving your old passtime: "Imagine we got abducted by aliens. They kept us locked in a cage as their pets. Only one of us would be allowed out of the cage at once. And kept on a leash. They made us wear identical catsuits and collars. If either of us misbehaved, we'd both get zapped by the collars." Little did you know, Jack and Jill were listening in. The next day, you and Romy return from exploring the town and find a note: "Go to the basement." You go down. On a table, you see two leopard-print unitards, two collars with two small padlocks. At the far end of the basement is a large cage with thick metal bars. Inside the cage is a single bed and some other items. The door of the cage has a large, open padlock. A post-it note on the padlock says "lock once you're inside." You notice a surveillance camera mounted on the ceiling, pointed at the cage.