Chapter 29

A few hours later, Tonya was still asleep when the Doctor and Nancy came back, wheeling a large metal frame into the room. The Doctor maneuvered the frame underneath the chair, then tilted it so that it was roughly parallel with her body. He went over to Tonya's right hand, and gently undid the strap from around it, pulling her hand up toward the frame's corner, and binding it in a wrist cuff. The same procedure was followed for her left hand, and then for both of her feet, until she was secured to the frame, spread-eagled.

A press of a foot pedal at the frame's base started lifting Tonya's nude body off the chair; her head fell backwards and her body slumped due to its weight, but she remained sound asleep. The Doctor moved the frame away from the chair, and tilted it upright; he wrapped a headband around her head, and connected it to a cord that came down from the top of the frame, pulling her head back up.

Nancy picked up the small box that the tubes were connected to, and placed it in a small holder on the frame's base, checking to make sure that none of them were pinched or kinked. She nodded to the Doctor, who made sure that the restraints were fully secured, then depressed the pedal once again, this time bringing the frame down to the base.

With the helpless Harding properly secured, Nancy helped the Doctor wheel the frame out into the hall. They went down the hall; an elevator was at the end, and they pushed the frame inside. The "down" button was pushed, and it lurched slightly before starting to move slowly downward.

About a minute later, the elevator stopped; the door opened, and the Doctor started pushing the frame out, followed by Nancy. They followed a narrow corridor, past the ersatz judge's box, and into an area that reminded Nancy of the contestants' staging area in the regulation ice rinks.

Nancy took an ice skate down from the wall, and slowly unbound Tonya's left foot. She gently fitted the skate on, taking care not to wake her captive, then laced it up snugly, and re-fastened the restraint around her ankle. This was repeated for the right foot.

While Nancy was working with Tonya's skates, the Doctor was busy himself, strapping a small chest pack into place underneath her oversized breasts; the tubes from Tonya's breasts were connected, along with the bladder tube. The TENS probe was disconnected, and replaced with the shock probe; its wire was also connected to the chest pack.

The Doctor went around behind Tonya, and strapped a small back pack into place; the tubes from both her vaginal extractor and her bowels were swiftly connected to the pack. He took out a small vial of smelling salts, and held it under Tonya's nose; she awoke with a start!

"Huh... ? Where am I?" she cried, "What are you doing to me?"

"You're ready for your Final Test, Tonya," he replied, "it's time to show yourself how strong you really are!"

"You mean," she asked, "after this, I'm all done?"

"That's right, Tonya," he answered, "think about everything you've been through since you came here; did you EVER think you'd be able to survive it?"

"No!" was her immediate response, "I couldn't have IMAGINED anything like this ever happening to me!"