Doorways to Everywhere (Tourist Trap Book 2)

Chapter 20

Max began running as fast as he could, trying to get out of the shadow. He made a diving leap for the door just as the paw came crashing down behind him. He landed a few inches away from the door, but appeared to be all in one piece. He lay on the ground panting and was soon overtaken by a coughing fit. "I've suddenly come to the realization that running and smoking six packs of cigarettes a day is probably not a very good combination."

Sarah and Dr. Octavius came around the paw and saw Max on the ground. "Are you okay?"

"I'll be fine," Max coughed. "Just give me a moment. Besides, the door is right here."

He'd barely gotten the words out of his mouth when a humongous black heeled boot shifted to the side and sent the door sliding away.

"Oh no you don't," Max said as he leaped up and hurried after it. This time he jumped right on top of it and held it down with both feet. "There! I'd like to see you escape from that. No door is going to outsmart Maximillian J. Toad."

"Cool! A toy!" A gigantic dirty pink hand suddenly scooped Max up. He watched helplessly as the door dwindled away beneath him, still lying on the ground which was rapidly getting further and further away.

Max found himself staring into the beady eyes of a gigantic boy with a blond crew cut. He looked somewhat human except he sported pointy ears and a long curved nose.

"You're an ugly toy," the boy said. "I think I'll call you the Frog Monster."

"Listen kid, you've got to put me down," Max said. "Lives are at stake here. And by the way I'm a toad. Also the only capacity in which I'm a monster is in the sack."

"You can talk! Awesome!"

"Don't get your panties in a bunch, kid," Max said. "Talking's not all that impressive of a feat. I mean, look at you. You're talking and I'm not getting all spazzed out about it."

"I can't wait to show you off to Billy," the boy said as he shoved Max into his pocket.

"Oh for crying out loud," Max said as he found himself in a dark, confined, and vaguely smelly place. "Unless this 'Billy' you refer to is a hot buxom blonde, this is seriously not cool."

*

Maurice pushed his way through the revolving door and was greeted by the unexpected but unmistakable scent of leather. "Is this Big Dave's?" he called out.

"Welcome!" an overweight yellow man with a bushy mustache called out. "You're in the right place. I'm Big Dave."

"Interesting decor you've got here," Maurice said as he looked around. The walls were covered in studded leather and various whips and chains hung everywhere.

"Why thank you," Big Dave said. "My dear friend Bruce designed it for me. Now please, take a seat and sample some of my wares."

"You give free samples? That's really neat. This way I can make sure I bring Lothar the absolute tastiest doughnuts you've got." Maurice found a big metal chair and sat down in it.

"Wonderful, wonderful," Big Dave said as he emerged from behind the counter. Maurice couldn't help but notice the shopkeeper was dressed in a form-fitting leather outfit with a spiked collar. He also seemed to be sporting assless chaps.

Big Dave swooped to the back of Maurice's chair and cuffed his hands behind him with a pair of fuzzy pink handcuffs. "You're just going to love these. They're the latest model. Their called the WristGrasperX2000. Completely inescapable."

"That's really interesting," Maurice said. "I don't really see what this has to do with doughnuts, but okay."

"Next we'll tie you up with some ultra-smooth nylon bungee cords. Much sleeker than ropes, I'm sure you'll agree."

"I do agree," Maurice said as he was bound up by the bungee cords. "Once again I'm slightly confused here as to where the coffee and doughnuts come in."

"Well I'm sure you won't be confused at all when I demonstrate these nipple clamps. They just came in and they're already one of our top sellers." With that he lifted Maurice's shirt and proceeded to attach a couple of vise-like objects to his nipples.

"Actually this confuses me even more," Maurice said as he winced in pain.

"Silly me, I almost forgot. You'll definitely want to try out our top of the line ball gags," Big Dave said as he reached onto a shelf and pulled down something that looked like a big orange tennis ball attached to two leather straps.

"I'm not sure what the purpose of that thing is," Maurice said. "I'm sure it's really quite fascinating, but I honestly just wanted to place a to go order for a dozen doughnuts and a large coffee."

"Mmm," Big Dave said. "I don't know why you keep mentioning doughnuts, but they certainly do sound good right now. I like the bear claws personally. I think I'll go pick some up after this. Thanks for the suggestion."

"Isn't this Big Dave's cafe?" Maurice asked.

"Oh goodness, no," Big Dave said. "Big Dave's cafe is several blocks away from here. This is Big Dave's S & M shop. Completely different store. Although I suppose I do understand the confusion. Now, anyway, open wide." He shoved the ball gag into Maurice's mouth and strapped it behind his head.

Maurice muttered something unintelligible as he pulled futilely at his restraints.

"Next I'd like to demonstrate some of our most popular whips on you," Big Dave said as he pulled down a particularly nasty looking strap with several spiky balls attached to the end of it. "Brace yourself. This is going to sting a little."