Alissa Razatski (part 3)

They drove for hours, through an increasingly desolate landscape. Evelyn had no idea how far they had to ride, but her discomfort grew every minute. She had tried in vain to open the hood of the suit, to at least allow some fresh air to reach her face, but it was impossible with the mittens on. With the hood tied over her mouth and nose, her own breath kept heating her up further. She had also struggled against the belts, but that only generated more heat. She could feel the nylon of the inner jacket cling to her sweaty body inside the suit and Anouchka's coat. She had managed to unzip the top of that coat, but only until the belt that ran below her breasts, which was too tight to allow her access. And the enormous Moonboots were like furnaces for her feet.

Shortly after dark, they reached a small village. It consisted of maybe ten houses. The SUV stopped in front of the largest of these shacks, and Tatjana stepped outside and opened Evelyn's door. The blast of cold air was very welcome to Evelyn. Tatjana undid the belt and helped Evelyn out of the car. Then she took off Anouchka's coat and handed it back to her so she could put it on. Evelyn was too exhausted by the trip to say anything and allowed them to escort her to the house, where a man, having heard them arrive, opened the door. There was some talk in Russian, after which Anouchka led the way upstairs. Apparently she knew the way here, and she opened a door to what turned out to be a fairly large bedroom. There was a bed for two persons, a small television, a table with two chairs, and a relaxing chair.

Anouchka and Tatjana took their coats off and threw them on the bed.
"Where are we?" Evelyn asked confused.
"Well, I don't know if this village even has a name," Anouchka said. "Anyway, we're staying here for the night. Driving around after dark is too dangerous in this area. We've rented this room before when travelling to the airport. It's not very luxurious, but there aren't many options around here. And the food's decent."
"Can you help me out of this suit?" Evelyn asked. "Oh!" she exclaimed, "my bag with my clothes is still in the car!"
"You can keep the suit on," Anouchka said, while she sat down on the bed. "It's not very warm in here."
"But I'd rather..."
"There's not much point in changing your clothes now. I hear footsteps on the chairs. Our food is coming."
Indeed, a moment later their host knocked and then entered, carrying their dinner. He showed no surprise at seeing one of his guests still in her red down suit, with the hood pulled tight around her eyes. He placed the food on the table, exchanged a few words in Russian, and left.

Anouchka opened Evelyn's hood so she could eat. It was still difficult, in her thick suit with the clunky mittens. And the hot food made her sweat again.
"Can't you take off my hood?" she asked.
"No, the zipper goes from top to bottom," Anouchka said. "So the hood can't be taken down."
"Can you just unzip the suit then? I could keep the pants on and take the top half off. That would be easier for eating, and I'm very warm."
Tatjana looked up from her food, looking annoyed. "Do you always complain so much?" she asked rather angrily. "Can you just shut up and eat?"
Evelyn was taken aback by Tatjana's temper and dared not ask again. She started to work on getting the food in her mouth.

After dinner Anouhcka said: "Well, let's go to bed then. We want to leave as early as possible tomorrow."
So early, Evelyn thought. Although she didn't actually know what time it was, it felt really early to sleep. But perhaps she was just a bit jetlagged. And there was something else. "There's only a bed for two persons," she pointed out.
"Yes, but we're prepared for that," Anouchka said, opening a suitcase she had taken with her and showing Evelyn a sleeping bag. She threw it to Tatjana who started taking it out of its bag. "We'll share the bed, you get the bag."
"Okay, but do you have something I can lie on?"
"You can sit in the relaxing chair, that's soft enough, and we can tilt it back so you're almost lying down."
"But it can't be put completely horizontal. I'll slide down."
"We've thought of that. You'll see," Anouchka said. Meanwhile Tatjana had unrolled the sleeping bag, which was a thick black down-filled mummy bag. They helped Evelyn out of her Moonboots and then she stepped in the bag.
"Hey, won't you take off my suit first?"
"Just keep it on," Anouchka said while they lifted the sleeping bag over Evelyn's body. She helped Evelyn sit down on the relaxing chair.
"But... I need to go to the toilet first," Evelyn tried to stop them.
"You have a diaper on, don't you?" Anouchka said. "So that's not a problem." Meanwhile Tatjana had gone to the suitcase and now she returned holding a bunch of ropes.
"What's that for?" Evelyn asked nervously.
"As you said, you'd probably slide or roll off the chair. So we'll simply tie the sleeping bag to the chair," Anouchka said while she started looping the rope around the sleeping bag and the chair. Then she pulled them tight and started knotting them.
"That's tight! I can't move anymore," Evelyn complained.
"You don't need to move, you need to sleep," Tatjana countered. She'd taken another piece of rope which she was wrapping around her legs, while Anouchka continued on her upper body. They were doing a thorough job, Evelyn thought.

Once her complete body was lashed to the relaxing chair, Anouchka tilted it backwards so she was almost lying down. Evelyn could only look up at the ceiling. Then Tatjana's face appeared in front of her. "Lights out," she grinned, and pulled at the drawstring of the red suit's hood.
"No, don't!" Evelyn protested, but it was too late. The next moment Evelyn's hood was closed completely and she could see nothing.
"Please, open my hood," Evelyn begged, but Tatjana ignored her and was already closing the hood of the sleeping bag over the hood of the suit, muffling the sound of Evelyn's voice.

"Little girls have to go to bed early," Anouchka said in Russian to Tatjana, "but I'm not tired yet."
"Me neither. Let's watch some television," Tatjana agreed.
Anouchka took her coat from the bed, and put it on the bound sleeping bag, carefully putting the hood over where Evelyn's face was. "This way the sound of the television won't disturb her," she grinned.
"Good idea," Tatjana said, taking her own black down coat and putting it on top of Anouchka's white one.

They turned on the television and ignored the barely audible cries for help that came from the pile of down.

---

When Anouchka and Tatjana woke up, they went downstairs to have breakfast, leaving Evelyn to smother under the pile of down a while longer. They refreshed themselves, then they prepared to leave. Only when everything else was done, they removed their coats from the sleeping bag and started untying Evelyn.

“Good morning,” Anouchka beamed when she opened Evelyn’s hood, revealing her tired eyes blinking in the light. She only opened the hood slightly though, and quickly tied it again, not allowing the rest of her face access to fresh air. “Did you sleep well?”
“I don’t think I slept at all,” Evelyn retorted. “I was way too hot and I was nearly suffocating in that closed sleeping bag.” She had no idea she had been under two additional down coats, which were at least in part responsible for that.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Anouchka said. “Maybe you can sleep some more in the car.”
“I’d rather have a shower first. I’m all sticky with sweat.”
“I’m afraid we don’t have time for that. We want to arrive at Mappisi by noon. So we’ll leave immediately.”
By now, Evelyn was free of the ropes and the sleeping bag and shakily got to her feet. “How about some breakfast first?” she asked.
“Sorry, no time,” Anouchka said, sounding genuinely sorry. “But here’s a bottle of water. Sit down and have a drink, while I help you with your Moonboots.”
“Won’t you help me out of my suit first? I need to use the toilet.”
“That’s a waste of time, it would take too long and you’re wearing a diaper anyway. Here, have a drink and sit down.”

Soon Evelyn was ready to go again. Because of her tiredness, her limited vision and her gigantic Moonboots she nearly tripped and tumbled down the stairs, but Tatjana grabbed her by the hood before she could fall. “Take care,” she said curtly, sounding more angry than concerned.
They reached the car and Anouchka got out of her coat and behind the wheel again. Tatjana once more held out the coat for Evelyn.
“No, I really don’t need –“
“Can you stop being so stubborn already!” Tatjana exclaimed.
Evelyn was a bit scared of Tatjana, who didn’t seem so friendly. Too tired to argue, she stuck out her arm and allowed Tatjana to pull the sleeves of the coat over her down suit again. Once both arms were in, Tatjana hoisted the coat over her shoulders, from front to back.
“Hey, it’s backwards!” Evelyn said. Tatjana was already behind her, zipping it up. The large white hood was pulled closer to her face as the zip was closed.
“That’s so you can sleep some more while we drive,” Tatjana said, while she opened the door and pushed Evelyn into the seat. She lifted Evelyn’s legs and put them inside, then started doing up the special seat belt again. Once Evelyn was secured, she closed the suit’s hood completely, pulled up the thick white hood and tied it at her back, so she wouldn’t be able to take it off.
“Have some rest,” Evelyn heard Tatjana’s voice, as if from far away. “You’ll need every bit of rest you can get at Mappisi.”