Fallen World: The Complete Trilogy

by Tom Jones

  Photias briefly moved his eyes upwards to view the fox’s face before asking a follow-up question, “Since the 1950s? I haven’t seen these things outside of the Internet and your personal collection including them.” Arcades spoke again, “Yeah. They’re not common at all. I’m surprised that they’re still made, but I presume that they’re probably not made for the actual law enforcement industry anymore. If I had to guess as to why, I’d say that it would probably have something to do with how they’re not really comfortable to wear on the thumbs or the hallux digits for an extended period of time. However, that really only becomes an issue if you start struggling in them, and that’s not what we’re doing here.” When the word discomfort was used, Photias asked if Arcades was currently experiencing any discomfort, “You’re not feeling uncomfortable right now, are you?” The fox shook his head, “No, I’m not. If I tried to move around, then I would, but I’m alright if my feet are just going to stay out like this.”

  Photias thought back to what the fox first mentioned about the thumbcuffs, “So these were made by Americans?” Arcades shook his head, “The ones I’m wearing right now were manufactured in Taiwan. If you look at the bow where it meets the pin it swings on next to the frame, you’ll see that it is marked with a Taiwan engraving.” Photias realized that the fox had misunderstood the question, so he rephrased it before asking again, “Whoops. I mean, were those originally designed in America?” Arcades now understood the question which the wolf was asking him, “Oh, I see what you mean now. Yeah, the modern thumbcuffs were designed by Americans. I think that’s interesting considering that Americans were also the ones to develop the modern handcuffs that are still used today. If I remember correctly, it was the Peerless company which was responsible for that in the early half of the 20th century.”

  Photias became curious, “What did they do differently?” Arcades answered the question, “Peerless made the swing-through design. Before they did that, restraints were supposed to be only one size that had to fit everybody. The problem with that design is that not everybody has the same sized wrists. You have people like me who have very thin wrists and ankles, and you also have other people who have very large wrists and ankles. If you were small enough, you could slip out of the chains, and if you were big enough, they wouldn’t be able to chain you up in the first place. The swing-through design was made so that it can accommodate as many different limb sizes as possible. That design originally was made for handcuffs, but then they started using the swing-through design for legcuffs, and eventually for thumbcuffs. I happen to be wearing all three of them right now. How about that?” Photias chuckled, “Hah. You know I like that.” The fox continued his miniature lecture, “The design by Peerless was truly revolutionary. Ever since they pioneered the swing-through design, all sorts of other companies and countries copied it. Smith & Wesson rose to prevalence in the restraint industry when they were licensed by Peerless to make restraints for them. Eventually, Smith & Wesson just started making their own models by themselves.”

  Photias presented Arcades with another question, “Don’t you have cuffs from both of those brands?” The fox nodded, “I sure do, but I mainly prefer Smith & Wesson because of the shape of their leg restraints. I also am rather fond of all of the different variants they make for their restraints. You have the slot-locking models, the push-pin models similar to the ones that Peerless made, and you also have those M-104s which take a special key.” The wolf started to think about how many companies would make practically the same items, “So, Kurt. How many companies are there that make these things?” The fox started to give his answer, even though he knew that he probably was unable to know all of the manufacturers in total, “Well, in the United States, the big four are Peerless, Smith & Wesson, Armament Services and Procedures, and the Safariland Group. Outside of the United States, countries either import them or make them by themselves. Germany has Clejuso, South Korea has Yuil, Australia has Lithgow Arms, England has basically their own version of the Safariland stuff that they make over there. There’s a bunch, and I don’t think I even know all of them. I’m sure I’m missing out on a fair bit of companies.”

  The wolf looked at the keyring which he was using to lock and unlock the restraints, “Some of these keys look different, but they all seem to have the same overall shape to them.” Arcades replied, “Yeah. The original key for the older Peerless models was the one that started it out like that, I’m pretty sure. I’m not entirely sure when the American brands all started using what I’d call the American Standard key, but they’ve been using that key type for I’d say close to one hundred years now. It may be more at this point, but I want to say it wasn’t until the 1940s or 1950s when they came up with the design that is still in use today.” The wolf’s curiosity seemed to have no end, “And all of those have been available for regular Americans to just go out and buy since they’ve been out?” Arcades nodded, “That’s right. As far as I know, these have never really been regulated at all in this country, and I don’t recall any problems occurring because of that. I’d say people aren’t too worried about it, and I like that. To be honest, I’d rather people don’t give this sort of stuff too much attention at all. I like being able to enjoy it with you and have that be the end of it.”

  Photias nodded, but he still thought back to the laws present back in Australia, “I wish it was like that where I’m from. You’d have to get a bona fide firearms license to even think about getting any of this stuff to begin with. If you don’t you’ll get in as much trouble as you’d get in for having a real gun without a license.” The things which the wolf told the fox were nothing new to him, “I’m familiar with that. I guess you can be glad that you don’t live in Australia anymore.” Photias replied, “I am. I get to play with this stuff and put you in it.” Arcades said, “And I sure like getting put in it. It’s the best when you know that nothing bad is going to happen to you. I’m glad that I have someone I can trust to do this with.” Photias gave a nod, “And I am glad I have somebody who is willing to trust me to do this. You know I don’t deserve the trust.” Arcades replied, “It’s not about what you deserve. If you were talking in terms of what one deserves, then nobody deserves trust. We’re all a bunch of fallen beings, and we’ve all been guilty of doing something disingenuous at one point. What matters is that I’m still willing to trust you even with all that in mind.”

  When the topic shifted, Photias looked at the restraints which the fox wore, and he began to think of an analogy, “You know what I just thought about, Kurt?” Arcades gave the wolf his undivided attention, “What’s that?” Photias began to speak, “You know how the Lord freed the Israelites from bondage in Egypt?” Arcades misunderstood the point the wolf was setting up, “I don’t think it was this kind of bondage.” Photias understood that Arcades was not understanding him, “No, I’m not talking about that. The bondage that the Egyptians were in was sin, right?” Arcades nodded, “Yeah. The Egyptians were slaves to sin, and they kept the Israelites enslaved to them.” Photias began to speak again once the fox finished, “Think about it this way: Let’s just say for a minute that the chains you are wearing represent sin. I know that we’re not doing anything wrong by playing with them, but let’s just use this as an analogy for a moment. Can we do that?” Arcades was not entirely sure where the wolf was going, but he decided that he would listen to what he was trying to say, “Go ahead. You’re not going to need me to do anything to help demonstrate a point you’re making, are you?”

  The wolf shook his head, “No, mate. All you need to do is just hear me out.” The fox already agreed to listen to Photias, but he decided to give him the go-ahead once more, “Yeah, I’m listening.” Photias continued, “So, we as fallen beings are trapped in these chains. We have no hope to release ourselves, but many people try their hardest to break out by themselves. Unfortunately, sin is much stronger than iron alloys, so nobody would ever be strong enough to break free.” The wolf paused for a moment to see if the fox was following
his logic, and Arcades said, “I can see that, perhaps.” Photias then said, “There’s more: Jesus is like the guy who carries the key. Many people know that the key exists, but they don’t want to ask for it. It’d be like if I didn’t release you unless you specifically asked for me to do so. Many people, as you know, don’t want to ask Jesus to release them from the chains of sin, and they think that they can do it by themselves. I’m sure we both know why that doesn’t work.” Arcades said, “Because you can’t justify yourself?” Photias nodded, “Yeah, but for this analogy, I’d say it’d be because you can’t get the key for yourself. You’re still relying on someone else to get you out, and there’s only one who can truly get you out.”

  Jason pulled out the key, and he held it in front of the fox. Arcades decided that he would play along with the wolf’s analogy, “Alright, I see what you want me to do. Can you let me out, Jason?” Photias nodded, and he walked behind the fox to first unlock his handcuffs, “Sure thing, mate. You can count on me.” Arcades gave a slight chuckle, “Heh… When did you come up with this metaphor?” Photias did not reply until he was able to completely free the fox’s hands, “I guess you could say I thought of it at the top of my head. I’m still not entirely done yet, so can you just play along for a little bit longer, mate?” Arcades decided to allow the wolf to continue, “Yeah. Go ahead.” The wolf smiled as he moved on to unlock the shackles around the fox’s ankles next. With the Smith & Wesson M-110-1s now off of the fox’s thin ankles, the wolf sat the restraints aside. Photias did not say anything else until the thumbcuffs locked around the fox’s hallux digits were the only restraints he was still wearing, “Now, some people think that Jesus only needs to free them from some of their sins, and not all of them. Some people think that some sins are so insignificant that they don’t need to be forgiven from them. Look at those cuffs around your toes there. How much did those cost you?”

  Arcades looked at the thumbcuffs he wore on his hallux digits, and he sat in silence for a couple seconds before replying, “I’d say those were about twelve dollars.” Photias nodded and continued speaking, “Yes. Twelve dollars is pretty insignificant, innit?” Arcades replied, “From a monetary perspective, I’d say so.” The wolf then continued his analogy, “But you know what isn’t insignificant? How much freedom of movement do you have with those on your toes?” Arcades did not even attempt to move his feet, for he knew they were not going anywhere, “There’s absolutely no way I’m walking with these on my feet.” Photias nodded, “Exactly. Those cuffs may look insignificant and cost a small amount, but they are still able to immobilize you. Some people have their secret sins which they think are too insignificant, but those same sins are the ones that lead to eternal damnation.” Arcades had a smile on his face, and the fox felt as if the wolf’s analogy was pretty silly, even though it was very accurate, “You want me to ask you to take these off, don’t you?”

  Photias returned a smile back to the fox, “Of course. I won’t let you out unless you ask me to, mate.” Arcades kept the smile on his face as he played along with the analogy, “Can you let me out, Jason?” When the fox finished his response, Jason almost immediately placed the key inside of the thumbcuffs and undid the double-lock before undoing the main lock and releasing the fox’s hallux digits from the cuffs. With Arcades now completely free from restraints again, he spread his legs apart and flexed his digits to get more blood moving back through them. Photias was reaching the conclusion of his analogy, “And that’ll be about what does it. How did you like that, mate?” Arcades gave his genuine opinion, “It was very silly, but I do see what you were trying to say throughout it. I think if you refined it a bit, it would be more effective. I’m sure most people would not volunteer to get chained up for this demonstration like I have. You’d have to come up with something that’s a bit more relatable for people who aren’t content with being bound in chains. Not everybody is like me, as you know.”

  Photias kept the smile on his face, and he could feel some blood rushing to his cheeks, despite the fact that the fur on his cheeks prevented the fox from seeing his cheeks go red, “Thanks for going through it with me, Kurt.” Arcades gave a slight chuckle; he could hear the light tone in the wolf’s voice, “Heh. Anytime.” After the wolf regained his composure, he asked the fox another question, “Well, with that done, do you want me to put you back in it, or for me to put you in a different combination?” The fox considered the wolf’s offer for a moment, but at the same time, he felt that he had enough fun with handcuffs for the time being, “Hmmm… How long has it been so far?” Neither the fox nor the wolf were wearing a watch, but Jason did remember passing by a clock before they started. Photias stood up, and he went to go check the clock. When the wolf came back a short moment later, he replied, “It’s been about twenty-five minutes since we’ve been home.”

  Arcades now asked a follow-up question, “What time is it right now?” Photias answered the new question, “It’s one in the afternoon. I don’t believe we’ve had our lunch yet. Have we?” The fox thought for a split second, but he realized that he did not remember eating lunch since he truly did not eat lunch in the first place, “No, we have not had lunch yet.” The wolf placed the three restraints he had brought out to use on the fox back into the bag, and he zipped the bag up before asking, “Are you getting hungry?” Arcades had not really been thinking about if he was hungry or not, but now that the wolf was asking him directly, he suddenly started to feel quite hungry, “Well, now that you mention it, I’m pretty hungry myself.” After Photias packed up the restraints he and the fox played with, the wolf extended his hand to allow for the fox to take it, “Then how about we get some, mate?” Arcades took the wolf’s hand, and he quickly got to his feet. The fox was now standing up with the wolf, and they were looking at each other in the eye, even though there was a height difference of an inch or two, “Sounds like a plan. What are you hungry for, Jason?” Photias made a suggestion, “Perhaps we can make something here. We went out to eat for lunch yesterday, didn’t we?” Arcades nodded, “Yeah, we did. Making stuff here’s cheaper, anyways. Are you hungry yourself or something, Jason?”

  The wolf nodded, “Yeah. That’s why I asked. We can continue this little session later if you’d like.” Arcades looked down at the bag and felt that now would be a decent time to have a little lunch break, “Sounds like we’re both getting hungry, then. Did you enjoy seeing me locked up for that little chunk of time there?” The wolf placed his right hand over his head and canted his head at an angle, “Yeah…” Photias then asked the fox a question once he lowered his hand and straightened his head back while facing the fox again, “I hope you enjoyed being locked up yourself.” Arcades nodded, “Oh yeah, I did. Your little analogy towards the end made it a bit more… What’s the word? Notable? That was the first time you’ve ever made a metaphor like that.” Photias put his hand over his head once more, “Gosh… Heh… I’m glad you found it notable, mate.” Arcades embraced the wolf, “Thanks for doing this for me today, Jason.” Photias embraced the fox back, “No worries, Kurt.” The two brothers may not have been related by blood, but they were both part of the Lord’s eternal family of Saints. They would be together with the Lord Jesus Christ for all eternity.

  The end.