When Sadie walked in on Saturday afternoon, there wasn't a single empty cage in the slave adoption centre. But even though every cage housed a starving, naked person, you could hear a pin drop. This must be one of those places that uses shock collars, she thought.

Sadie stood in front of the wall of cages and tried to imagine which slave had the lowest chance of being adopted. Generally if a person could demonstrate they were conscious, they at least had some chance of being chosen, so she looked for a slave who wasn't moving. After a few minutes, she decided on a slave who was lying in fetal position. The sticker on his cage said: "Male, 23 years."

"Are you sure you want this one?" the attendant asked. "I don't know how long he'll last. He hasn't been eating, and he sleeps a lot."

"I'm with Rescue and Release. If he doesn't have long to live, I want to give him a good home while he's still here."

"Oh ya, I've heard of you guys. I'll let him out of the cage for you. Be careful 'cause he spooks easy."

The attendant unlocked the front door of the man's cage, but he didn't move a muscle. She started to attach a harness to him, but Sadie stopped her.

"Don't drag him out. I'd like to talk to him first if that's okay."

"All right. I'll leave the door open. Just let me know if you need anything."

Sadie got down on her knees in front of the open cage. "Hello in there," she said with a soft voice.

The man didn't move.

"Hello there, my name is Sadie."

No response.

"I'm sorry to wake you up. I'm with an organization called Rescue and Release, and I'd like to take you somewhere where you can sleep more comfortably. I know that you can't speak right now because of the collar, but if you're awake, could you please knock once?"

After a moment, Sadie heard the man's knuckles knock lightly on the metal floor of his cage.

"Thanks for letting me know you're awake. I'd like to take you somewhere where you can sleep in a bed, have warm clothing, and have good food to eat. Would you like to come with me? Please knock once for no, and twice for yes."

Immediately, Sadie heard two light knocks.

"Great. As soon as we're out of here, I'm going to take off your shock collar so you can speak. Now, I need to know if you can come out of your cage and stand up by yourself. Knock once for yes, and twice for no."

The man knocked once.

"Okay. If you're a bit shaky on your feet, that's fine. I'll be right here to support you. You can get out of the cage whenever you're ready."

Sadie stayed on her knees and inched back from the cage to give the man room to climb out. At first, he didn't move at all and Sadie worried that he might not be able to stand on his own. But eventually, the young man got onto his hands and knees and crawled backwards out of the cage. Once he was out, he stayed on his knees and turned to face Sadie, keeping his head low and his eyes locked on the floor.

"All right, I'm going to get up so I can support you when you stand. Remember, if you feel shaky, just reach out for me and I'll make sure you don't fall." Gradually, Sadie got up and put her arms out.

The man made sure to keep his eyes locked on the floor as he bent one knee, placed his hands on it, and pushed himself upwards. When he got to his feet, he almost lost his balance but regained it without having to reach for Sadie. Now he stood in front of her with his head bowed.

"Great job. Now, I have some slippers in my bag that I'd like you to put on. I'm going to put them down on the floor and you can slip into them." Sadie got the soft, sheepskin slippers out of her bag and the man put them on.

"Now we need to go to the registration desk. I'd like you to take my arm when we're walking for the rest of today, just in case."

Sadie put out her arm for support and the man tentatively linked arms with her as they walked towards the registration desk. Sadie quickly filled out the necessary forms as the young man held onto the side of the desk for support. Once the clerk gave Sadie license tags that were inscribed with the number tattooed on the man's arm, she returned the shock collar and led the man to her car.

"Because eye contact is difficult for you today, I'd like you to sit in the backseat. That way we'll be able to talk without having to look at each other. Is that okay?"

The man nodded a quick yes. He leaned against the trunk while Sadie opened the back door and pulled out a robe for him to put on.

"This is for you to wear. It belongs to you, and you can put it on right now if you like."

The man nodded a fervent yes, then lowered himself onto his knees and bowed his head even more than usual. At this, Sadie took a step back and squatted onto the ground in front of him.

"You don't need to kneel on the ground," she said, very softly. "I would like you to stand up, put on the robe, and then sit in the backseat of the car. Please."

The young man immediately stood, put the robe on, and climbed into the backseat. Sadie sat in the driver's seat and was careful not to turn around and look at the man. "I know the next little while will probably be very confusing for you. But I just want you to know that you haven't done anything wrong. I know all you're doing is what you've been taught."

Sadie watched in the rearview mirror as the man sat in silence and stared at his lap. "I also want to let you know that you're free to talk whenever you like, about whatever you like. If you need something or have something you want to tell me, I'll always listen."

No response.

"Let's start with getting on a first name basis. In case you forgot, my name is Sadie. What's your name?"

"Whatever you wish it to be, mistress," the man replied in an almost whisper.

"What did your parents name you?"

"Abed, mistress."

"It's very nice to meet you, Abed."

"The pleasure is all mine, mistress." Abed's voice was small and flat.

"I understand this is a hard pattern to break, but I want you to know that you don't have to call me 'mistress.' You can call me Sadie, or friend, or even ma'am. If you feel more comfortable calling me mistress, that's okay, but you'll never get in trouble for calling me Sadie."

They sat in silence while Abed tried to make sense of what he'd just been told. His mind worked overtime to come up with the safest thing for him to call his new owner.

"Thank you, Mistress Sadie," he eventually replied.

"You don't have to thank me, Abed."

"Yes, Mistress Sadie."

Sadie backed the car out of the parking lot and gave Abed a rest from talking. This has to be a trick, he thought. The slippers, the robe, being told he didn't have to say mistress. This was a height for him to drop from when reality hit. None of this is real, none of this is real. It's all a lie, it's all a lie, it's all a lie.

When they arrived at Sadie's apartment building, she parked the car and gave Abed her arm to steady himself as they walked up the stairs and inside the apartment. The place wasn't much, but she had a spare room where Abed would sleep, and she hoped she could make him as comfortable here as Annie and Jeff had been.

Abed kept his eyes on his slippers as he crossed the threshold into his new home. He closed and locked the door behind him and stood completely still, waiting to be given orders.

"Welcome to your new home!" Sadie said. "This is your space as much as it is mine. If there's anything you need, or want, or can't find, just let me know."

"Yes, Mistress Sadie."

"All right, now it's choices time. What would you like to do first? Get dressed, use the washroom, or have something to eat? Remember, there's no wrong answer."

Abed knew he couldn't guess the right answer, so he just went with the truth. "May I please use the washroom, Mistress Sadie?"

"Of course you can. The bathroom's right here."

Abed didn't see which door she'd gestured to since his head was down, so he followed in the direction of her voice and hoped he'd find the bathroom. He opened the first door he found and panicked when he looked up and saw it was a bedroom. Then he felt Sadie's presence come up behind him. Abed instantly dropped to the floor and bowed his head low.

"I'm so sorry, mistress!" He dug his nails into the back of his hand.

Sadie saw what Abed was doing and sat down on the floor in front of him. "Abed, please stop hurting your hand." The young man immediately folded his hands and started rocking back and forth.

"You haven't done anything wrong," she soothed. "I know that when you keep your head down, it's hard for you to see where you're going. I know that you meant to go to the bathroom, but I'm actually happy you came in here because this is your room. I washed the sheets and made the bed so you could sleep here tonight."

Abed didn't understand half of what she'd said. He was a slave, and he slept in a cage. That was how life worked. Sadie must have been playing the most evil mind game a master or mistress had ever played on him, and he wasn't going to fall for it. He stayed kneeling on the ground with his head down, rocking, and wasn't going to get up until he was told to.

As she waited for Abed to calm down, Sadie realized that giving him choices might have been a bad idea. For Jeff and Annie, learning they could safely make choices was a groundbreaking moment. But apparently, what worked for them wasn't going to work for Abed. So she decided to take a different approach.

"Abed, I'm so sorry I frightened you. From now on, I'm going to make things very clear so there aren't any misunderstandings. I'd like you to please stand up and lift your head."

The young man obeyed.

"Thank you. Now I'd like you to please use the washroom, wash your hands, and come back to see me in the bedroom."

"Yes, mistress." Abed hurried off to the bathroom, and when he returned, Sadie had laid out a pair of flannel pyjamas for him on the bed.

"I'd like you to change into these pyjamas, put your slippers back on, and then come meet me in the kitchen."

"Yes, mistress," Abed replied, terrified.

Sadie left the bedroom and closed the door behind her. She went to the kitchen, got out a pen and a piece of paper, and at the top of the sheet wrote: House Rules

Before she was able to draft rule one, Abed was in the kitchen in his pyjamas and slippers, kneeling on the ground next to her with his head lowered.

"Abed, I'd like you to sit in the chair next to me, please."

"Yes, mistress," he said, sitting next to her.

"I'm going to write up a list of house rules. I'm putting them in place because I want you to understand the kind of relationship I'd like us to have."

"Yes, mistress." I knew this was coming. I knew this was coming.

"All right. Rule number one…" Sadie still wasn't sure if Abed could read, so she made sure to say what she was writing out loud. She took a moment to think about Jeff and Annie's behaviours when they first arrived at the apartment and then decided on a rule. "Abed must sleep in his bed at night. Not under the bed, not on the floor - in the bed."

"Yes, mistress," he nodded.

"Rule number two. Abed must never be naked in front of Sadie. And Sadie must never be naked in front of Abed. All changes of clothes and bathroom visits must happen behind closed doors."

"Yes, mistress."

"Rule number three. When Abed needs to use the bathroom, he must not wait to ask Sadie if he is allowed to go. He must use the bathroom as soon as he needs to, no matter what time of day or night."

"Yes, mistress," Abed said, trying to memorize the first three rules.

By the time the list was finished, it read:

House Rules

1. Abed must sleep in his bed at night. Not under the bed, not on the floor - in the bed.

2. Abed must never be naked in front of Sadie. And Sadie must never be naked in front of Abed. All changes of clothes and bathroom visits must happen behind closed doors.

3. When Abed needs to use the bathroom, he must not wait to ask Sadie if he is allowed to go. He must use the bathroom as soon as he needs to, no matter what time of day or night.

4. Abed must eat when he is hungry. If he is not able to find something to eat on his own, he must tell Sadie that he is hungry. When Abed tells Sadie he is hungry, she must find him something to eat immediately.

5. Abed must tell Sadie when he is sick, injured, or not feeling well. When Abed tells Sadie he is sick, injured, or not feeling well, Sadie must do whatever she can to help him heal and make him feel better.

6. When Sadie is talking to Abed, he must make eye contact with her. When Abed is talking to Sadie, she must make eye contact with him.

7. Abed must never kneel on the floor or bow his head to show respect to Sadie. If Abed wishes to show respect to Sadie, he must look her in the eye and say, "I respect you, Sadie." or "Thank you, Sadie."

8. When Abed has a question about how he should behave in their shared apartment, he must ask Sadie the question. When Sadie answers the question, Abed must abide by Sadie's answer.

9. If Abed ever feels afraid, hurt, scared, lonely, anxious, frightened, confused, nervous, distraught, annoyed, violated, victimized, offended, sad, depressed, mad, angry, or uncomfortable, he must tell Sadie immediately. Upon hearing that Abed is feeling any of these emotions, Sadie must do her very best to help make the emotion or emotions subside.

10. Sadie must never perpetrate physical, verbal, or emotional violence of any kind against Abed. Similarly, Abed must never perpetrate physical, verbal, or emotional violence of any kind against Sadie.

11. If there is any past, present, or future rule that Abed is not comfortable with, he must tell Sadie immediately. Upon hearing that Abed is uncomfortable with a rule, Sadie must do her very best to change or modify the rule to help him feel more comfortable.

Sadie hoped the rules would encourage Abed to speak more. "So," she started, "now that these are our official house rules, is there anything you'd like to tell me? Or ask me?"

Abed looked her in the eye and tried his very best to speak, but nothing came out. He wanted to follow the rules and be a good slave, and not get hurt, and do everything right, but speaking freely was so foreign to him that he wasn't sure he could do it. He stared at Sadie, desperately trying to make his mouth form words, but nothing came. He remembered that there was a rule against Sadie hurting him, but he knew there was no rule against him hurting himself. So he lowered his head and began digging his nails into the back of his hand.

"Abed, please don't hurt your hand." Sadie took both of Abed's hands in hers. "I'd like you to close your eyes, breathe in, hold your breath for 5 seconds, and breathe out." Abed did as he was told. "Now again. Breathe in, hold, breathe out." Sadie told Abed to repeat the action a few times until she saw he was calmer, then asked him to open his eyes.

"I'm sorry Abed, did the rules scare you?"

Abed hesitated, then decided to keep his head down. "No, mistress."

"Then what's the matter?"

He was silent for a moment. "It's hard for me to talk and look in your eyes at the same time, mistress."

"That's okay. We can change that rule." Sadie picked up her pen, crossed out rule six and rewrote it. When she was finished, she read it aloud to Abed. "When Sadie is talking to Abed, he must try to make eye contact with her when he can. When Abed is talking to Sadie, she must try to make eye contact with him when she can. How does that sound?"

"I can do that, mistress. Thank you, mistress."

"No problem. And one more thing." Sadie changed rule ten then read it aloud. "Sadie must never perpetrate physical, verbal, or emotional violence of any kind against Abed or herself. Similarly, Abed must never perpetrate physical, verbal, or emotional violence of any kind against Sadie or himself. Think you can stick to that?"

"Yes, mistress."

"Good. Now, would you like something to eat? I made a lasagna yesterday and I can heat some up for each of us."

"Yes, mistress. Thank you, mistress." He was still unable to make eye contact.

"You're more than welcome." Sadie made a point of cutting the lasagna on the table in front of Abed so he could see that both of their pieces came from the same dish. Annie and Jeff had each told her their own horror story about being tricked into eating food laced with drugs, so Sadie wanted to make sure that Abed knew what he was eating was safe.

Once the lasagna was being heated up in the microwave, Sadie sat back down next to Abed. "Is there anywhere on your body that hurts? Do you feel sick at all?"

Abed closed his eyes and nodded. "Yes, mistress. My back hurts, mistress."

"Anywhere else?"

"Yes, mistress. My head, my stomach, and my teeth hurt, mistress."

Abed was terrified. He'd never told any of his masters or mistresses when he was in pain before. Since he wasn't allowed to hurt himself, he began to rock back and forth in his chair, desperately trying to self-soothe.

"Okay. I'm going to give you a Tylenol for the pain. I'll take one too so you know it's safe. I'm hoping you'll feel better after you've eaten and slept, but if you don't, let me know. I know it's going to be a long time before you're ready to see a doctor, but when you're ready, I'll be more than happy to take you. But you don't need to worry about that today."

"Yes, mistress. Thank you, mistress." He was even more scared of doctors than he was of Sadie. He rocked harder.

"Abed, you can keep rocking if you need to, but could you also try doing the breathing exercise I taught you?"

"Yes, mistress."

As Abed took deep breaths, Sadie got out the bottle of Tylenol and two small glasses of orange juice. They each took a pill, then the microwave beeped. Sadie took out the food and set in on the table and they ate their dinner in silence.

"Would you like some chocolate for dessert?"

"Yes, please, mistress." He still wasn't able to look at her.

Sadie cleared the table then took a chocolate bar out of a kitchen drawer and broke it in half, handing one half to Abed. "How 'bout we watch a movie?"

"Yes, please, mistress."

Abed followed Sadie to the living room sofa and she turned on the tv. There was a movie on about a young slave girl who gets adopted and freed by a rich family. Sadie had watched the same movie once with Annie, and she'd cried happy tears and hugged Sadie.

"That's like me! You rescued me!" she'd said, squeezing Sadie tighter and reaching for a Kleenex.

Sadie knew she wouldn't get the same reaction from Abed, but it was a light enough movie that it was safe to watch with him. They ate their chocolate and watched the movie in silence, and before it was over, Abed had fallen asleep and was snoring softly.

Sadie let Abed sleep on the sofa until 10pm, then she gently woke him up and guided him to his bed. He fell onto the forest green bedspread and slept there until morning.