[Dendog]

Lance mounted his bike and began to ponder. “Which route would be the best to get back to the flat…” he thought aloud, “but if I know Jerry it would be in my best interest to take a route where I’d be less likely to be seen, but if time is a factor maybe I’d be better off taking a more direct route.” Activating the map application on his phone, Lance took a good look at the distance between himself and the flat. “Hmm… looks like they dropped me off about 13 miles away, that’d be nothing if I took the main highway but bikes aren’t permitted there...” murmured Lance, “However, that is the most visible route at this time of day and who knows what would happen if I’m caught by the police, even if Jerry’s invention hasn’t become a problem yet.” Looking further he noticed a suggested route near the park, the very park Troy was so hilariously exposed not two weeks prior. “Hmm… I could take the back roads... it’d be longer but the chances I’ll encounter anyone is much lower and there’s no bike restrictions through there.” This introspective back and forth went on for approximately thirty minutes as Lance circled the parking lot of a dilapidated store. “Linger sensor activated!” came a somewhat robotic sounding Jerry from the device on Lance’s bike.

Astonished, Lance nearly crashed the bike into a parking lot divider. “What does that mean?” He said aloud, in shock. As if answering his question a text message from Jerry arrived, the message read itself aloud in the same robotic Jerry voice, “Lance, my computer tells me you’ve triggered the linger detection system. This will trigger anytime you spend too long in one area as registered by the GPS tracking system. I’ll nullify it just this once, but it is in your best interest not to trigger it or the other parameter systems. See you after midnight. ;p”

“Damnit, I should have known that that perverted egghead would have put something to limit my stalling… I guess I should try the quick route.” Grumbled Lance as he headed towards the highway on ramp. Avoiding vehicles leaving the shopping centre and approaching the highway along the main street was easier than Lance had expected, having arrived at the stop lights just as they prevented vehicle traffic from proceeding onto the exit ramp. From along the roadside Lance thought he would be able to avoid traffic easily, unfortunately he had forgotten that the highway was both upslope and cut narrowly for at least two miles making it impossible for travel much further from the asphalt. As vehicles whizzed by, Lance found it troublesome to remain upright on his bike which made progress difficult. The normal sized vehicles were a minor annoyance but the odd semi-truck would cause large gusts of wind that threatened to knock Lance from his flimsy bike. After 15 minutes of rough biking along the highway Lance found himself passing along a long ridge that overlooked the shopping centre from whence he had started his journey. The ridge lead to a downward, grassy slope that droped off into a medium sized ditch that serves as a separation from the shopping centre and the highway. Lance paused for a moment to catch his breath when a well timed convoy of semi-trucks passed him by causing a mighty gust of wind that knocked Lance off the bike and caused him to roll down the slope. Lance rolled clear to the bottom of the slope only stopping just short of rolling completely into the ditch, however his head and part of his upper body grazed the waters slightly. Having ended up a good 15 ft down from both the highway and the bike, Lance’s phone began to vibrate as another message from Jerry arrived.

“You might want to get back to the bike asap.” was all that Jerry’s message said. Lance stood up after reading the message then began to brush himself off and check himself for injury. Lance’s legs, arms, head, and torso all felt fine though he suspected slight bruising in his future. Only his ego was truly harmed from such a silly tumble. Ten minutes had passed by the time Lance reclaimed the bike. Lance took a moment to pull his top shirt layer up to wipe the wetness from his face, to his surprise he was not met with the sight of his black compression undershirt but instead his own bare torso beneath. “Did I somehow rip my undershirt in the fall?” Lance thought briefly as he began to feel further up, “Wait… what?!” he exclaimed. Just shy of his pierced nipples Lance found what remained of his compression shirt, which had become more akin to a sports bra than a tank top. Lance began to text Jerry for answers when suddenly he was met with another linger detection notification. A small whirring noise started coming from the device on the bike as Lance’s undershirt began to unravel before his very eyes. “Oh shit!” Lance exclaimed as the true nature of the device became clear to him. Within moments his undershirt had completely vanished into thin air… but the device did not stop whirring! Lance quickly mounted the bike as he examined his other clothing for any hint as to what was starting to unravel next as he resumed his ride with newborn fervor.

Now knowing that Jerry’s device was capable of stripping him remotely, Lance peddled with much more effort than he had before. By now he was an hour into his ordeal with little over five hours left to make it 10 more miles home before he was rendered completely exposed! Passing traffic remained an issue for Lance along the highway but what was most concerning was the progress the machine had made on his shirt. Lance had made it approximately 4 miles from where he started his journey but the machine had unraveled both sleeves and turned his form-fitting, red t-shirt into a tube top that fully showed off his toned muscles and pierced nipples. He looked ridiculous and completely conspicuous as he continued his journey along the highway, an athletic 28 year old in a bright red tube top and loose cobalt blue basketball shorts was not something easily missed. As Lance approached another stretch of on and exit ramps his fears came true, blue and red lights began to flash behind him as he heard the unmistakable chirp of a police siren. Lance stopped and waited for the officer to pull up, hoping that the exchange would be quick and he would only receive a small fine at worst. Another text message from Jerry arrived as Lance waited for the officer to get out of his vehicle. “It seems you’ve run into trouble, don’t ask how I know. Know that if you get further than a mile from the device or you exceed 30 MPH the challenge will be deemed a failure. You may think the device is what is causing your clothes to unwind, the opposite is actually true; the device is keeping your clothes from unwinding at a much higher and accelerated rate.” “Shit.” was all Lance could muster as the officer walked up.

“What are you doing son?” came a surprisingly feminine yet authoritative voice. Lance turned and his eyes met with the scrutinizing gaze of a female officer, her badge read ‘Ms. Love’. “Oh, I’m just trying to make my way back home Ms. Love.” Lance awkwardly uttered with nervousness evident in his every word. The last thing Lance wanted was for this confrontation to last long enough to trigger another linger penalty or worse, end up arrested and detained. “It’s Officer Love, thanks. Why are you illegally riding a bike along the highway? Surely you know the dangers…” she began, before noticing the scuffed look of Lance’s attire and the residual dirt and mud from his tumble. “Yes, Officer Love, I’m sorry but I’m just trying to get back home as soon as possible on my bike and I figured at this time of the afternoon traffic would be lower and I’d be less at risk.” Lance began to explain, “As you can see I’ve already had a rough time…”
“Son, is this some sort of hazing situation?” Interjected Officer Love. “Oh! No, nothing like that! I’m training myself and had my friends drop me off with just this bike in town so that I’m forced to ride my way home. I had a little tumble down the slope near the shopping centre because a convoy of semi-trucks passed by in a cluster, knocking me off the bike with a large gust of wind!” -the device begins to whir again- Lance hastily continued, “I’m only about 8 miles from home and it shouldn’t take much longer if I’m allowed to continue…” “Sorry son, I can’t let you do that.” bluntly stated Officer Love.

Lance’s mind began to race. He had heard the machine kick on and knew that the longer he was trapped in conversation with Officer Love the more exposed he would become. “Officer Love, if I can ride along until the off ramp just a little further and take the back roads may I be let off with just a warning?” Lance pleaded as his shirt began to dwindle again. Officer Love appeared to mull the thought over for what seemed like an eternity before finally replying, “I suppose… but I still have to log all this in before I let you go, wait here while I input your details into the system. Can I have your license?” “Oh… I don’t have my ID on me at the moment.” Lance replied, dejectedly, “Would just my name and address suffice?” “That’ll do, but it will take longer.” Officer Love replied as she took down the details Lance gave her before returning to her vehicle, “Wait here.” Lance anxiously stood alongside the bike, feeling the material on his shirt unravel with each passing moment. The entire conversation with Officer Love was made difficult by the continued passing of vehicles, drawing what should have been a short confrontation out into a 30 minute ordeal.

By the time she returned, Lance’s shirt had completely dissipated along with much of the daylight. “Well, your details came back accurate and you’ve no outstanding warrants in the system so you’re free to-” started Office Love, who was looking at a clipboard and not at the half-naked Lance until she was nearly two feet away. “Why did you take off your shirt?” was all that Office Love could think to ask, as she took in Lance’s naked torso. Lance’s pierced nipples had long since become erect from the combined efforts of the warm sunlight, breeze from the passing vehicles, and the gravity of the situation he currently found himself in; his peach skin still slightly drenched in sweat borne from nervousness and the intense bike ride up until this point. Incidentally the machine had stopped whirring the moment his shirt had finished unraveling. “It was getting a bit hot this evening, I figured I might as well get ready for the hard work I have ahead of me.” was all Lance could think to say. “Well, make sure you don’t lose any more clothing or I’ll have to add indecent exposure to your potential crime list.” jested Officer Love before she turned back to her vehicle. Lance wanted to get back on the road as soon as he possibly could but decided to wait until she had made considerable distance before he decided to head towards the off ramp. Lance took this time to check his maps, it looked as though he was in for the long route afterall and began to plan accordingly… but not before the familiar whir began, this time starting at the base of his shorts. Not wanting to be any more exposed along the main highway than he already was, Lance quickly mounted the bike and rapidly sped off the highway onto the backroads.