"How much crap was on that cloth?" someone snapped.
"I don't know. I just doused it," another man spoke.
"If she doesn't wake up, we're dead. Make sure she's breathing," the first voice said. She heard footsteps, then a large hand wrapped around her neck, lying against her chest. She forced herself not to panic and to take deep, even breaths, but it was difficult as the man's hands lingered too long. When he finally pulled away, his hand slipped across her br**sts, making her skin crawl.
"She's still alive," the guy snarled, as if he could care less one way or the other.
"Why don't we try to wake her? I can think of a few ways that could be fun for all of us." Bree shuddered inwardly and hoped the fear of their boss was great enough for them to leave her be. There was no way she could fight them off in the position she was in.
She fought against shuddering as another hand stroked her body. It took all her strength not to tense as his hands moved over her still form.
"Tempting, but I don't feel like getting shot," the man creepily whispered.
"How would he know?" the other guy whined.
"She'd tell him, dumb ass," the man snapped.
"Who's to say she won't make something up anyway? We may as well get some pleasure if he's going to think we did it."
The other guy hesitated and she could tell he was starting to cave to his friend's wishes. She swallowed back the tears pressing against her throat. She had a feeling her life was about to take a horrible turn for the worse. She pictured her family, Chad, and a hot summer day. She could survive this – she was strong, she tried to convince herself, but when the man's hand landed on her thigh, she knew she couldn't. How could anyone?
"Pete, Dave, get down here," another voice yelled from what sounded like the bottom of a staircase. She must be on a top floor. That was at least somewhat helpful if she managed to get the ropes untied.
"What makes him the boss?" one of the men growled and the hand tightened on her thigh and moved upward for a second. She thought they were going to ignore the order. She was getting ready to kick her legs out. She knew they'd win, but she would fight for all she was worth.
"Now!" the voice yelled even louder. The hand finally left her leg and she heard the welcome sound of the two men retreating from her room. The door shut and she lay silently as she listened to them move down the stairs. She realized they hadn't re-locked her door. It was a sliver of hope in her seemingly hopeless world. If she could somehow get the ropes off, then maybe she could get out of the house.
She worked on the ropes, her mind drifting. She hoped Chad had been rescued. She'd never forget the sight of his blood staining his shirt crimson. She prayed she'd get to see him with her own eyes again. She didn't care about anything else; she just wanted the chance to lie in the safety of his arms one more time. She wouldn't even put her ever-present guard up.
She pictured his hands moving through her hair, his gentle lips caressing her own. It was the only thing that got her though the endless hours as she worked and worked at the ropes binding her. She knew blood was dripping down her arms but she didn't care. At least the pain let her know she was still alive – it gave her hope.
Finally, she started to feel a little give in the rope on her right hand. She'd done something to it and the pressure on that wrist started to lighten. She laughed aloud at the pure joy she felt at her small victory. She started moving her fingers around the loose piece of rope and after more struggling, she felt the rope release and she pulled her hand free. She turned her body, to better see the other rope and began working away at the knot.
She made much faster time being able to see what she was doing. She released her second wrist and then sat up in the bed. It was just the beginning of her flight to freedom, but it was a huge victory. She looked at her swollen wrists in the pale light seeping in through the bottom of the door, and cringed. They were cut up pretty bad but she couldn't feel pain at that moment with the amount of adrenaline pumping steadily through her body.
She got to her feet and quickly fell back down to the bed when her head started spinning. She'd gotten up too fast. She winced as the bed made a loud squeak, straining her ears to see if the men had noticed. She sat motionless for about five minutes before she allowed herself to breathe normally again.
It didn't seem as if they'd heard her. Okay, I'm out of here, she thought to herself with determination as she moved away from the bed. She stopped just before she opened the door because she heard shouting and the sound of a gun firing.
***
"There's significant activity in the house and the windows are boarded up. I can't pinpoint her exact location but I know she's in there," Chad said to the group of men who were hiding in the brush in front of the seemingly abandoned house. There were no other homes around for miles and they couldn't spot any security measure in place. The men were either arrogant or just stupid. Chad was counting on the latter.