Trisha stared at him with fear. What is he going to do? She had a sinking feeling that it would be really bad.
“I’m going to tie you to the tree so I can rest. That’s all. I’ll sleep a few feet from you to be able to hear every sound you make. You just ate, used the bathroom, and had something to drink. You will be in the shade and it isn’t cold. You’ll be fine. Now back up before I make you.”
It wasn’t as though she had a choice. Bill was a much bigger man. He looked to be the sort of jerk no one wanted to end up facing off against in a bar fight. He wasn’t overly tall but he had that mean look to him that implied he’d cut someone’s throat in a heartbeat. She nodded and slowly backed up against the tree to stare at him with fear.
“Reach up and grip the branches, arms out wide.”
“Can’t I sit down?”
“I said,” he ordered softly, “reach up and grip the branches. I wasn’t asking. I was telling and I won’t repeat myself again. You can either do what I say or I can change your way of thinking. It would be a painful lesson. Do you understand me?”
She lifted her arms to grip the branches just above her head. She saw the man reach into his back pocket and pull out a bandana he probably used to wipe sweat off him. He stepped very close to her. He used the bandana to tie her wrist, securing it to the branch.
He stank and needed deodorant. She smelled booze on top of it, mixed with the disgusting stench of chewing tobacco too. She held her breath as much as she could while he wrapped something made from a rough cloth on her other wrist. He yanked it tight. He moved back finally and the horrible smell withdrew.
Bill stared at her, nodded, and then turned his back to walk into the tent. Trisha looked up at her restrained arms. He had two mismatching bandanas securing her wrists to the thin branches. She pulled on them but they only moved slightly, proving there was no way she could pull free. She softly cursed and tugged at the bandanas, trying to see if he’d left her enough wiggle room to slide her hand out. He’d tied them too tight.
Bill exited the tent carrying a sleeping bag and pillow with him. He darted a glance at her before throwing the bedding down about four feet from where Trisha stood. She’d thought he was at least decent since he’d offered her a drink and food but that was before he’d tied her, scarecrow-like, to a tree. After a while her legs were going to grow really tired.
He stretched out on his back on top of the sleeping bag, facing her, and settled his gun across his chest. She spotted a hunting knife peeking out from a boot as he crossed his legs. He shoved the pillow behind his head and closed his eyes.
Trisha shifted. Her legs ached and her arms felt as though they were going to fall off. She lifted on tiptoe to level her arms with her shoulders. It sent some blood back into her upper limbs but then her toes would hurt until she’d have to ease back down onto her feet. She rolled her head every once in a while. She tried to sleep but every time she drifted off her legs would start to collapse, causing pain to shoot up her arms from her weight pulling against them. Time crawled by.
Something made a slight noise from the woods. Bill jerked awake instantly, rolled onto his stomach, and leveled his gun in the direction the sound had originated from. Shocked, Trisha stared at him. A bird flew from a tree in that direction. The man on his stomach sighed and rolled back over and glared at her.
“I’m a light sleeper. Quit sighing. I’m getting sick of it.” He closed his eyes again and rested the gun back across his chest.
He can’t really be sleeping. Trisha stared at his chest, watched it rise and fall slowly. The sound the bird had made had been so slight she’d barely heard it but the man at her feet jerked as though something had charged at him. He’d even pointed his weapon toward the right direction. If he faked sleeping then he knew about any sound she made. Her glimmering hope of escape dwindled. She would have been better off if they’d left Tom with her. A man gawking at her breasts seemed an improvement over having been tied so uncomfortably to a tree.
* * * * *
Pain jerked her awake and she groaned. Her body sagged, all her weight on her wrists, and it hurt. Trisha fought tears. She put all her weight onto her feet and rose to her toes. It eased all tension from her wrists and the blood flowed back into her arms while she studied the sky. She’d been tied to the tree most of the day. The sun had lowered in the sky. She looked at the man on the ground to find him staring back at her. She couldn’t tell for sure but she thought his attention fixed on her stomach.
“You’re awake,” she noted softly. “Can I sit down now? Please?”
He sat up and watched her face, frowning until he lowered the gun to the ground next to the sleeping bag and rose to his feet. He walked away from her to the tent. Trisha lifted her chin up to stare at the sky. Bastard. He had to know she was hurting and uncomfortable. She needed to use the bathroom again too. She heard him coming back and darted a glance at the walkie-talkie gripped in one hand.
“Bill here,” he spoke. “Base?”
“Hey, Bill,” a male answered through the small speaker. “Report.”
“We haven’t found them yet.” Bill watched Trisha and he put his finger to his mouth motioning her to be quiet. “We’re in section twenty-two. Anyone else have any luck?”
“Not so far,” the voice was static-ridden. “You are way out there.”
“Aren’t there other guys this way?”
“Nope. You’re it. How come Tom isn’t calling in?”
“He’s taking a crap. The kid is green. We’ll call back and report in the morning. Over and out.” He turned the walkie-talkie off.“They haven’t found your animal friend yet.” He dropped the walkie-talkie onto the pillow. “I’m rested now and ready for action. I wanted to make sure no one else was in the area and now I’m sure it’s just us.”
Trisha’s stomach churned as she swallowed. She didn’t feel at ease with the way he’d said that or the way his gaze roamed her body. His lecherous look slowly rose until he met her fearful expression.
“You’re a good-looking woman. You’re one of those bleeding-heart, animal-rights bitches, aren’t you? You love animals, little girl?” He reached down and unfastened his belt, his gaze locked with hers. “I didn’t want Tom staying with you because the kid doesn’t know what to do with a woman.”
“Oh God,” Trisha moaned, watching him pull his belt free of his pants loops as he fisted the buckle in his hand. Her gaze flew to his. “Whatever you are thinking about, please don’t do it.”
“Shut up or I’ll take this belt to you. I hate screaming. Do you understand me? You don’t need a tongue to fix Pat when Tom drags his stupid ass back here. He’s an idiot and I’m sure we’ve got a few hours before they return. He couldn’t find his own ass without someone directing him to it. I’ll cut out your tongue if you scream.”
Bill dropped the belt onto the sleeping bag and reached down. He pulled a long, sharp hunting knife from his right boot. He glanced at it and let his finger trace over one side of the two-sided blade. The back side had a serrated edge. The blade had to be ten inches long. Trisha stared at it in horror. He lifted his head to give her a cold smile.
“Say you’re a bitch who is a bleeding-heart, animal-rights moron. Just that way.”
She shook with terror. She opened her mouth but nothing came out. She yanked hard on her wrists, frantic, but the bandanas held. She tried to back up but the tree had no give in it.
“Say ‘I’m an animal-loving, bleeding-heart bitch who is a moron’,” he demanded softly. “Right now.”
“I’m an animal-loving, bleeding-heart bitch who is a moron,” Trisha whispered.
A smile cracked his lips. “That’s a good girl.” He took a step closer as he gripped the hunting knife with his fist. He reached and grabbed the waist of her slacks and his head lifted.
“Kick off your shoes.”
“I have to use my hands to get them off,” she lied. Her voice shook.
“Kick them off now or…” He brought the blade closer until the tip of the knife touched her breast and pushed the knife until it indented the area just under her nipple. “I figure I could slide this in at least three inches before I hit bone.”
“Oh my God,” Trisha gasped, total panic gripping her. “All right.” She used one foot to grip the back of the other shoe and pushed down. Her shoe came off. She switched, using her toes, and got the second shoe off.
“God isn’t here, little girl.”
Bill suddenly moved, pulling his knife back from her breast and thrust it at Trisha’s face. She saw the blade coming at her and a scream tore from her throat. She threw her head to the side. She expected the blade to stab her in the face but it didn’t. The expected pain never came. She heard him laugh. She turned her head to see that knife embedded in the tree trunk next to her face. Her ear brushed cold metal.
His hands were brutal as he dug them into the waistband of her slacks. He unfastened them and shoved them down her body. He hooked his thumbs in her panties and pulled them all the way down her legs. When he reached her ankles he just jerked hard to remove them. Trisha’s legs were yanked out from under her when he did it and she screamed again. Pain tore through both of her shoulders and wrists as her full weight sagged on them.