The alley was quiet, and as she walked along - slowly, nervously, listening to the click of her boots on the wet pavement - the working streetlights became rarer. She found herself having to cross longer and longer gulfs of darkness between patches of light. There were no signs of life in the houses, and the main road was becoming too distant for her to hear the sounds of traffic. From time to time she thought she could hear someone behind her, but Alex had been very clear that she was not permitted to look back. It was almost certainly her imagination.
There was a movement in the periphery of her vision, and a fox ran out in front of her. She cried out, heart hammering in her chest, and paused for a moment, trying to regain her composure. It was embarrassing how frightening she was finding this, but she was determined to fulfil her task. Okay. Ready to go on-
And she was grabbed. A hand, large and strong, clamped firmly over her mouth, while another took control of her arms and pulled her back into her attacker's chest. She writhed and thrashed, but found she was completely overmatched: the stranger was so much more powerful that she must be no challenge at all. Not enough gym sessions, she cursed inwardly. Or more accurately, too much time sending Alex lewd sports-bra selfies and not enough time actually exercising.
S felt a kick in the back of her legs and she yelped uselessly into the silencing hand as she was forced painfully down on to her knees. It was impossible. She couldn't get anything coherent past her captor's hand, and there was no one awake to hear her anyway. No one was coming to her rescue. She strained her neck, but couldn't turn her head enough to see her captor's face, or indeed any part of them.
But suddenly there was hope. The hand moved, and S took a deep breath to scream... and then groaned as a thick strip of cloth was forced into her mouth, between her teeth. She could feel it being knotted tightly at the nape of her neck. She was being gagged! Why would a mugger bother to gag her? Unless it was not a mugging... but a kidnapping?
"Hmmp mm!" she mewled softly into the muffling cloth. "N'm hmnng knndnnppmn!"
The mugger/kidnapper no longer needed to waste a hand keeping S quiet, and she could now feel her wrists being grasped firmly and yanked behind her back. They were forced up between her shoulder blades, and she squeaked into her gag - it was an agonising position. Her back arched and her breasts were thrust outwards. Soft but very strong cord was tied quickly and tightly around her wrists, and she was stuck in that position, totally helpless and unable to escape. Now effectively bound and gagged, she felt incredibly vulnerable.
"Pmmnphm! Lmph mm gn!"
The stranger evidently didn't think S was helpless enough, because he or she now set about wrapping her in yards and yards of tight restrictive rope. Her ankles and knees were bound, a harness of rope caged her arms and shoulders, and a short but alarming length was looped and tied around her throat, forming a handy leash. Finally a black cloth blindfold covered her eyes and was tied behind her head.
At last, S was allowed to stand, but there was little chance of escape. Bound tightly hand and foot, firmly gagged, leashed and blindfolded, she was completely at her attacker's mercy. She could barely even keep her balance, wobbling on her bound feet.
"Dnn'ph hnrph mm!" she squealed pathetically into her gag.
