He stood just ten feet from her, a black clad figure that blotted out the tree trunks behind him. In his tall leather boots, he towered above her and a black hood hid his face from view. He chuckled again and extended his right hand, wrapped in a black leather glove, towards her, palm up, and beckoned.
Blood roared in Madison's ears, and she nearly swooned. Her body quivered, and a small, frightened sound involuntarily escaped her lips. It must have been the fright and cold that conspired and caused her to quake and shudder at the presence of this faceless terror. Right?
The faceless man beckoned again.
"Come to me."
The sound of his voice brought a fresh stab of fear laced adrenaline and Madison sprang away from him and tore off into the woods. Her cloak streamed out behind her, while the man's full-throat laugh boomed through the night to snatch at her like a claw of icy fear. Like a frightened rabbit, Madison squealed in terror and ran for all she was worth.
There was no direction to her flight, and Madison took no time to orient herself. The only thought that fixed firmly in her mind was that she had to get away. This man would not just catch her. He would capture her, expose her, and possess her. Madison knew that if he ever caught her out here alone in the woods, even just once, he was too big and strong for her to ever escape him. She was even more frightened by the realization that if he ever caught her, she might not want to escape.
Breathlessly, she rushed out of the trees into a large clearing. An orange harvest moon glided through the Autumn darkness and leaves danced with the breeze in its pale copper light. Again, alarms rang in her head. She was in the open and exposed. She had to get back to the trees. Only in the trees could she avoid him. Her chest heaved and she raced toward the sanctuary of the trees on the far side of the clearing, anxious for the safety they would provide.
And then, impossibly, he stood before her. He simply appeared and blocked her path to safety, almost as if some black magic conjured him in her path. Madison's bare feet skidded on the leaves in a frantic effort to stop, but momentum betrayed her and she bounced off his broad chest with a frightened yip off to a heavy seat on the forest floor. In answer, his laugh again thundered out into the night. Filled with fright, Madison's eyes looked up at the man and glimpsed under his hood.
He had no face!
Madison shrieked and scrambled on her hands and knees to escape, but before she got to her feet, he snared her cloak with both hands and yanked her to a stop. The cloak pulled tight around Madison's neck and choked off her petrified squeals. Desperately, Madison's hands snatched at the cloak's clasp at her neck and released it.
Freed of the hindrance of her cloak, Madison lurched forward only to feel a large, gloved hand harshly shove her from behind. She staggered a forward step with the force of the shove and then sprawled face first to the ground. Before she had time to scramble away, a massive shadow loomed and landed on her back to crush the terrified breath from her lungs.
She struggled breathlessly, but he was so big and strong, and he had all the leverage. Hopelessly pinned beneath him, she dragged in a ragged breath and gasped a single word.
"Please!"
He didn't answer. Instead, his massive hands effortlessly shredded her flimsy silk dress and exposed Madison's naked body to the cold night. A single rough kick parted her legs and Madison clenched her eyes shut with a whimper as his weight settled on her again. He felt huge and strong and... comfortingly warm?
