"Are you ready?" Then a harsh tug on Amy's blindfold.
She blinked, dazed by the light, and took a moment to breath as she looked at the trees. The woods were beautiful. Serene, empty and silent, not even broken by the faint sound of a driving far away.
Amy kicked the earth to realize that there wasn't even a dirt path. They were nowhere. She didn't even know the time from the sun in the sky and would have to wait for it to move in order to its direction.
Not that it would help. She knew nothing of the area. She was helpless and, for a brief moment, considered giving up. Something in her face must have betrayed her-because he laughed. "Oh no, little girl. Too much for you? Scared of the big bad woods?"
Amy turned to him, but he hardly acknowledged her. Instead he pulled out his phone, twirled it around and unlocked it. He shifted his tall, lean frame against the jeep and pressed a few buttons. His tee tight-fitting under a large flannel shirt and it made her aware how ill-prepared she was in shorts and a tank top-even with her running shoes.
He pressed a button on the phone that made a small beep before he bent over to fish around inside the jeep's cabin. He reappeared with a canteen, unscrewed the top and took a sip before Amy realized how thirsty she was going to be.
The man shook it, made the water slosh around before offering it to her. She reached out to grab it and, just before she took it in her hand, he dropped it intentionally looking her dead in the eye.
"Whoops."
Amy glared at him before she bent over to pick it up, uncap it and take a swig. She offered it back to him but he shook his head in protest. "No. You'll need it more than me."
"What makes you think I'll need it? That you can even find me out there?" She asked.
"If I were you I'd save my energy for when I catch you. What I'm going to do to you."
He looked at her without blinking with sealed lips and a tautness in his chest, his voice. He looked at her like she was food.
"So when do you want to start the timer?" Amy asked while pondering how much quicker he was in a straight line than her.
"The timer?" He asked as he pulled out his phone.
"The thirty minutes head start..."
He showed her the screen. Twenty-six minutes and change.
"I didn't agree to that!"
"Oh?"
"That's not fair!" Amy screamed, looked to the woods and back to him.
Instead of responding he cricked his neck and placed his feet wide apart before moving his arms to the sky to stretch.
"Reset the timer." Amy insisted.
"I asked if you were ready."
"Do it now!"
That got his attention. He stopped the stretch, stepped towards her and tilted his head down to meet her furious gaze. "I don't think you appreciate how little power you have here. How the only thing that's keeping you from being ripped apart is the hourglass that is ticking away. How your no's will mean nothing and even when you scream as loud as you can nobody will come to save you."
He leans down and puts his lips just beside her ear. "When you beg me to stop? I'm just going to fuck you harder." then rises back to full height. "But by all means," he says as he shows off the large Twenty-Four on phone, "keep standing there."
Amy runs.
She runs like her life depends on it. She runs like she didn't need breath, then she runs faster. In the back of her mind was the knowledge that her ancestors would chase prey to death, exhaust them until they fell over. She was the result of that strategy. If you had to run for days to survive, you would.
The panic left and her presence of mind returned. She slowed o a jog and changed course. Downhill, she thought. She's smaller, weighs less, takes less energy to go down a steep decline than it would for him.
Don't run too fast. Don't run so fast you need a break. Keep some in the tank in case you need to book it at the last minute. He's big, he's determined and can beat you in a straight line for a while, but only a little bit. So get somewhere safe. Somewhere that he can't come at you, not right away. Amy changed directions again. She observed the sun through the treetops. East. She headed east as the sun was starting to sink.
She found her gait. Light easy steps took her down the heavy slope until she saw a small spring. Will you risk it? More water is good. He didn't have a canteen, he needed it more than her.
The canteen top came off easily as she took long, heavy pulls. She looked around the near straight-away. Safe from any direction. If anything came near her she'd see it from half a mile away. Contented, she filled up the canteen. As she did the birds began signing and she realized that she had been still long enough that she no longer disturbed them.
She looked around for her next move. If you keep heading in in a more-or-less straight line, she thought, you're bound to find something.
Then she realized how untrue that may be. She did not know where she was. He had driven nearly the whole night while she was blindfolded, only stopping to sleep a short time.
They could be anywhere.
The realization came with a smack-the only person that was anywhere around here would rape her violently.
She surveyed her surroundings. There was a nice hill in the distance where the slope seemed to continue down. It would make an excellent area to rest, keep an eye on things and even have a place to put her back against.
It took her too long to realize the birds were no longer singing. She felt a chill she couldn't place, shot up and capped the canteen before strapping it on. Then she spun, looking in every direction.
A whistle from the west. She looked out of habit. There he was, flannel tied around his waist, backpack properly secured over both shoulders, walking casually toward her from a half-mile away. Knowing that they could see each other, he gave her a big, friendly wave.
"I don't think this is a good idea." Amy shouted.
He just kept walking forward.
"I mean it! I'm going to use my safe word!"
He keeps coming.
"Cinderella! I'm saying it! Cinderella!"
He stops. "Are you sure you want to use your safe word?"
