When she started to regain consciousness, Lea could see very little. The room she was in - wherever she was - was dimly lit with a single, flickering incandescent bulb. Weak light revealed a barren, concrete room with a thick metal door at the far end. She was laying on a hard mattress, a small blanket pulled up over her.
When she tried to move, she realized she was shackled by her left wrist - the three-foot chain padlocked to some exposed piping in the wall. She whimpered softly. What had happened?
She recalled walking home from the University, her backpack heavy with books and binders. Someone had approached her from behind - who? - and had slipped something damp and sickly-sweet over her face and whispered something to her. "Shhh..." and then she was out.
Red flashes of panic were encroaching. Was she going to die here? She could feel tears forming in the corners of her eyes.
She tensed at the sound of footsteps, her heart beating recklessly and her breath heavy. The metal door began to squeal open, revealing shards of light surrounding a large figure.
"Hello, pet."
His voice was disturbingly soothing - deep and soft. She was silent. She pushed herself into the corner, becoming very small.
"Don't be afraid, dove." He walked briskly toward her as she cowered helplessly in the corner.
"I need to see your arm. It might require stitches." She was looking away, pressing into the concrete. She felt warm fingers on her wrist, gently pulling her arm out from under the blanket. She looked back and saw his face - chiseled and hard, but his expression was gentle and his piercing green eyes were framed with soft brown hair. He stroked her arm softly as their eyes locked.
"I need you to be a good girl and hold still, pet. This will sting." His grip on her wrist was strong. With his other hand, he took a small piece of moist medical gauze and held it to a rather large gash near her elbow. Hot pain struck her and she whimpered, trying involuntarily to squirm away.
"I know it hurts. Be good," his velvety voice whispered. "Shhhh..." He pressed the alcohol-soaked gauze to her wound again, and she found herself gripping him tightly with her fingertips as the pain came again and then slowly subsided.
He frowned, contorting his soft lips slightly. "Yes, you'll need some stitching done, pet. I'm going to give you something to help you sleep while I take care of that."
Her eyes widened and she finally spoke: "No! Please!"
But he released her arm and pulled a syringe and vial from his pocket, carefully inserting the former into the latter and pulling the fluid into the needle. Lea crammed herself against the wall, legs pulled to her chest in a vain attempt to prevent access to her body. He ignored her, pulling the syringe from the vial and slowly approaching her.
"I need you to be good, dove. Just relax. If you struggle, I'm going to have to pin you and it will be very uncomfortable for both of us. Just relax." He reached for her arm and she pulled away, at the very end of her length of chain. She started to kick frantically at him, her bare feet doing little to prevent his approach. He grabbed her by the ankle with his free hand, and within an instant was on top of her. She cried out and began to beg again, tears rolling down her cheeks.
"Please, I'll be good, just don't... please don't..."
His face softened, inches from her own.
"I promise I won't hurt you, pet. I'm going to give this to you and you're just going to take a little nap while I finish up your arm. I need you to relax while I find a vein. Shhh, pet. I know you're frightened. Look at me. There you are." His thumb was pressed to her vein and she felt the needle start to penetrate.
"Good girl. We're almost done."
The world became fuzzy and dark, and she felt her head fall onto the mattress below.
******
