"Where the hell am I?"
Jane opened her eyes to a dark wooden ceiling, rafters sneaking along and supporting the termite infested pine beams, meeting in the middle. As she attempted to move her head and roll to her side, she realized her arms were tied tightly around her back, her ankles bound together, and a cloth stuffed deeply inside her mouth. The scream muffled in her throat as all the flashes of the night before came flooding back to her.
Having a drink at her apartment, alone... Growing tired around midnight and crawling into bed... A loud noise and pressure waking her up suddenly... A sickly sweet aroma engulfing her as her eyelids shut on their own accord...
Her heart began to race in her chest as she fought against her restraints, praying that this was somebody's idea of a sick joke. Why was she alone in this room, bound and gagged, laying on her back? Who in the world would possibly know she was missing?
Tears formed in her eyes and leaked from the corners. No. This was fucking impossible. She would close her eyes and magically wake up from this bad dream in her own bed. But no, she felt the cold wind from the cracks in the walls snaking against her bare feet and arms. She was trapped.
She remembered the prayer her nanny had taught her when she was very little. Now I lay me... She groped for the words now.
"Now I lay me... down to sleep..."
She heard footsteps in the next room...
"I pray the Lord... my soul to keep..."
The door swung open and a shadowed figure stood before her...
"If I should die before I wake..."
The figure came thundering across the room as she desperately tried to back up, a hand slamming across her face, and once again all was dark.
"Jane... Baby girl Jaaa-aaane... Wake up, love."
There was a metallic salty taste in her mouth. It took her a moment to realize it was blood. She licked her lips, chapped and dry, as she raised her head slowly, the bright lights blinding her momentarily.
"Oh god... it wasn't a dream..."
"There we go, love. There are your pretty green eyes opening up for me. You've been asleep for way too long baby girl Jane." A taunting voice chuckled deeply from the corner of the room. Jane's arms stretched above her head, still tied together tightly, and hung perfectly from a suspended chain. Her hair, she had so carefully pulled it up last night, was hanging wildly about her face and down her back, the dark locks in complete disarray.
"Where am I? Who are you? Why are you doing this to me?" She moved herself about to find the disembodied voice, but the bright lights kept the corners hidden in shadows, concealing her captor. Her heart began thudding deep in her chest again.
"Oh Jane, love. You ask too many questions. You'll get no answers until I decide you can have answers. You've been a bad little girl, Jane. Such a cock tease..."
Two hands lightly grabbed her hips and she froze in place. Slowly their grasp tightened and pulled her ass against a warm body. She squeezed her eyes shut and felt more tears fall as the hands climbed her sides, over her breasts, a chin resting on the top of her head, one finger finding the wetness on her cheeks.
"Crying already, baby Jane? You don't even know what is in store for you, love. It's no time to cry. Yet."
Finally the dark voice circled in front of her, and she came face to face with him.
"What?! I don't understand! What's going on?!" His blonde hair still crept and swung into his eyes. His dark brown eyes, almost black. His wicked grin still prominent on his face as he lifted her chin to completely meet his gaze.
"I knew you'd remember me, Jane. I knew you would." He snickered and walked back into the shadows as her mouth hung open, incredulous. Jane couldn't remember his name. She only remembered his face and that crooked smile mocking her.
It had been two years ago. Two years. She had lived in another apartment building with two roommates. One night, they had all gone out drinking, having fun, and Rachel had invited her boyfriend and his friend back to stay at their place. They all went to bed well into the morning, and the friend woke Jane in the middle of the night.