She slowly opened her eyes.
She was -- outdoors. She could tell that much by the blinding sunlight and the breeze wafting across her face. She could hear seagulls squawking and smell the sharp, salty scent of the sea. So, she was at least near the ocean. She saw, as her eyes adjusted, grass and flowers surrounding her, and as she slowly stood she could tell that it was very tall grass and wildflowers. She was almost hidden in the growth. She felt a bit chilled, and looked down to see she was -- naked! She had no clothing, no shoes, nothing but a bag that, when opened, revealed stones. What was she to do with this? She slowly tied the bag around her waist anyway; it was at least partial protection in case of predators.
She suddenly heard, "Hey! Here's another new one!" and whirled to see a group of men, weapons drawn, running toward her. She panicked for a second and then realized that the men had not yet seen her -- it was another panicked, naked woman a bit further toward the beach. She watched as the other woman pleaded for her life -- and then the arrows started flying.
They were very odd arrows, though. They appeared to not pierce the skin, but when they hit the woman's body, she could see the woman get disoriented and her steps unsteady, little by little. She ran, but didn't get very far before a golden cage-like net appeared around her body and she fell to the ground.
She crouched down and slowly moved closer to hear what they were saying. She didn't have far to go, as the wind carried their words to her clearly. "Hardly worth the effort," one was saying, prodding the woman with his toe as the other men lifted the net and bound her wrists with cuffs attached to a chain.
"She is very sexy though -- she could be fun to fuck," another man argued. The first man looked at the unconscious, though reviving, bound woman and nodded.
"Such a pity though," he growled out, looking around at the area. "I like a little more chase, a little more sport in the whole thing."
"There were two other women," a third man spoke up. "They must be around here somewhere. Maybe they'll be more sport for us."
At that several men grinned. She didn't like the sound of that or the looks the men were giving each other. As quietly as possible, she began to creep backward, trying not to make any sound. She was almost clear when she stepped on a stick; it was dry and snapped. She gasped, partly in pain and partly from surprise at the loud crack! the stick made as it broke.
The men's heads jerked up at that, and she knew she had lost any chance to disappear quietly. Stealth was no longer an option; speed was now of the essence until she could find some good concealment. She stood up and ran as fast as she could, ignoring the pain in her feet -- she had never gone without shoes before, and her tender soles hurt terribly -- in the quest to find safety.
She heard the leader bark out to some of the men, "Stay with this one and take her back to the camp!" Then he whirled around and hollered, "To the chase!" The men cheered and ran after their leader, who was in turn chasing the naked, defenseless woman.
As the bag hit her leg, she realized she was not defenseless after all. If she had to, she could lob a rock or two at the men. As she thought that, an arrow came very close to hitting her, whizzing by her head. She redoubled her efforts, sprinting away from the men and gaining a sizeable lead. Thank goodness for being a track star in high school and keeping up the discipline in college!
She had been trying to find a suitable hiding place as she ran, but the area she was in was mostly scrub, grass, and wildflowers. She could see some woods in the distance, and she aimed for them, hoping they would provide her the cover she desperately needed. She wove back and forth slightly, hoping to knock the hunters off with their shots; at least none of the arrows had hit her yet.
In her peripheral vision, she could see a couple of men flanking her on the right and a couple more on the left. "Stop her -- from getting -- to the woods!" she heard the leader shout; she took comfort in the fact he sounded winded. Then, as she looked like she was free and clear to the woods, the worst thing happened: she got a cramp in her calf. The pain was excruciating. She slowed down a little, but it was enough. A couple of the arrows hit her, and she began to feel weaker and a bit dizzy. She kept on running as fast as she could, though, and was able to make it to the woods with only a couple more arrows hitting her. That, though, with the cramp made her much easier pickings.
You need to find shelter NOW! her mind screamed at her. RUN! But the voice of panic was a bit harder to hear. She weaved a bit more now, from the effect of the arrows, not on purpose, but it worked in her favor, oddly enough. No more arrows hit her. The problem was, no more needed to. She was about to give up hope when she saw a ravine to her right. She headed down it without hesitation. The trees grew more thickly along its sides, and she was sure she could find something to hide her until she could recuperate ... at least, she hoped she could recuperate. If the drug or whatever took too long to wear off, she was in deep trouble. She assumed, from the reaction of the other woman, the disorientation wasn't permanent. Thank goodness for small favors, she thought sarcastically.
She almost missed it as she ran by -- a small clump of bushes that might provide a small hiding place. She had, in fact, run up the ravine's edge as she saw the end of the ravine was in sight, assuming that the men would of course have some of their number there to trap her. She ran back down along the path she had taken to the top of the ravine and managed to get herself into the bushes -- but not without a lot of scrapes and welts along her naked, tanned flesh. Surely, she thought to herself, they would assume she would pass this by. Wincing at the pain, she went deeper into the bushes -- and saw a sight that, at that moment, looked like a miracle: a small cave-like entrance that ran through the ravine wall. She crawled into it immediately.
It was, of course, shallow and ended abruptly after a couple of feet or so. It was enough, though, for her to curl into and wait out the men. Oh, but she hurt! Her feet felt like ribbons of lacerated flesh, her arms and legs ached, and all over her body she had enough scratches and welts to make even the most dedicated masochist beg off.
