Fear heightened Amanda's senses. She looked around. They'd driven her into the woods. The black silhouettes of trees towered over her. She pushed herself into a sitting position. It hurt to move.
'If you're thinking of running, don't. Running will only earn you a beating. Do you want a beating?'
Amanda stared at her tormentor but did not answer. He reached down, grabbed a handful of hair, and jerked her head up. Amanda gritted her teeth.
'Let's get one thing straight. You don't have free will anymore. Understand? If we tell you to do something, you do it. If we ask you a question, you answer. Now, do you want a beating?'
'No,' Amanda gasped. He released her hair and she fell back on the ground. As she lay on the wet dirt, terror overwhelmed her. She had escaped the surgeon only to find herself trapped and helpless again, and this time she was alone, without hope of rescue.
'What are these?'
Amanda tried to focus on the object that dangled from the leader's hand.
'My keys,' she answered.
'That's right. We have the keys to your condo, the keys to your father's house, the keys to your office. You can't keep us out. We could go to your condo right now and destroy everything you own. We could go to your father's house and slit his throat. We can do whatever we want. You understand?'
Amanda nodded.
'Stand up.'
Amanda struggled to her feet. She was still woozy from being drugged, and her limbs felt like spaghetti.
'Take off your clothes.'
Amanda's eyes began to tear, and she bit her lip but could not move any other part of her body. The leader hit her hard in the solar plexus. She doubled over and sank to her knees. This time she did throw up. The men watched her without speaking. She fell on all fours and vomited some more. When she stopped, a hand reached down. It was holding a handkerchief. She recognized it as one she had in her purse.
'Here. Clean up,' the leader said.
She wiped her mouth.
'We'll try again.' His voice was calm and patient. 'Stand up and take off your clothes.'
Amanda struggled to her feet and removed her raincoat. She was wearing a skirt and blouse and her fingers tripped on the buttons. The leader showed no emotion as Amanda stripped, but the other two looked excited. As soon as she stepped out of her skirt and took off her blouse, goose bumps rose on her skin. The rain and the wind chilled her to the bone and she began to shiver. Her hair hung limp and heavy with water.
'Lose the bra and the panties.'
Amanda did as she was told. Her tears mixed with the rain that coursed down her cheeks. She stared past the men into the dark forest.
'That was good. You did what you were told. Now I have a question for you. You ready to answer?'
Amanda nodded, too afraid to speak.
'What can we do to you?'
'What?'
The leader nodded, and the man she'd punched with her keys grabbed her right nipple and twisted. Amanda screamed. The man twisted again. When she reached for his hand, he hit her in the ribs. Amanda fell to the ground, gasping for air. The men waited. She started to struggle to her knees, but the leader put a toe in her side, and Amanda toppled back into the mud.
'Stay there,' he commanded. 'It'll make it easier for us to fuck you if you miss this question again. Now, listen up. What can we do to you?'
'What . . . whatever you want.'
'Good answer, but be more specific.'
'Ra . . . rape me.'
'Correct. What else?'
'Beat me.'
'Anything else?'
Amanda's body was shaking from cold and fright.
'Kill me.'
'Good. But you forgot one thing that's worse than anything you mentioned.'
Something else occurred to Amanda, but she couldn't say the word.
'No,' she gasped between sobs.
'I think you figured it out, haven't you? We can take you to someplace cold and dark, where no one will ever find you, and conduct experiments in pain.'
Suddenly, Amanda was back in the tunnel. She was naked then, too, and the surgeon was priming her fear by telling her how he would subject her to experiments in pain. Amanda curled in a ball.
'You get it now, bitch? You understand?'
