| western fantasy - part 3 |
|
|
| Written by Lady Johanna |
| Tuesday, 02 December 2008 10:05 |
|
The men ignored her for several hours as they made camp in a hollow. There was a place where fires had obviously been set before, with logs for seating arranged around it. This was probably a regular camping spot for them. A fire was started, water was fetched, and the youngest man began cooking.
As she listened to their conversation, she realized who they were. The first man, the one she had thought of as the leader, was called Thomas by the other men, who seemed to treat him with respect. He was the one she'd thought of as potentially acceptable if he were cleaned up; he had darkish blond hair, was tall. The second man, the one she thought of as scary, was called Joseph. Joseph did not dispel her first impression of him as sullen, working quietly and saying little as they proceeded to make camp. He was not so tall, but muscular and stocky, with very dark hair and eyes that seemed cold and angry. The third man, was also tall, but very skinny. He didn't seem to have filled out fully yet, she guessed him to be 16 or 17. The other men treated him with scorn, calling him Robert. She noticed he did most of the disagreeable chores, those things she'd hoped to do herself to prove herself useful in hopes they'd spare her life. By the time the men had made camp and Robert was serving up bowls of beans and rice, the sun was low in the west and she realized it was only about an hour from sunset. Still leaning against a tree with her arms still tied behind her back, her shoulders ached and her hands went numb. Her legs and petticoat were still damp from when she'd lost control of her bladder, causing her to feel humiliated and ashamed. After their meal was done, while Robert did the washing up, Thomas and Joseph opened a bottle of whiskey and began drinking. While they continued to ignore her person, Robert began to make jokes and comments about what they would do to her. Thomas responded to some of the comments with amusement, to others with scorn, while Joseph remained silent. Her face burned crimson at their conversation, even though she did not understand all of Robert's comments. She realized her rape was imminent and their obvious lack of concern for her well-being meant it would be pretty unpleasant. As her imagination raced, she began trembling. Suddenly, a hand went roughly over her mouth, stifling the cry of fear that rose from her lips. The three men were still in front of her, so who could this be? A low voice whispered in her ear, "Be quiet. I will get you out of here. Do you understand?" She nodded slowly and the hand was removed from her. She only got a glimpse of her rescuer as strong arms lifted her from the ground, he was young, short, brunette. He carried her into the trees behind her, placed her on the back of his horse, cut the rope holding her arms, and mounted before her. She held on tightly, her face pressed into his back as he galloped away. story index Add your comment |



