Chapter 6
On the road home, Lance drove a little faster than usual, until the pavement ended and road became rougher. Then he slowed a bit to accommodate the uneven surface and ruts. Although it was chilly, he had his window rolled down and one elbow resting on the door, breathing in the clean forest air. It was his tonic, his drug of choice, with its many invigorating and mysterious nuances.
Just after the switch, a flash of blue caught his eye in the trees. Glancing in his rearview mirror to make sure the road was clear, as it usually was; he stopped his truck on the narrow shoulder and got out. Hiking a short distance into the woods, he located the item he had spotted. It turned out to be a tarp tangled in some brush. Inspecting it for damage, Lance was pleased to find it was in nearly-new condition. He folded it up and carried it to his truck.
Lucky find!
Lance knew he could put it to use.
Crawling back inside the cab, he continued up the mountain. Overhead, clouds obscured the sky and cast the landscape below into gray shadow.
Chapter 7
Brook screamed and held her hands in front of her, palms out, pleading, “No, no, no, please don’t do this. All I want is to leave. Please let me go. I'll keep my mouth shut, I swear! Please!” Jase grabbed her jacket and tore it from her shoulders. Her blouse quickly followed, ripped open and torn away like tissue paper from a gift. She dropped to the floor, arms crossed over her bra-covered breasts. Filled with dread, she pulled her knees to her chest and curled into a ball.
“You need help?” Pete asked Jase, excitement lacing his voice.
“Hell, no,” Jase said as Brook huddled on the floor, staring up at him through her hair. He slid his shirt up over his head, revealing a chest nearly devoid of hair. An intricate tattoo of a bizarre creature with a snake’s body attached to a woman’s head ran up from his right nipple around the back of his neck, ending on his left shoulder. “I got this licked.”
He reached down and yanked Brook roughly up by one arm, bruising the soft skin. Seizing a handful of her hair, he pulled her face forward and mashed his lips against hers, forcing his tongue deep into her mouth. Brook gagged and pounded on his chest. Reaching upwards, she tried to pry his hand from her hair.
From somewhere in the house came sounds of fury; things being thrown around, breaking glass, and thuds. Gina muttered expletives just loud enough to be heard.
Jase grinned at Pete, holding Brook easily with one hand. “It sounds like your old lady is having some fun, too. Hand me a blade.”
Brook’s eyes grew wide with terror, and she quickly lowered her hands to her side. “You don’t need to do that. Please.”
With a cold smile, Jase reached back and Pete laid a knife in his hand. Brook struggled to break free, but Jase tightened his grip on her hair and flipped the blade open. “Better hold still,” he sneered, “or I might slip.” Brook froze as he slid the cold metal beneath the front of her bra and sliced though the silky material. The knife
did
slip, leaving a thin red line below her breast. She cried out.
“Oops,” Jase said in a mocking tone. Then his mood darkened. “You ain’t hurt bad, bitch. I’ve had worse cuts shaving.” He closed the knife and tossed it back to Pete, who opened the blade and wiped it clean on his pants leg before returning it to his pocket. Brook followed the movement with her eyes, wishing she could get her hands on the knife. But she was defenseless.
Covering her breasts with her hands, she begged, “Stop! Please! Don’t do this.”
Jase released his grip on her hair and moved her hands out of the way. He grabbed her breasts and squeezed hard. “Ohh, yeah!” he said. “Ain’t these nice?”
“Damn right they are!” Pete boomed. He and Benny watched Jase’s moves, their eyes burning with a strange light. Jase lowered his head, and buried his face between her breasts while Benny whooped his appreciation in the background.
Nothing in Brook’s life had prepared her for what was happening. She felt the intrusion of his skin against hers, smelled the patchouli he wore, and felt revulsion crawling inside her like worms. She reacted without thinking of the consequences; she hit, slapped and pushed on his head. Shoving her hands roughly aside, Jase pressed her down onto the mattress, falling on top of her. “Give me back those tits,” he leered and lowered his mouth to her chest.
Lapping at the knife wound, Jase smacked and slurped. “Yummy! Nothing like fresh blood.” With a grin, he stuck out his tongue, revealing the slick red coating. He bugged his eyes at her and laughed satanically.
“Don’t scare her too bad, man. We don’t want her pissing herself,” Pete said with a smile, his yellow teeth catching the weak light from the window. His voice trembled with excitement.
Brook rained blows on Jase’s head and shoulders with her small fists. Jase ignored her and sucked roughly on her breasts, chewing at her nipples.
“You’re hurting me,” she moaned. “Please stop!” She tried to push him off, but it was like trying to move a concrete post. Desperate, she pinched the skin on his neck, pulled his hair, and squirmed in an attempt to slide from beneath him.
“Holy shit, she’s a fighter!” Benny exclaimed, obviously pleased. “
My
kinda woman. That’s right, sugar! Don’t make it too easy on him. Make him work for it, baby!”
Brook’s heaving body and flailing fists finally angered Jase. “Hold the fuck still.” He pulled back and threw a punch to her stomach. “How the hell am I supposed to fuck you when you’re flopping all over the place?”
Brook sucked for air, finally drew a breath, and groaned. Pulling up onto his knees, Jase reached for the waistband of her pants. Brook got a foot up and kicked, leaving a bloody gouge across his abdomen.
“Fuck! You stupid cunt.” Jase struck her in the face with his fist, and her senses reeled.
“Ah fuck, dude!” Pete protested. “Did you have to hit her so hard?”
Jase, breathing hard, stared down at Brook. “I barely tapped her.” He turned and yelled at Benny and Pete. “Make yourselves useful. Get those damn shoes off this bitch and one of you hold her arms, or I
am
gonna beat the shit outta her.”
Glad to participate, both men dropped eagerly to the mattress. Benny grabbed the shoes from her feet, running his hands over her legs. He rubbed the bottom of Brook’s foot against the hardness of his crotch, but quit when she regained some of her senses and kicked.
Pete wrestled Brook’s arms over her head and captured both of her hands in one of his. Leaning forward, he tweaked her bruised nipples with his free hand, pinching and pulling on them. Gasping, Brook tried to pull her arms free, but Pete merely tightened his hold.
Jase ripped off her pants, with Benny helping free her legs from the torn fabric. He flung them across the room and then made short work of her panties. Reaching for his fly, his dark eyes glinted with anticipation.
In the next room, the banging ceased. Apparently, Gina had reached the point her anger overcame her fear of Jase. She flung the bedroom door open and took in the scene in a glance. Her face flushed bright red. “Pete!” she cried. “What the hell are you doing? Get your hands off that bitch, you two-timing sack of shit!”
“Help me! Oh god, please help me!” Brook begged Gina.
“Get the hell outta here, bitch!” Jase growled at Gina. “Now!”
Pete looked more confused than guilty. “What’s the matter, Gina? You don’t need to worry, baby. I love you and only you; this is just a little bit of fun. Go wait in the other room for me, sweetie. This won’t take long.”
Gina stood with her fists clenched at her sides and glared at the group. Pete’s face turned hard. “Go on, I mean it, now. This ain’t your concern.”
“No, don’t go,” Brook screamed. “You have to help me; you have to get me out of here!” Gina refused to look at her, fixing her gaze instead on Pete.
“Fuck you, Pete! I hate you! I hate you all!” Gina slammed the door and stomped away. Pete turned his attention back to the fun at hand. He watched as Jase positioned himself to enter the woman.
“No,” Brook whimpered as Jase slammed into her, holding nothing back, almost as if he hated her. He tore her tender flesh, ripping her as he entered without lubrication. Brook screamed in agony, arching her back, attempting to throw this unwanted burden from her. But, Jase’s weight held her in place.
Benny ran his hands up and down, caressing Brook’s leg. “How’s it feel, dude? How’s it feel? Is it good?” Jase ignored him and looked down at Brook.
“You like my rod, don’t you, you rich bitch? It’s a hard rod, a big rod. A hot rod." Panting, he finally finished and collapsed on top of her. His face shone with perspiration and the patchouli scent grew stronger, overwhelming. Brook choked on the smell.
Jase didn’t lie there long before he was prodded by Benny. “Come on, man, it's my turn. Move your ass.”
“Have at it!” Jase smirked as he stood. Using a corner of the sheet, he wiped blood from his genitals and zipped up his pants. He then began to encourage Benny. “Crawl on up in there, dude. Drive it home! Stick it to her, man.”
Benny acted on Jase’s coaching with enthusiasm as Brook lay inert under the assault. “Clark,” she whispered. “Where are you, Clark? Help me. I need you.” But Benny didn't hear her; he gripped her shoulders and used them for leverage as he heaved on top of her. Turning her eyes to the corner of the room, she imagined she saw Clark standing there, with his hands in his pockets and a sad look on his face. Her heart lifted; she was convinced he truly was in the room. “Clark,” she moaned. “Thank god! Help me.” She blinked and the image evaporated, but not before all three men looked in the direction she had been staring, as if they also expected to see someone there.
“Bitch is losing it,” Jase laughed and then, “Do it, Benny. Do her!”
Evening was approaching and Jase flipped the light on so he could see Benny’s handiwork. Brook closed her eyes against the harsh glare. Tears leaked down the sides of her face into her hair.
“Yeah, that’s it, slam it in, ram it in,” Jase urged. “Fuck that rich bitch. Do it harder! Yeah! Ram it home, man. Oh, yeah, ram that rod home!” He rubbed his crotch as he watched.
“I am!” Benny groaned. “And she likes it. Don’t you, baby? She’s getting off. I swear she’s fucking getting off!”
“No! Oh, no, no,” Brook wailed.
Brook cried and pleaded until she was hoarse. She twisted and squirmed until Jase kicked her in the side. A sharp pain bloomed within her ribcage. Pete kept her hands corralled, and Jase moved to the end of the mattress to hold her feet apart. Finally, Benny, too, was done. She looked up at Benny’s face hanging over her. His eyes were rolled back, and his lips were tightened in a grimace of fulfillment. Sweat dripped from his brow and fell onto her cheek. She felt sick to her core. She couldn’t fight off these men; they were much too strong for her.
Brook caught her breath. She was torn, both mentally and physically, but she was still alive, whether she wanted to be or not. In a flash, Brook remembered how she had formed judgments when she would hear a report of rape on the evening news. She’d always wondered why women didn’t fight off their attackers. Now she realized how naïve and pretentious her assumptions had been.
As Benny lay panting on top of her, Brook feared she might die. Her eye throbbed. There was a burning ache in her privates and blood ran from between her legs. Her stomach hurt with every movement and she worried she might have internal injuries. Brook almost wished her injuries would kill her; at least she’d be away from these men, these monsters. But another part of her wanted to live to see another day. Unreasonable as it was, she still hoped her captors would have a change of heart and release her. Or that she might find a way to escape. More tears filled her eyes.
“Way to go, Benny!” Jase congratulated him. “You rocked the bitch’s world.”
“I did, didn’t I?” Benny agreed, still breathing hard from his exertions. He propped himself on his elbows and looked down at Brook. “That was fucking awesome, babe.” Brook was revolted when he kissed her cheek before rolling off her, then stood and stretched his muscles in a leisurely fashion, as if showing off his physique. Finally, he pulled up his pants.
Pete inched his way between her feet and reached for the snap on his jeans. But before Pete could unzip his fly, Gina burst into the room once again. Her eyes were red from crying but she had pasted a shaky smile on her face.
“Petey,” she said in a throaty voice. “You don’t want to fuck
her
. Look at her, she’s all bloody. She's
gross
!” Gina pulled her top off and caressed her breasts playfully. “You want me, not her. Come on, baby.”
Pete looked down at Brook with distaste. Blood and fluids smeared the insides of her legs, her hair was tangled, and her eyes nearly swollen shut. Then he looked at Gina, his woman, and moved to her. She jumped up, wrapping her legs around his waist as he carried her toward the door.
“Where the fuck you going? You pussy-whipped, dickhead?” Jase jeered.
“Why the hell do I want sloppy thirds when I can have this?” Pete flipped his hair out of his eyes and flashed a yellow smile over his shoulder. He left with Gina, and Brook prayed that Benny and Jase would follow them from the room.
“Well, fuck him,” Jase grumbled, rolling Brook from the fetal position she had assumed and nudging her feet apart. “I’ll have another go.” He dropped his pants.
Brook back-pedaled across the mattress. Jase dropped to his knees, grabbed her by the ankles, and forced her legs apart. “She is pretty messy,” he conceded. “Well, there’s more than one way to fuck a bitch.” He flipped Brook onto her belly and crawled up between her legs.
Brook’s horror expanded into a living monster inside her chest. “Nooooo! Oh, God! Please don’t. Not that!” Brook was terrified of being taken this way.
“You’re gonna love this, bitch. I'm gonna get ya where the good lord split ya." She heard Jase spitting and felt something wet land on her skin. Then there was pain and she screamed long and shrill, shoving into the mattress, trying to get away from the unspeakable intrusion.
“Push back!” Jase shouted. “Work with me. It’ll go easier on both of us.” He wrapped an arm around her throat and held her firmly in place. Three of her nails broke off as she dug her fingers into the mattress. Hate filled her heart.
Jase grunted in satisfaction. “Tight,” he moaned. “God, she’s tight.” He began a slow pumping motion. It seemed to go on forever, much longer than the first time he’d used her. Brook cried weakly. Jase pushed her face into the mattress, cutting off her air. Eventually, he found his release again and rolled off her body.
Brook gasped, filling her lungs with ragged breaths. As her head cleared, a bitter loathing rose in her, and she yearned for a chance to kill the son-of-a-bitch. To rip his heart out.
Benny flipped her over onto her back again, grabbed her ruined shirt, and wiped at the mess between her legs before taking her one more time. Both men left the room together, laughing and slapping each other on the back for a job well done.
Brook’s intestines seized and she felt like she was going to explode. She crawled to the door and pounded on it.