My eyes flew to the two men rolling around on the ground in the night shadows. I pulled and tugged furiously at the chain to break free, tears of frustration, anger, and fear stinging the backs of my eyes.

“Kyle!” I screamed again.

A second man came out from the darkness, grabbed Kyle, and then pulled him to his feet. I crouched down to see through the opening of the door. A knot formed in the pit of my stomach and my heart thumped in my ears. Even though it was dark and they wore black clothing, I knew who they were. It was Mr. Clean and Brawny. Unfortunately, they weren't out for a late night stroll or a walk in the woods. They had come for me and if given the choice of whose company I preferred, Kyle would win hands-down.

With that in mind, I pulled the chain harder, cursing under my breath when the cuffs pinched the flesh of my wrist. My breathing came in short spurts through my nose as the edge of fear crept up my body. Kyle had been ambushed and I was bound to the car, as helpless as a wolf with its leg caught in a steel trap. I bent down to get another look out the door.

Mr. Clean held Kyle under his arms, giving Brawny full rein to punch Kyle repeatedly in the stomach. Kyle grunted and doubled over with each blow. Then Brawny swung back and laid his fist into Kyle's left cheek. The sound of his fist hitting flesh made my stomach lurch violently. Kyle went limp in Mr. Cleans arms. Mr. Clean chuckled and let Kyle drop face-first to the ground.

“Nooooo!” I screamed.

Mr. Clean started around the back of the car, towards my door. “Grab his gun and throw me his keys,” he told Brawny.

I pulled frantically at the chain as I watched him approach my door. Brawny threw the keys over the hood of the car to Mr. Clean. My heart skipped a beat. I knew I wasn't going to get out of this one.

Mr. Clean unlocked the door, swung it open, and smiled down at me. “What do we have here?”

“Fuck you!” I spat at him.

“Still the bitch even when chained to a car, hey?”

I could feel the panic welling up inside me as I looked over at Kyle, who was getting unsteadily to his feet. Brawny stood near him with his legs spread apart and a gun pointed at Kyle's head. I was guessing it was Kyle's gun.

“He isn't going to help you,” Mr. Clean stated, and reached in to grab the chain.

I slid sideways on the seat, as far as the chain would let me, and kicked out at him with my feet. My foot connected with his shoulder and sent him back a couple of steps. I was hoping for the face, but at that point, any part of the body would do.

He headed for me again. “You little….”

I shot up and dove for the door, trying desperately to catch the handle to shut it. My fingers stretched out to the handle, but the chain caught and stopped my fingers barely an inch from its grasp.

Mr. Clean snatched my wrist. “You're going to pay for that.”

His face formed a crooked sneer before he twisted my wrist back to the point of snapping. I cried out from the sting of pain shooting through my wrist and arm.

He snickered. “Not so tough now, are ya?”

A rush of anger flew through my veins, which washed away the pain in my wrist. I let out a high-pitched squeal and tried once again to pry his hand loose.

He slapped me across the head with his free hand. “Shut up.”

Undaunted, I dug my nails into his hand. “You bastard!”

He reached in with his free hand, wrapped it around my neck, and pushed my head against the back of the seat. “Stay still or I'll put you out to do it!” he said through his teeth.

I thought about smashing my hand right into his bandaged nose, but I didn't want to be unconscious. I let my hands fall to my sides so he could unlock the handcuffs. He yanked me out of the car and threw me face-first to the ground. My hands shot out in front of me to soften the impact. So instead of eating dirt, my palms took the blow and plowed into the rocky ground.

He shoved his hands into my hair, grabbed hold, and then lifted me to my feet. I had to grit my teeth to keep the scream from escaping my lips. He flung me around towards the other side of the car. I stumbled on my feet behind him as I tried to keep my balance. He stopped a few feet from where Kyle was kneeling and pulled me back by the hair, so my back was against his hard chest.

He tossed the cuffs to Brawny. “Use these on him.”

Brawny caught the cuffs and tossed the gun to Mr. Clean. I was hoping maybe I'd get a chance to catch it myself.

Mr. Clean pointed the barrel of the gun at Kyle's chest. “Don't try anything, pal.”

Kyle's eyes met mine and my pulse went to my throat. His hair had come free so it fell in loose waves around his shoulders and in his face. Through the darkness, I could see blood at the corner of his mouth.

Brawny pulled Kyle's arms behind him. A few seconds later, Kyle's eyes squinted and the click of the cuffs rang out through the still of the night. The gun was tossed back to Brawny, who pressed its barrel against Kyle's shoulder, forcing him to his knees.

Mr. Clean tugged at my hair. “Now it's time for you. One more scream and I'll do your boyfriend right here.”

It was a tempting offer, but I wanted to do him myself. My way. It wouldn't be any fun unless I was the one inflicting the pain, would it?

He threw me head-on into the side of the car. Once again, I used my hands to brace myself when I hit its hard surface. The force of the impact pushed a grunt of air through my lips. My body trembled from the abuse and I felt another rush of anger building. I turned around, leaned up against the car, and then pushed my hair out of my face.

"I don't think the old lady is gonna like this, Chester,” Brawny said.

Chester? Did his parents want him to make it through school in one piece?

Even though I knew it was going to get me into trouble, I had to let out a short laugh. I figured if I was going to go down, I was going down the way I wanted to. I refused to die tied to an altar.

“Shut up, Randy,” Chester spat. He turned to face me again. Wonderful. His brows furrowed down into a deep frown. “And what's so damn funny?”

“Julie, no!” Kyle yelled.

Could he have possibly read my mind?

I heard Kyle give out a low grunt and glanced over in his direction. Brawny had him down on his knees again. Kyle gave me a “please don't do it” look.

I looked up at Chester and my brow rose. “Frankly, Chester.” I emphasized his name for effect. “I was just wondering how you ever made it through school with a name like that.” I smiled sweetly at him, begging him to do what I wanted him to.

Chester growled through his teeth, then his open hand connected with my left cheek. The impact sent me to the ground, where I landed on my hands and knees. The sting of the blow vibrated through my face and echoed in my head. After a few breaths to clear the fuzziness from my eyes, I lifted my hands to inspect the damage. A few more cuts, scrapes, and embedded rock to add to the others. I had a feeling my knees would be the same. I thought Kyle had given me everything he had. I was guessing he must've held back quite a bit.

“Shouldn't that thing be working by now?” Randy asked.

Chester grabbed me by the arm and yanked me to my feet. “I'm glad it's not because I'm having too much fun.” He held me by my arms in a vice-like grip. “You think you're strong, eh, bitch?”

“Julie, please don't,” Kyle pleaded.

He was getting to know me pretty well.

I looked over at Kyle again. Randy hit him in the shoulder with the butt of the gun, sending him down on his hands.

“Shut the fuck up,” Randy ordered.

Kyle glanced over at me. Although I couldn't see his eyes, I knew he was begging me not to do it.

I turned my attention back to Chester. “Fuck-you,” I said in a calm voice. Brave ole me. I did have an ulterior motive. I was hoping Chester would accommodate me.

He shoved me back against the car, wrapped his hand around my throat, and applied enough pressure to keep me from moving. “Now that sounds tempting.” He lowered his lips to my ear so I could feel his breath along the side of my face. “You are a pretty little thing.” His deep voice was a low whisper. It told me things I didn't want to know.

Chester's comment brought another loud grunt from Kyle, which meant he must've tried to get up again. I guess he didn't like the idea of anyone else touching his property.

Chester kissed my ear and continued a trail across my cheek, towards my lips. I fought not to flinch. When he put his lips to mine, I grabbed hold of his bottom lip with my teeth and bit down hard enough to draw blood. The feel of his skin breaking between my teeth caused my stomach to churn and a sour taste to sting at the back of my mouth. I didn't ever want to do that again.

He jumped back and his hand flew to his mouth. When he pulled his hand away, he stared down at his bloodstained fingers and then glared over at me. His face formed a deep scowl. “Damn you, you bitch!”

One more wound to add to the many he already had. You would have thought he'd know better than to do something like that. Didn't he ever watch TV?

The bitter-metallic flavor of his blood ran along my tongue. The taste of it caused the familiar feeling in my stomach to rise once more. So I spat what I could of it on the ground and wiped my lips with the back of my hand. “I guess you can add that to the other scars I've given you this week. I'm surprised they sent you a third time. Being bested by a female and all.” My lips curled up.

Kyle gasped, which meant he knew who they were and what they wanted.

Chester rushed towards me, giving me no time to prepare for the oncoming assault. He swung and backhanded my other cheek. I went sprawling backwards onto the ground. God, that fucking hurt! Once again, the ringing sound echoed in my head and the burning sensation spread through my face. My mouth filled with the bittersweet flavor of blood and I winced when I ran my tongue along the large cut on the inside of my cheek. With no time to recover, I was lifted from the ground and thrown against the car.

Chester rammed his hand into my throat and squeezed. “You're-going-to-die,” he growled. His veins strained against his neck and his eyes went wide, so that the whites of them stood out through the subdued light of the night sky. It sure took him long enough.

With my hands on his wrist, more for support than anything else, I waited. It was time. I knew Elaine could find out who they were, but I didn't want to rely on her doing it in time. I couldn't take the chance. I stared up into his dark eyes, my body fighting for each breath, hoping the next one would be my last.

Then, without warning, he loosened his grip and his eyes wandered to the necklace hanging down over my shirt. He grabbed it with his free hand and looked back at me. “What's this?” I opened my mouth to try and squeeze out another biting remark through the pressure around my neck, but he didn't wait for an answer. Instead, he ripped the necklace from my neck and eyed the sack dangling from the end. All the while, he held onto me like I was a picture he was holding against the wall, waiting for someone to give him an opinion whether or not it was straight. “I think this is some kind of voodoo thing.” He looked down at me. “Is this why it's not working?”

I stared up at him and my brows creased. I couldn't talk with his hand on my throat. As if on cue, he let go of my neck and I fell to my knees. When I took my first breath, my lungs burned from the rush of oxygen that filled them. I held onto my throat, bent over, and went into a series of coughing fits.

Chester stood back, content on letting me alone until I was able to breathe without coughing. Mighty considerate of him, eh?

When I was done, he pulled me back to my feet. “Is this why it's not working?”

“Why what isn't working?” I whispered hoarsely.

“Don't play stupid with me.”

“I don't know wha….” I stopped when I realized what he meant. The mind control. I looked from him, to the necklace. My eyes narrowed as I pushed myself from the car, threw my hands out, and bolted for the necklace. “Give it back!” I croaked out through the fire in my throat.

He caught my arm and swung the necklace out of my reach. “I don't think so.” He wrapped his arm around my waist and held me against his body. Once he got a firm grip, he threw the necklace so it landed in the grass near the dirt shoulder.

“No!” I shouted.

Chester increased the pressure around my waist, causing my next breath to come out in a loud gasp. “Now stay still and it'll all be over soon.”

Then I felt it. The first rush of blackness. It was as if once the necklace was out of reach, it was rendered powerless. I looked over at Kyle and felt a prickle of fear crawl across my skin. I needed to tell him before it was too late. Please let this work. I closed my eyes, pictured Kyle's steel-blue ones in my mind, and then sent my thoughts out to him. Kyle, if you can hear me, tell Elaine and Christine I love them. I'm okay, really. I knew this was coming and I accept it. It's for the best. Please, Kyle. Tell them for me.

“Julie, nooo!” Kyle's voice echoed from somewhere above.

He heard me.

The dark tunnel washed over me like a wave over a sandy white beach. It took me down to the place I had been to other than in dreams.