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My body
continued to thrash as I screamed at him that he was a fucking lunatic. 
The gag muffled my words but the sudden anger in his gaze indicated to me that
he understood what I had said.  He picked me up by both of my bindings and
threw me onto the bed.  He slapped me across the face again before
screaming, “Stop fucking moving, Bitch!  You keep fighting me and I’ll go
out and kill all fucking three of them!  Do you understand me?!”

It took
all the willpower I had to stop fighting against him.  Annie, David and
Matt were still alive when I checked them and there was a chance that they
could live through this in time for help.  My instincts were screaming at
me to keep trying to free myself, but I used all the self-control that I had to
stop moving.  Thoughts and ideas of ways to get out of this flitted
through my head and I couldn’t calm down enough to focus on what I had to
do.   When my body stilled, Chris smiled his sick grin and said, “I’m
glad to see that you do understand.”

His
eyes began to travel over my body and he licked his lips with
anticipation.  Both of his hands grabbed my breasts and forcefully
squeezed, causing me to whimper from the pain.  The sick smile on his face
only widened when he saw that he had hurt me and I could tell that he was relishing
my captivity.

He
leaned down to speak in my ear and I had to hold back from being physically ill
at the nearness of him. “Now, you are going to be a good little whore and sit
here while I go get something.  I won’t be leaving the room; so if I see
you move even an inch, your friends will be dead before we try this again.”

Chris’
heavy footsteps echoed as he crossed my floor back into the bathroom.  I
could hear him fishing through the drawers by the sink and they opened and
slammed as he searched them.  He returned to the bed and I looked over to
see that he was carrying a pair of scissors with him.   The
adrenaline in my body was surging for me to move, but I had to force the
instinct aside by remembering my friends in the other parts of the apartment.

“I
appreciate the outfit choice,
Paige
, but I’m afraid all that material is
going to get in my way.  It’s a shame really that I will have to cut it
off of you to get where I intend to go.” 

I instantly
hated hearing my name on his tongue and my stomach rolled as he spoke. 
When his hand ran up the inside of my thigh, my body shuddered in
disgust.  I continued to glare at him in refusal of showing him anything
other than anger.   He was looking for fear and I was too stubborn to
give him that satisfaction. His face continued to hold that horrendous smirk
and he began to cut away at my skirt.  He drove a line starting from the
bottom of the material and slowly sliced as he moved his way towards the top.

Once he
was done cutting off the skirt, he started at my top.  It took everything
I had within me to hold still while one end of the scissors scraped up my
torso.  I could feel wisps of blood leak out from the scratches he was
inflicting on my skin.   My glare never left him and, if that was the
only victory I had in this situation, I was going to hold that glare on him for
as long as I could.  He was obviously intent on taking my body, but I
would be damned to let him break me emotionally in the process.

My
shirt broke free and I was almost completely exposed to my attacker.  He
stood back to admire his work and then tsked when he saw how the scissors had
marked me.  The scissors dropped from his hand to the floor and he moved
closer to continue looking me over.

“I knew
I was right when I said I would enjoy this.”  A nasty grin broke out on
his face as he leaned down and took one of my breasts in his mouth.  He
bit down hard on the tip and I couldn’t keep from crying out from the
pain.  He lifted his head again and laughed when he saw a tear that had
escaped my eye.

“Oh
yeah, baby, I’m going to enjoy this more than you can even imagine.”

His
movement was quick when he grabbed me and flipped me over.  His hand came
down on the back of my head, pushing my face into the mattress.  I could
barely breathe and I turned my head slightly in a struggle to keep from losing
oxygen.  He used his other hand to remove the remainder of my clothes
until I was left in nothing but my underwear.  His hand slapped against my
ass hard and the combination of the sound and the sting caused my body to jump
in surprise.

“Look
at you.  It turns me on to see you writhing in wait for me.  Try to
be patient, baby, I plan on taking you slow.”  

My body
recoiled every time he touched me and I had started to give up hope.  I
wanted to believe that there would be a way out of this, but my optimism failed
when I recognized that the likelihood was slim that my friends and I would
survive. 

Chris
began to rub his hand over my ass and then used his finger to pull the material
aside.  He pushed his fingers over the center of my core, but didn’t apply
enough pressure to penetrate me internally.  I bit down on the gag still
tied around my mouth to keep from screaming.   The only triumph I
would gain would be a complete lack of response to his actions.

“Oh,
baby, you feel so fucking nice.  My dick is rock hard just looking at
you.  This is definitely more impressive than Annie.”

My
adrenaline kicked in again at my anger of what he had done to Annie. 
There was no staying still for this, regardless of his threat against my
friends.  My body bucked up to try to dislodge him and I forced myself
over to face him.  My sudden movement must have taken him by surprise because
he momentarily stilled.  I took advantage of his brief shock and used both
of my legs to kick him in the face.  I saw blood burst from his nose and
he fell backwards from the force of the kick.

“You
fucking Bitch!”

Chris
pushed himself from the floor when we heard two car doors slamming in the
parking lot.  I heard my name being called and my relief was
palpable.  Chris balled his fists when he realized that somebody was
coming.  He punched me in the head repeatedly and a cracking sound echoed
within my head with each hit he gave me.  He was running out of time, and
he glanced over to my window to look for a method of escape.

Someone
was slamming into the front door and I could hear the wood splintering as they
came through.  “Paige?!”  “Annie?!”  Two voices; there were two
men trying to force their way into the apartment.

Determining
that he was now outmanned, Chris ran to my window and threw it open with such
force, the glass shattered.  I watched as he climbed out and jumped to a
tree limb just below the outside sill.  He was out of my sight by the time
I finally heard the front door crash open.

A
familiar voice bellowed, I’m assuming when he caught sight of the condition of
my house.  I heard my bedroom door slam open and Daemon came into my
vision.  My thoughts were scattered from the beating Chris had delivered
to my head.  The only thing I could think when I saw Daemon was that he
really did look like a white knight from the illumination of the candles. 
He ran to my side and quickly looked for a way to untie me.

“Paige?!
Oh my god, Paige.  Talk to me. Please, talk to me.”

I must
have taken a few more hits to my head than I realized because I chuckled at the
irony that he was asking me to speak while I was gagged.  Daemon quickly
took notice of that issue as well and he reached behind my head to untie the
gag.

I’m not
quite sure what happened next as my awareness fizzled in and out of
focus.  I could feel Daemon cutting at the bindings on my feet and when he
broke through, blood rushed to my toes causing a pins and needle feeling. 
He started on my hands and I could feel more tears stream down my face from
being released from those cords.  When he finished removing the bindings
he grabbed a blanket from my bed and covered up my naked state.  His face
was strained with concern and he didn’t look sure about where he could touch
me.

“Paige? 
Paige, talk to me, tell me he didn’t…” His voice wavered as he imagined what
had been done to me. “Please, just tell me he didn’t hurt you like that.”

The
blackness was creeping up on me and I couldn’t keep my eyes open much
longer.  Daemon’s words became muffled and I felt like I was traveling
down a tunnel of some sort.  No matter how hard I tried to communicate
with him, either through words or a simple motion of my head, my body and voice
would not cooperate with my efforts.

Daemon
looked directly in my eyes for the last moment I could keep them open.

“Paige?”

And
then…there was darkness.

~

Three months had passed since Buddy’s mom left The Center. 
It was my sixth birthday.  I missed my friend so much. When I last saw
him, he had promised me that he would see me again. 

Because it was my sixth birthday, my parents decided to take a
rare day off to celebrate before I had to start homeschooling.  I woke up
that morning to my mother cheerily singing Happy Birthday while placing a small
present on my bed next to where I still lay cuddled with my stuffed animals and
other toys.  I eyed the box while laughing at my mother’s dramatic
rendition of the birthday song.  As much as I loved my mother for her
beauty in and out, even I had to admit the woman could not sing.  But that
was just one more thing that made her special.  Rather than shying away
from singing along, she would accentuate just how bad she was without
shame.  She sang any song loud and clear, so pitifully out of tune that
anyone near her would have to laugh after cringing at the first couple of
notes.  She finished her song and then nudged the small package over to
me.  I grabbed the present and tore into the shiny red paper to discover a
white velvet box inside.  I removed the top of the box and gasped when I
saw the small dragonfly necklace it contained.  The necklace was simple
for the most part, but the head and tail of the dragonfly looked likel rubies
that reflected the light streaming in from my bedroom window.  I jumped
out and threw my arms around my mother.  Momma laughed while pulling the
necklace from the box. After sweeping my long blond hair from around my
shoulders, she fastened the clasp behind my neck. 

“Your daddy and I saw this in the store a month ago.  As soon
as we saw it, we knew it was made for you.  I’ve never known a little girl
who spent as much time as you chasing dragonflies and collecting lizards and
all the other critters that come your way.”  She hugged me to her and
sighed into my hair. “I love you my little Paige.  Now hurry up and get
dressed!  Your father and I are taking the day off and we are going to
give you the best day of your life.” 

“Where are we going, Momma?”  My mother gave me a sly smile
and then tapped me lightly on the head. “Now if I told you that, it wouldn’t be
a surprise.  But you will need your bathing suit, so be sure to pack a
bag.”

My mother walked out of my room and made her way to the kitchen to
cook my birthday breakfast.  I jumped from the bed, knocking my favorite
stuffed cat to the floor.  I picked it up, placed it back amongst its
friends and muttered a small apology for having knocked it down.  I ran
through my room and collected my bathing suit, a towel, and got dressed in a
pair of cut off shorts and a t-shirt.  I made my way to the kitchen and
breathed in the delicious smell of the bacon that Momma was frying.  The
bacon popped as it cooked and I would laugh every time my mother dramatically
jumped away from the pan so that she wouldn’t get burned by the flying grease.

Daddy walked into the kitchen and whistled when he took a look at
Momma.  Even with her hair up in a messy bun, and wearing nothing more
than a pair of shorts and a baggy t-shirt, my father couldn’t keep from picking
her up and swinging her around before planting a kiss on her lips. “Good
morning, Mrs. Stone.  As usual, you have put the sunlight to shame by your
beauty.  I’m not sure how it’s possible, but I think you are more
beautiful today than you were yesterday.”  Momma’s cheeks flamed red as
she laughed at Daddy.

Daddy turned around and saw me at the table.  He ran over to
me and picked me up and hugged me so tight I could barely breathe.  “And
if it isn’t the little birthday girl.  Are you excited for your
surprise?”  I looked up into my daddy’s face and couldn’t contain the joy
about having a full day with my parents to myself.  I laughed when my
daddy flipped me up onto his shoulders and I wrapped my arms around his head.

“I am excited, Daddy.  What is my surprise?”  Momma
tsked and looked at Daddy in such a way as to remind him that he wasn’t allowed
to spoil it by telling me where we would be going.  “Come on, Daddy, you
know you want to tell me.  You never could keep a secret for long.” 
My father let out his deep laugh and held my legs while he spun me around.

“I would tell you my sweet Paige, but if I did that I would have
to deal with your momma later, and she can be very scary.  I think I’ll
just wait and let you find out when we get there.”

We packed all of our supplies into the car and then began our road
trip to my “surprise” destination.  My parents never admitted where we
were going, and since Florida has so many different water related choices I had
no idea where they were taking me.  Momma cranked up the radio that was
playing some old southern rock tunes and she and Daddy sang along to the songs
that reminded them of their youth.  Daddy would poke fun at Momma for her
awful pitch and out of tune singing, but he caressed her arm and kissed her
hand while doing so.  Momma wasn’t shy, she just kept on singing with the
rest of us.