The men stood in a cluster about fifteen yards from her tree, backpacks strapped to their backs. The sound of laughter drifted up to her. Beneath her fear, a dark, corrosive anger heated Mara’s blood, burning away some of the comforting fog her mantra had wrapped around her senses. There she perched, cowering and terrified in a tree, while creepy, perverted assholes stood beneath her, eager to hunt naked, defenseless women for sport! Rage surged through Mara’s being, rising inside her like a primal scream. She clamped her jaw, biting down hard to keep from making a sound.
Relax. Stay focused. Remember why you exist. Alex’s warm, soothing voice slid once more into her mind. She tried to recall her mantra, to grab at the protective words and wrap them around her, but the fury pulsing in her blood made her falter.
Breathe, Alex whispered. Take what is given. Do this for me.
Mara blew out the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. The words began to return, haltingly at first, and then in a steady, soothing and oft-repeated rhythm. I exist to serve, to suffer, to please and obey…
Calmed, Mara was able to focus on the hubbub beneath her. “Y’all go on in there and have fun,” DJ said in his loud, obnoxious voice. “I know these woods like the back of my hand. You need anything, just give me a holler on the walkie-talkie and I’ll be right there.”
One of the men murmured something inaudible, and Mara leaned forward, straining to hear. DJ guffawed and said in a voice that easily reached her ears, “There ain’t no poisonous snakes on this island, Jed, but, sure, I don’t mind coming with you. In fact, it would be my pleasure. If we get Raeanne, though, you got to share. She’s got the sweetest ass this side of the Mason-Dixon line. She’s a ruby, too—a regular pain slut. She likes nothing better than a good beating before she’s fucked.”
The laughter was jeering, the casual contempt of its tone more terrifying than any war cry. Mara breathed a tremulous sigh of relief as the men moved away, heading off in different directions. None of them had looked up even once.
Mara leaned back in her perch and took in several long, shuddering breaths. She was covered in sweat, though the day wasn’t yet hot. Once she’d stopped shaking, she untied the bandana and wiped it over her face and neck. Pulling back her hair, she retied it once more and leaned back in her perch.
How long should she stay up there? The men were off hunting in the interior of the woods. It seemed stupid to climb down now and risk running into them. She was high up and out of sight. Better to remain where she was, at least for now.
An hour or so passed, during which Mara heard nothing except the sound of insects and birds. Her legs were stiff, her bottom asleep from sitting so long against the hard wood. She had just decided to move to a lower branch in case she needed to make a quick escape, when she heard the sound of a deep voice and the accompanying whimpers of a girl. She froze where she was and waited.
A moment later the pair came into sight—a burly man with a big gut, Cassie walking behind him. As they passed closer, Mara saw Cassie’s hands were bound in front of her, rope around her wrists, another rope around her neck, the end of it in the man’s hand.
Cassie was covered in mud, her face streaked with dirty tears. “Hoo-whee! I got me one,” the man crowed into his walkie-talkie as he pulled her along. “Caught her fair and square. She was hiding down by the bog, rootin’ in the mud like a little pig.”
He listened to something Mara couldn’t quite catch over the walkie-talkie and replied, “Roger that. I’m back where we started. Send the boy over with the cart so I can get this piglet hosed off and back in my suite.”
Piglet.
Cassie, a young woman, a human being, was being treated like an animal, worse than an animal, since she understood what was happening to her—the degradation, the objectification, the systematic brutalization and humiliation.
No. No, Mara. Listen to me. This is why she exists. Why you exist. To serve, to suffer, to please and obey. You are property. You belong to the island, you belong to me. Make me proud. Serve me. Suffer for me.
“No.”
Mara gasped. Had she spoken aloud? Had anyone heard her? More importantly, had she dared to say no to Alex?
She glanced anxiously around her, as if he might suddenly appear beside her on the branch, a whip in his hand, ready to punish her for her transgression. Leaning back, Mara grinned weakly at her foolishness. Alex wasn’t there. She was alone. She was on her own, and her mission was to remain hidden. To be the last girl standing.