Taken

“Let’s go farther out in the water,” Brenda said, leaning back again on her elbows. “Where it’s more private. Then we can try your dunking idea.”

“Oh, yeah,” Robert said eagerly, jumping to his feet. “I’m on it.”

~*~

Jane’s face was stinging, her body still aching from the forced crawling. On top of that, she felt dizzy from the alcohol she’d just chugged. She hadn’t meant to drink the whole thing, but she was so damn thirsty from the chips and the sun. Hopefully it was more soda than vodka, as she wasn’t used to alcohol. On the other hand, it did dull the sharp edges of her constant pain and fear, if just a little.

As Robert pulled up the anchors, she tried not to speculate on whatever his idea might be that required more privacy. Instead, she closed her eyes and lifted her face to the sky, enjoying the salty spray and the invigorating wind as the boat sped farther out to sea.

Eventually, Robert cut the engine again. Silence filled the air, save for the gentle splash of the water against the boat’s sides and the occasional cry of a gull in the distance. Jane knew it was too much to hope for that they would leave her alone.

Sure enough, Robert approached her, two small coils of rope in his hands. “Get up and stand at attention.”

Biting back a sigh, Jane rose, wobbling a little, to her feet. She felt woozy. How she would have loved a bottle of cold, fresh water. But she didn’t dare ask.

Instead, she watched as Robert crouched before her. He looped ropes through the O-rings on each of her cuffs, tying them off with knots. “We’re going to play a fun game called dunk the frog.” Getting to his feet, he turned her and clipped her cuffed wrists together behind her back.

Jane’s heart constricted painfully in her chest. Was this how they were going to dispose of her? She took a deep breath, trying to still the trembling that was taking control of her body.

Don’t anticipate. Stay calm. It’ll be what it’ll be.

She let out her breath slowly, pleased the trembling had mostly subsided. If this was to be her last hour, at least she was in a lovely place, the deep blue water sparkling with dappled sunlight, the air fresh and briny.

At that moment, the shiny silver-gray fin of a dolphin appeared in the near distance. A second later, the large dolphin exploded above the water, a baby dolphin arcing in tandem alongside her. Jane actually smiled at the amazing sight. If this was her last minute on the planet, it was a good minute. She’d had a good life, even if she hadn’t known it at the time. She was at peace.

She was startled from her reverie as Robert swung her up into his arms. Walking to the side of the boat, he set her down and forced her to bend over the side. Brenda appeared next to them, naked and shiny with suntan oil. “Make sure and hold on tight,” she said to Robert. “You don’t want to have to jump in and fetch her if you lose your grip.”

“Not to worry,” Robert said. “You know I’m strong as an ox.”

“And as stupid as one,” Brenda said with a mean laugh, echoing Jane’s own thought precisely.

She gasped as Robert lifted her up and over the side. She was trembling uncontrollably, her tenuous peace of a moment before shattered at the realization of what they must have planned for her.

Gripping her by the ankles, he held her out over the water. “Grab the ropes,” he instructed Brenda. “I’ll move my hands up to the rope, too, once we’ve got her lowered.”

Jane hung upside down over the water, her heart trying to leap out of her chest, her breath a ragged pant. Slowly, she was lowered down and down until the top of her head made contact with the icy water.

“Please,” she cried, her voice quavering. “Please don’t do this. Please pull me back up.”

“That would be no fun,” Robert said with a nasty chuckle.

“Yeah,” Brenda said, giggling in a way Jane had never heard before. Was she drunk? “No fun in that. Anyway, don’t frogs love the water?”

“Hey, watch it,” Robert said, jerking Jane suddenly so she smacked painfully against the side of the boat. “You nearly made me drop her.”

“Well, hold on better, stupid ox,” Brenda replied, slurring her words slightly. Yes, the bitch was definitely drunk.

“Don’t call me stupid,” Robert said, irritation in his voice.

“Oh, chill,” Brenda chided, still giggling. “Dunk her. Go on. Do it.”

All at once, Jane’s head was plunged into the water up to her neck. Instinctively, she squeezed her eyes shut and held her nose as best she could as the cold water swirled around her. Panic seized her, shutting down her mind.