Induction

My inner alarm bells were blaring, but when I looked to Meg and Nancy, they looked comfortable chatting up the strangers. Maybe I was overreacting. I pushed the bad feelings down and jumped into the conversation. After a few minutes they asked to come aboard. “We won’t allow weapons on board. We have guns and if you try anything funny, you’ll get a face full of lead.” I said, as I picked up my rifle but kept it pointed toward the deck. Meg had grabbed the rope they tossed and tied off on one of the houseboat’s moorings.

Mel and Dave came aboard and looked around. They held their arms up when I pointed my carbine in their direction. “Whoa little lady, there’s no need for hostility. We don’t mean you any harm.” I don’t know why, but I thought Mel acted more like a sleazy used car salesman as opposed to a mechanic.

“Turn out your pockets then turn around.” I wasn’t taking the chance they had handguns tucked in their pockets or the back of their clothes. They did as they were told and, satisfied they weren’t hiding any guns, I lowered my weapon. “You should know, we aren’t alone. There are more of us downstairs and several on their way back with supplies.” They didn’t need to know the downstairs muscle came in pint-sized form.

“It’s all good,” came Dave’s reply. “We’re not looking for any trouble. It’s a miracle we found you.” Both men stuck out their hands. Meg and Nancy accepted their handshakes and introduced themselves. Dave stepped a little closer to me, obviously looking for the same courtesy. I lowered the gun a little more and stuck out my hand. He came closer again and put his hand on his belly, hunching a bit.

“Woo, I’ve got me some hunger pangs.” He moved a little closer and extended his hand. I thought he was about to shake mine, but instead I saw the butt of a large knife as he pulled it from the front of his jeans and brought it to my face, cracking me good and hard on the bridge of my nose.

I fell backwards and the world faded to black.

Daphne growled and barked.

She sounded ferocious until she bit Dave’s leg and he kicked her, then she let out a short yelp of pain and went silent. The kick sent her flailing in the air and off the side of the boat. I tried to call to her but couldn’t find any words and my body just wouldn’t cooperate.

Two thoughts crossed my mind as I lost consciousness. The first being dammit, I should have listened to those warning bells and the second, that sneaky bastard. I heard Meg and Nancy’s screams as the darkness took me.

Chapter 23 Puke. The Ultimate Defense

I would have written Mel and Dave off as a dream when I woke up, but there were just too many things wrong about my predicament. First and foremost, my head felt like it had been hit with a sledgehammer. I was face down on the bed, and blood had dried on the pillow. Also, I wasn’t in my room, I was in the master bedroom. Most notably, my hands and feet were tied behind my back. The bastards had hogtied me. My position gave me a view of the far wall of the bedroom. The light coming from the window made my head hurt worse and I felt woozy. I shimmied and shook for all I was worth and managed to roll over to face the door. Little white lights exploded behind my eyes and I squeezed them shut. The throbbing in my head felt like someone was hammering railroad spikes into my brain. Everything I had just discovered about my situation became nothing compared to the wave of nausea that filled me.

“Aw man, Dave. You really fucked up that pretty face.” My eyes shot open and I found my assailants standing in the doorway. One of them, I couldn’t tell which one due to my blurry vision, stepped into the room and ran his hand down my back, squeezing my ass and grunting with pleasure. I was disgusted and my stomach wrenched tight right before I vomited all over the front of his pants.

He jumped back in disgust, but not far enough. The second wave hit me, and this time I got his shoes. Dave, I could see more clearly now, stepped in to give me a backhand to the face and I made my token dry heave sound. Hork hork. He jumped away again, this time retreating back to the open doorway.

Mel was laughing at him, “Damn, she got you good.” He slapped his hands on his knees as he poked fun at him.

“Shut the fuck up, Mel.” He rooted through the drawers and pulled out some of Finn’s clothes. It’s not like Finn would need them anymore. “You’ll pay for that, bitch.” He got in close to me and surprised me with a kick to the kidney. The wind was knocked from me. “How do you like that? Just like I did to that mutt of yours. I punted her off the boat and into the water like a football. Too bad, too, dogs usually love me. Too bad. So sad.”

My chest constricted from struggling to breathe and for the loss of Daphne. I had kept her safe through everything thrown at us only to lose her at the hands, or feet, of this pile of dung.