Cynthia's Closing Shot, Chapter Four
Kate brushed a hand over the sweaty brush-cut and called out to Shara. "Let's
got get some lemonade in the cabin. It's too damn hot out here."
Shara looked around Cynthia at Kate, then back at Cynthia. Kate was right.
Besides, Cynthia had quit calling out after the twelfth strokes hit. They
continued whipping well past thirty even though it looked as if the slave had
passed out again after the twenty mark.
"Cut the bitch down before we go. She still has work to do."
The knife Shara used easily sliced the binds and Cynthia dropped to the grass
like a sack full of yard clippings. Splashing water on her hands from the
canteen, Shara wiped them over Cynthia's face. She watched the eyelids flutter
back to consciousness and gently stroked the cheeks. Soothingly she told Cynthia
that while the welts did look bad; no skin had been broken just a lot of lines
and bruises.
Kate ran her right toe over the back of Cynthia's upper thigh and said, "Cummon,
bitch. You've still got another hole to dig and this time, sorry about the tool,
you'll just have to use your hands. Do it fast as you can, or more of what you
just got is yours."
Into the early evening Cynthia dug. She remembered when she was in high school
and the neighborhood mongrel who seemed to always be digging in somebody's lawn.
She now felt like that digger. Kate and Shara had long since gone back to the
cabin, but Cynthia wanted the small hole finished before they came back. The
shortened chain Kate used to tie her down made it that much harder to work, but
scoop and claw she did. She worked on making the whole deeper with her hands,
pawing at the cool earth, just like that neighborhood dog.
"You did well, bitch. I listened to your little friend here, so I guess you get
this. Don't thank me. You'll have to express your appreciation to her later."
Cynthia eagerly grabbed for the apple as Kate tossed it down. The half-full
canteen could wait.
"You still have to spend the night out, though. Remember, tomorrow's your big
day. That hole you just dug by your stink pile is for your cross. Pleasant
dreams." Kate returned to the direction of lit windows shining from the cabin.
Cynthia finished the apple, drank some of the water and curled her body. The
grass chilled. Forlornly, she looked up at the night's sky. A few stars
glittered, but she didn't have to make a wish. They meant nothing except to
confirm what she already knew: She was so low that the only way she could was to
look up.
She was ready for them when they came. The sun of the new day rose hours ago.
Most of the dew on the grass was gone. Fluffy clouds eased their way across the
blue sky. Her body felt stiff and sore. Cynthia inhaled deeply as Kate and Shara
approached.
Kate tossed another apple down to the slave and knelt to unhook the short leash.
"Cummon, bitch. To the shed." For emphasis, she kicked the whipped ass. Happily
the kick wasn't necessary. Cynthia was all ready moving as her foot landed.
"Aren't you going to let her eat that first?" Shara strolled alongside, her arm
entwined with Kate's.
"She can eat it on the way. We don't have that far to go and the apple's not
that big. Fear not, Luv, the bitch will eat it soon enough."
Her words were barely said as Cynthia gobbled the Red Delicious to the core.
Walking made her feel better and she finished the apple just at the entrance to
the shed. She didn't bother to wipe her lips and waited as Kate opened the
rustic door.
Cynthia and Shara stood near the entrance as Kate went to a far wall and removed
another tarp. Dust filtered sunlight from a cracked window shone on the beams.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Come on over and shoulder this thing."
Cynthia stepped across the littered floor to where Kate stood. She looked at the
joined apparatus. The upright looked only two feet taller her own height. So
this was it, she thought and fit a shoulder where the long beam and shorter one
met. Testing its weight, Cynthia dragged the cross from the wall. Wrapping arms
around the lower portion of the crossbeam, she dragged the wood toward where
Shara stood in the bright light of the opened door.
"Shara. Go get my tripod and camera. This is going to be too good to miss."
Cynthia stood flat-footed on the grass as the two of them tied her extended arms
to the beam. So far, at least, it really hadn't hurt that much and to her
dismay, Cynthia found herself actually thinking that it was kind of sexy to be
tied. She looked down at her dirty feet. They stood out from where the cross was
planted. There was no use contemplating how close her toes were to the mess she
had made earlier.
"Now comes the hard part. Help me Shara," Kate grabbed the back of Cynthia's
right calf and lifted until the sole of her foot planted on the wood. "Loop rope
around her ankle and foot. Let's get the other leg. We'll tie the two together."
"iiiEEE," Cynthia yelped. Spears of pain shot into her arms and chest as footing
used to support was removed and she hung by her tied wrists. Her chin bumped her
upper chest. Knees bent outward as Kate and Shara worked below them. Only her
wrists stopped the forward motion. Cramps started. Shoulders bunched. She forced
herself back. Cynthia's head back, she attempted to frown away the growing
hysteria.
"These are still pretty," Shara giggled as she raked her nails over the tapering
ribs. She examined her fingertips. Already they were coated with fresh sweat.
Shara patted the outside of Cynthia's breast. Its firmness sprang back. It, too,
glistened anew.
"Cummon. We've got to go," Kate said as she did a final check on the second
camera added.
"Go?" Shara whined and pouted to the older woman.
"Yes, I said we have to go. I rigged a solar generator to power the lights and
cameras. They're all set on timers. We'll come back in maybe six days and just
about everything will be on tape. So leave the bitch and come get your things
from the cabin. We need to hike back across the meadow to where we parked the
car and get the hell out of here."
"But...but...we can't just leave her, can we?" Shara brushed back her hair and
ran up to Kate. "What if she wiggles free of those ropes around her insteps?"
Kate laughed and pecked at the younger one's cheek. She took her hand and pulled
her back with her toward the cabin. "Look, I doubt that. But if she manages
somehow to free her feet, she'll be that much closer to feed the animals."
"Oh," Shara said and with a last look at the crucified joined her lover to pack
their things. In her mind she imagined wild animals eating Cynthia as the
cameras recorded it all. The thought was scary, but also made her sinisterly
happy inside.
Late that next morning, Cynthia numbly realized that she had lived through the
previous night. It had been impossible to rest as she hung crucified.
Periodically the lights lit and the cameras whirred. At first the wild animals
were frightened. They grew more brazen as they realized that the lights and
sounds were harmless and that their prey could barely move. Even claws tearing
her lower legs did not stir their owner. When the sun rose, they left at last.
Daylight presented new threats, but Cynthia was past caring.
The forest ranger had decided to check the old cabin on a whim. Driving across
the meadow, he saw the cross and then the human hanging from it. Still halfway
there, he used the radio from his truck to call headquarters and have them send
an air ambulance. Fifty yards away, he drew his sidearm.
Keeping a wary eye all around, he placed a hand over the silent female. Her
belly felt cold, but he detected a faint pulse. Holstering his 9 mm, he used a
K-bar to slice the ropes and carried the limp form over behind a rock near the
pond. Using an emergency blanket, he covered most of her. Making sure that she
was covered, he withdrew his gun and went to search the rest of the grounds.
The ranger returned after finding that he and the woman were the only two still
around. Checking with the walkie-talkie, headquarters said that the helio had an
ETA of just over 15 minutes. He sat down near her feet. The silver blanket ended
just over her shins. She murmured some, but her eyes remained closed. He looked
again at the feet and then decided. He had to just take a peek. The thin
material lifted a bit higher. Her cracked lips murmured more and startled him,
but he kept peering. He could see more of the bare legs. His heart jumped again
as she made more sounds. He thought he saw the eyelids flicker. He leaned over
and wet the lips with water from his canteen. The victim's tongue licked over
them as if to savor the moisture. Movement caught his attention. Her legs slowly
parted under the blanket. His heart pounded.
Cognizant of the investigation that was sure to follow, he decided that if ever
there was a time for situational ethics this was it but he didn't need catching
blame by his own evidence being detected. The ranger searched the grounds and
then his watch for a second time. There was time and they were alone. He pulled
a pack over and retrieved a pair of latex gloves. They would keep his DNA out of
this.
Gloves on, he tentatively slipped his hands under the foil blanket. He felt the
legs part more. She murmured more as his fingers met her crotch. Carefully, he
slipped one and then two fingers between her lips. They slid in. Hooking them,
the female's vaginal walls sucked his digits as he slowly pistoned his gloved
fingers in and out.
The sound of the helicopter approaching made him pull out. He was sweating. Over
the far range of hills a small speck grew until the whirring blades were close
enough until grass beat and wind swirled. He knelt alongside of the victim as
she was placed into the metal basket. He watched as the crew ran away with their
patient, boarded the craft and flew off.
Epilogue
In the weeks and months following, the investigation yielded little. Kate
claimed her camera gear was stolen. The tapes showed only masked perps. The only
clue was that they were females and since Cynthia had instructed mainly females
at the gym, the list of possibles proved too lengthy. No charges against Kate or
her friend were ever filed. The case was dropped. Well-wishers visited Cynthia
as she recuperated in the hospital. Minor surgeries were performed. One nipple
had to be surgically removed. Some scar tissue necessarily remained, though
Cynthia looked more like her previous self. Over time her spirits returned as
did her weight and hair. She started wearing light makeup
One quiet day, some four months following the rescue, she got out of her
hospital bed, dressed in street clothes and walked out of her room to the
elevators. In the cab waiting curbside, she gave the driver Kate's address.
Putting on a pair of sunglasses, she sat back in the cab's rear-seat as it
accelerated. Gazing out the window at the passing view, Cynthia slowly smiled.
She could hardly wait to again see her mistress.
