Midnight

"Aww he's just a puppy... he doesn't know any better yet." Hannah kept her distance even after the pup finished, though he still wanted to climb into her lap.

A few minutes later, they rolled up in front of a house. There weren't any neighbors in sight, just the front of one dimly lit white house, fairly sizable and well kept. It sat atop of a gravel driveway, surrounded by trees on three sides off the slope of the windy road. Some lights in the distance suggested neighbors nearby beyond the dense thicket of trees. The truck slowed to a stop and Logan opened the door to get out.

"Hey, real sorry about this but I gotta clean that up before it stains. Just be a few minutes." Logan explained to Hannah with a friendly smile, then stepped out and headed over to the house, unlocking the door and pushing his way inside.

"C'mon why don't ya bring that little pisser inside for a few minutes and let 'im clean this up. Logan kinda fussy 'bout his baby, but I don't blame him, trucks these days cost as much as some houses." Chris said with a wink, then slid out of the passenger door to open the back for her.

Hannah agreed and gathered the troublesome little pup in her arms to climb out, careful not to step in the expanding pool of urine. As she stood looking into the house with a degree of apprehension, Logan flicked some lights on and revealed it to be a decent, rustic little abode. She could see him moving around inside through the windows. She followed Chris into the house, then shut the door behind them.

The house had an older feel to it, decorated classically in a way that didn't seem to fit Chris or Logan's personalities. Hannah had to assume it was inherited from someone's more tasteful or sophisticated grandfather, but it was a nice house nonetheless. White walls were covered with carved wooden art, the furniture was sturdy oak. A buffalo skull hung impressively in the foyer, and beneath it was an antique hunting rifle mounted on a plaque. The pendulum of a grandfather clock ticked hypnotically from the corner, and a large gas-powered fireplace had already been switched on to add a warmth both aesthetic and physical. Hannah set the puppy down, and the beast immediately ran down the hall and disappeared, nails scratching against the hardwood floor.

"Oops." Hannah grimaced, then rolled her shoulders up into a shrug and darted her eyes off to one side.

"Hah, well you didn't sign up for no dog." Chris shot back, starting to follow after the pup down the hallway.

"Nice place you got..." Hannah remarked while her eyes wandered the property.

"It's Logan's... can be a little particular. Doesn't like dirty cans of chili in the sink or beer cans all over the counters, you know."

"I'm getting the sense. I doubt we'd be good room-mates." Hannah quipped with a small grin.

"You know, I think you'd be just fine. Oh wait, hair ties. Nope." Chris shot back, but with a tone of sarcasm.

Hannah snickered under her breath. She followed Chris down the hall and into the kitchen, it was spacious and clean, with granite counter-tops and an island in the middle, stools situated in front of it. The puppy was roaming around to each corner of the room and pacing in circles, probably smelling all the food, Hannah thought. She glanced around at the bare counter-tops, then the magnets on the refrigerator. Souvenirs from all over the USA, a few clipped newspapers pinned to the surface. Logan emerged from a room behind the kitchen with a roll of paper towels and a bottle of cleaning product and swept past the two of them just as fast as he appeared, undoubtedly to tend to his truck.

Chris set a bowl of water down on the floor in the corner, and the puppy charged over to start lapping at it vigorously. Hannah stood by the doorway watching the little lab -- it was hard to pull her eyes away. She just kept thinking about how cute he was, like her brain was stuck on a loop.

"Want something to drink?" Chris' voice snapped Hannah out of it.

"Oh, yeah, please. Some water would be great." she answered, then knelt down to pet the sleek wiggly puppy. He kept looking up at her in-between lapping up his own water, his black button eyes tugging at her heart strings.

"Look at me, watered the dog before the guest. That's southern hospitality, don'tcha forget it! There ya go." Chris sat a glass full of cold water down a minute later on the island near Hannah. She grinned awkwardly and quickly thanked him, releasing the pup from her embrace to take off once more and continue his exploration. She stood and slid onto one of the stools in front of the island, then took a few long pulls of the water. She was surprisingly thirsty, but hadn't hydrated since her hike. She finished the whole glass inside of thirty seconds. Logan suddenly lumbered past with his hands each clutching a trash bag, elbowing Chris on his way through the door.

"Alright, take it easy now." Chris warned him as he passed by. Probably playfully.

"Well -- I guess I respect that he takes care of his things." Hannah mused aloud once she finished her drink, then glanced at her phone to check the time. 8:37 P.M. and 2 new text messages. She would have to read them later.

"Ah ya know sometimes people think couple guys like us can't take care of what's ours. Well, they're wrong about that. I think we're actually a couple a' pretty nice guys myself." Chris shot back with a casual wink and click of his tongue. He leaned over the other side of the island, had opened a green beer and polished off half the bottle without her really noticing. Chris crossed around to the other side of the kitchen island and slid up onto a stool next to Hannah, noting her empty hand.

"Shoot, shoulda offered. Can I get ya somethin' stronger, beer maybe?" Chris asked.

"Oh, no. Probably be back on the road in a minute. That'd uhh... be illegal anyway. I'm not old enough." Hannah replied with a diminutive chuckle.

"No shit."

"Nope!"

"Well how old are ya?"

"Eighteen."

"Wow." Chris rubbed the back of his head, unable to feign the expression of surprise spreading across his face. "Coulda fooled me girl, lookin' at you I'da thought you a porn star." Chris laughed. Hannah didn't find it that funny. Comparisons like that made her uncomfortable.

"Oh, well... yep, just here to go to school. Just some like general ed stuff while I figure my life out, you know." Hannah muttered an awkward, fake chuckle and turned to glance at the front door. Logan should be done any time, she thought. When she turned her head back towards Chris again, he was inches away.

"Seems like a waste a' time. Girl like you, well you could 'ave a sugar daddy in the top one percent. Could make a fortune sellin' pictures of yourself. Look at'cha. That hair..." His fingers fawned over her while he stroked one of her curls down her back. "That body," Chris continued, pressing the palm of his hand against Hannah's slim waistline. "That face." he concluded, and by that time he was leaning in. He was so close Hannah could smell the beer on his breath, and then she felt his hand dare to travel to her thigh.

"Whoa!" Hannah cried as she jolted upright, off the stool and away from Chris. Maybe she did that a little too fast, it left her feeling light headed. She steadied one hand against the island and use the other to point her index finger. It was the lecture move. She had seen her mother do it.

"I-- am sorry if I gave you the wrong impression. I really, uh, appreciate your kind words. I do. But I have a boyfriend. Like... a real one. His name is Marcel, and he's um... well he's an idiot. But I love him." Hannah lied, once more, not about the idiot part though.

"Hey, hey, no harm done!" Chris said with a grin so casual you'd have thought he got an off-brand cola at a restaurant. "Just couldn't help myself, you know -- you're so fuckin' pretty and all." His words weren't that reassuring, and then he stood up from the stool and gradually started drifting towards her. It was enough for Hannah to take a few steps backwards.

"Okay -- alright. I appreciate that. But he's expecting me, so, I really need to..." Hannah slurred her last two words, she even heard it herself. She wasn't getting less light headed, in fact, she felt dizzy. Hannah cursed her weakness for smoking weed - this wasn't the time to show weakness, not with this guy leering at her like a hungry hyena. She peered across the kitchen island towards Chris, who was still meandering her direction.

"Gee, that strikes me as a little rude if I'm honest." Chris muttered, "Gave ya so much of our time, what makes you so much better you can't spare five, ten, fifteen minutes..." spitting on his own kitchen floor for effect, he stopped a couple of feet away from Hannah.

Hannah leaned her elbows into the granite counter-top, her eyes caught on the empty glass of water. She had stopped paying attention. The last little swirls of water were rolling around at the bottom of the glass, barely a shallow puddle. But in that puddle she could see white, powdery sediment settling at the bottom. The more she stared, the more the glass looked out of focus. She had a vague understanding of what it meant - that she made a mistake - but the longer she thought about it the less important it became. Artifacts of light started to trail in her vision like apparitions, blurred images of her surroundings continuously collapsing in on themselves. It made everything feel like it was moving. The pure adrenaline of survival instinct forced her muscles into action, but after one step she took to swaying. "Easy-" a voice called. Hannah pushed away from it, stumbled backwards a little. She saw the lights on the ceiling, she felt a hand gripping her arm. Then she felt nothing.

TWO

The warmth of sunlight shone upon her face and the sweet aroma of funnel cakes and kettle corn was wafting thick through the air. In one hand she wielded her annoyingly specialized drink, a sugar free oat milk chocolate hazelnut frappe with extra whipped cream. She had already posted a photo of it. The other swung along in tandem, clutched to her Mother's. They were at the Boardwalk but Hannah couldn't say precisely where. Children were laughing and playing, running through the walkways. Amusement park rides were all operating around her. She felt happy to be there with her Mother, but sad that she knew it would be ending soon.

"I'm going to miss you! I just can't believe how fast you grew up!" Her Mother mourned. "I know that a lot happens in college, so... I just want you to be safe."

"Well, I'll miss you too. You can't keep saying that you know, I'm officially an adult. I mean, in like a few months." Hannah answered with confidence.

"Oh I'll be saying it forever. The time really flies. You know sweetie... you're so beautiful, you've taken such good care of yourself. All the tedious effort and countless hours you put in to being your best self -- I just want to make sure you give that gift to someone deserving."

"Oh, god. Mom--" Hannah interjected with annoyance.

"No, no, you need to hear it. At least once more. Don't walk alone late at night. Lock your doors. Al--"

"Always tell someone where you're going. Don't get into a car with strangers and never leave your drink unattended." Hannah completed the lecture alongside her mom, after hearing it so many times.

"And-?"

"And... try to have fun?" Hannah shrugged, grinning mischievously. Her mom took a playful swipe at her.

"And... always use condoms!" Her mother concluded, to Hannah's chagrin.

Hannah coughed on her frappe, then pulled the straw out between her lips and started spraying whipped cream at her mother. She tried to hold her hands up to shield herself from the spray -- but they wouldn't budge. Confusion gripped her, and she tried to run, but her legs wouldn't move either. Then the boardwalk was gone, and a swirling darkness rose up from the depths, plunged her conscious mind into a confusion of sound and shadows. The warmth left her, replaced by a pounding in her ears. More than her legs struggled then -- she concentrated on her breath. Her mouth wouldn't open, and her eyelids felt so heavy she couldn't spare the effort to open them.

"Well how the fuck you know you didn't use too much? She looks pretty fuckin' small to me! You know people react to that shit!" A deep, growling voice was bellowing. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew it was Logan.

"God-damn, she's gonna be fine a'ight? What's got you so worked up any-" Another voice spoke, but Hannah couldn't concentrate on the words as much as she tried. Sleep dragged her away once more.

Hannah awoke again to the feeling of her leggings being tugged off, peeled over the ample curve of her hips. Once they had been stripped free of her smooth legs, a cold set upon her. She concentrated on her breathing again. She could hear them both very clearly, like they were right next to her. A large, powerful hand spread over her abdomen and caressed her silky skin for a moment. She realized her shirt wasn't there either, then.

"Boy you sure can pick 'em, whoo-ey, this girl's hot as fuck buddy!" Chris' voice sounded perfectly amused.

"Hey, uh, the fuck we gon' do with the god damn puppy?"

"She's perfect." Logan muttered quietly, hesitating.

"I don't know, dumbass. You weren't supposed to buy the damn thing."

"'Ey you just said, this girl is a sucker for a cute dog, so I fuckin' got one alright. What made you so fuckin' sure of that anyway?" Chris complained in return.

"Something she posted."

"God damn buddy, how long you been followin' her socials?"

"Fuck off."

"Well look god-damnit, if she some kinda special fuckin' trophy for you then YOU can handle the damn-" Chris was arguing with Logan, but Hannah's eyes burned with tiredness, her lids felt so heavy she couldn't open them. Hannah drifted into the warm grasp of oblivion for a while longer.

The next time Hannah awoke, she was unable to say if it had been five minutes or five hours. Her eyelids didn't feel as heavy, and light seeped through her lashes to help make out a blurry image of the room around her. Fluorescent overhead lights beamed down harshly, exposed beams and pipes ran along the unfinished wooden walls. The ceiling was missing -- just wooden slats and cross beams beneath the floor; she was definitely in a basement. A large leather chair was positioned several feet away facing her, and a bedside table sat very near.

Her body felt stiff, and her limbs still couldn't move. She felt sheets beneath her skin. She laid there focusing on her breathing for several minutes, the room still shifting into focus as her eyes opened. She looked up above her head to see the metal frame of a bed -- and her wrists cuffed to it, locked with a long chain in-between them holding her hands above her head. She looked down to see her toned milky body, stripped down to her purple panties and bra. Her knees were bent and her thighs spread wide, all the way to the edges of the full-size mattress. Her ankles were tied to the horizontal frame of the bed. She couldn't close her legs, even a little. As Hannah took in the harsh realities of her surroundings, a door swung open somewhere, and she could hear voices again.

"Look... man, a deal is a deal. I know you like her, but I ain't had much pussy either a'ight?" Chris' voice rang out first.

"No damn it... I've been having to watch this bitch, it's my truck, it was my-" Logan countered, but was interrupted.

"Yeah yeah yeah. Seriously bro, we talked about this, and you know I fuckin' don't want to-"

"Don't want to be fair?"

"Alright well fuck you, then. Ok, you wanna have that talk? Last time we shared a girl and you went first, I couldn't feel fuckin' nothin' after. Call it sensitivity or whatever, but you go slammin' that fuckin' baseball bat o' meat around and girls just don't feel the same again."

"That's bullshit, it's not that big, you just think that's a flatter-"

"It don't matter. You agreed. Right?"

Logan grunted.

"Right?" Chris repeated.

"Right." Logan conceded reluctantly.

The footsteps grew louder as the two approached. Hannah was still out of her wits, but she could see the men clearly when they walked around the corner. Standing beneath the overhead light, they cast a long and ominous shadow across the bed she lay on. She never suspected Chris and Logan of being the type to do this to her, whatever 'this' was. How could people be so cruel to a harmless stranger? That was when Hannah started to panic, yanking her wrists against her handcuffs, trying to tug her ankles free. All she could do was wiggle mightily, and when she was frustrated enough with that she tried to scream -- only to find a strip of duct tape clamped over her mouth. She started panting, afraid she might pass out again. Hannah couldn't remember ever feeling so helpless. She tried her best to scream anyway, over and over, her eyes squeezing shut and tears rolling from the corners of her eyes.

Chris and Logan stood at the foot of the bed looking down at Hannah. Chris had no sympathy in his eyes, and Logan simply gave her a hard stare. "Oh, look whose awake!" Chris said as he grinned, and if Hannah tried to give him a pleading gaze, he wasn't looking. His eyes were on her body. Her muffled cries of anguish seemed to him about as significant as elevator music. She wondered if it might all suddenly end, a horrific nightmare where a person wakes up before anything bad actually happens to them. But she wasn't waking.

They had all the power, and she had nothing. She lamented in defeat for a moment, but just as she stilled her heart, she heard the tell-tale clatter of metal scraping across metal. Hannah lifted her head, just in time to watch Chris start unbuckling his pants. Of course she knew what that meant, like the inevitable ticking of a roller coaster en-route to crest. He tossed away his cap to leave the short messy shock of brown hair behind, and opened up his plaid shirt. He was wiry and lean, muscular but not big in any way. He had tattoos scattered down his arms, and a chameleon on his right pectoral was eye-catching in shades of green and black.

Logan stepped up beside the bed and leaned over Hannah. She shouted against the barrier of duct tape across her lips when she saw him, but little noise emerged, and nobody listened. The thick calloused digits gripped the back of her bra and unclasped it, tearing it from her body and exposing her youthfully buoyant, large breasts capped with diminutive pink dime nipples. Hannah's purple panties were high-waisted, the straps thin on the sides. They ripped easily when Logan yanked on them, the snapping elastic stinging against her skin and the destroyed cloth dragged away between her legs. She was completely exposed, and no amount of struggling made any difference beyond tiring her muscles and bruising her wrists. She cried fruitlessly for help, watching as the two men silently admired her like a new car. Tears blurred Hannah's vision and she worried she was on the verge of a panic or heart attack. She'd had neither, but imagined this must be what it was like.

"Time for your before and after, doll." Logan jeered as he slid his phone out from his pocket, stood tall over the top of her, then snapped several photos. He took a knee at her bedside, then wiped his over-sized thumb across her teary eyes to clear her vision. "It's alright. Be a good girl now and you won't get hurt... too much." Logan winked, then turned the phone around and held it in front of her face. Hannah stared at herself on the screen of Logan's phone. Her extra-long brown curls were splayed out beneath her, cheeks flushed and eyes rimmed red from her struggle. She had that coveted hourglass figure, wide hips and bountiful breasts; slim-thick, as Marcel liked to call her. The bed she was tied to looked clean and plain, gray sheets and pillow cases but no blanket. She had no body piercings or tattoos, and she was freshly shaved all over. The puffy lips of her vulva revealed only a peek of pink, due to her legs being forced wide apart on the bed frame. Before she could study it any more, Logan pulled the phone away and stepped back.