The Hunted Lamb Ch. 01

Hello Lit World! This is my first submission so any constructive feedback would be greatly appreciated! This story has been wandering around the dark recesses of my mind for a LONG time, but I only recently decided to write it out. This is the first chapter in what I am estimating will be a relatively long series (12 or so chapters). While this chapter is relatively tame and full of mostly background information, future chapters will have a lot more sex and rough play so please hang on! My goal is to submit a chapter at least twice a month, so plan on chapter 2 and 3 coming out sometime during the month of October. Now sit back, relax and enjoy!

CHAPTER 1:

Looking at her empty left hand, Emaline Anne Hines was not ready to accept reality. Taking a sip from her Jack and Coke, Ema's gaze was fixated on the glaring white tan line on her ring finger: a constant reminder of the beautiful diamond ring that had been a permanent fixture on her hand for nearly a year. As a Captain in the Army, she was used to abrupt change and adapting to situations, but lately life seemed to be taking advantage of her strong nature.

Upon her return from a hard 6 month deployment to Afghanistan, Ema knew something was wrong with Derek and their relationship. She tried to pass off his distance and disinterest as just post deployment jitters, but unfortunately her instincts were dead on. After catching him red-handed with the slut next door only three days after her return, she promptly ended the engagement and decided she needed to get away from everything.

Calling her commander was easy. Ema was a good officer, a reliable, hardworking leader who was respected not only by the men she commanded, but by her peers as well. When she told Colonel Tuma that she needed to take some additional time off, he was concerned but didn't pry or ask too many questions.

"This isn't like you Captain. Are you sure you're ok?"

"Yes Sir, Just uh... just a bit more of an adjustment coming home than I was anticipating," she replied evasively.

"Well, war isn't for the faint of heart; don't beat yourself up about it. After the things we've seen, it's hard to settle back into normal life. Take the three weeks Ema. My suggestion: relax, get away for a while, work on planning that wedding of yours! Let me know if you need anything but otherwise I don't want to hear from you for three full weeks."

"Understood Sir, thank you. I'll see you when I get back."

That was her last conversation before she packed her few belongings in her car and started driving. She had no real destination in mind, she just really wanted to get away. With both of her parents deceased and most of her belongings still in storage, there was no one who would immediately miss her. Eventually her best friend Alyssa would track her down and demand a plan for the three weeks but Ema had some time to figure that out before facing the barrage of questions. Ema knew Alyssa meant well, but happily married with two kids, Alyssa sometimes forgot what it was like to have no strings attached. Ema needed to get off the grid for a while and find herself again so a firm plan was not necessary right off the bat.

Ema drove for about 6 hours when she hit St. Louis, Missouri. Deciding this was a good resting place, she found a relatively clean-looking chain hotel with a dive bar just down the street. She had checked into a basic room and walked down to the bar, hoping a nightcap or two would help her actually sleep instead of admiring the ceiling tiles all night.

Sitting alone at the bar, Ema continued to stare at her empty finger. She wanted to feel something, anything would be better than the emptiness consuming her now. Ema knew the numbness was just her mind's defense from the landslide of emotions that would eventually consume her. Derek had been her rock for the past three years. Losing him left a gaping hole in her heart but his betrayal had reverberated to her very soul. Tearing her eyes from the glaring reminder, Ema downed the rest of her drink and motioned for the bartender to bring her another. She was determined not to agonize over Derek, yet. Eager for a distraction, Ema turned her attention to the other patrons in the bar.

The bar was fairly busy for a Tuesday night, filled with the typical bar riff raff. There was a group of leather-jacket-wearing, biker guys playing darts, and the pool table had a small group of college-aged couples surrounding it. The bar itself contained its own hodgepodge of people including two business men, a pair of girlfriends giggling over some fruity concoctions, plus a couple token drunk guys. As the bartender set her next Jack and coke in front of her, Ema noticed a young woman enter the bar. She was beautiful with gorgeous dark hair, olive tan skin, green eyes and tall long legs. Ema found herself staring enviously at the girl. Ema had always considered herself pretty. Her long strawberry blonde hair, when properly tamed complemented her smooth ivory skin and deep blue eyes but at only 5'4" with knobby knees, a freckle covered complexion and an athletic build, she never did quite fit the typical 'Hollywood' definition of beautiful. Ema observed as all the men in the room inspected the girl as she approached the bar, ordered a drink and took a seat alone at a table just off to her left. Sheesh, she thought, men really need to work on their subtlety when appraising a beautiful girl in public. Ema stifled a giggle in her drink as she spotted one of the college girls physically step in front of her boyfriend and pull his face to hers for a deep kiss to regain his attention.

Deciding to ignore the girl and focus on putting a plan together for her next three weeks, Ema took another sip of her drink. Driving aimlessly for one day had felt therapeutic, but Ema knew too many more days without a plan would get monotonous and expensive. She needed to come up with some sort of plan for the next three weeks.

Born and raised outside of Baltimore, Maryland Ema had spent most of her vacations either at the Jersey Shore or Myrtle Beach, with the occasional Florida adventure for a dash of variety. Even the Army hadn't managed to broaden her horizons too far. Her first assignment to Fort Meade was only a stone's throw away from her childhood home. Even her current assignment at Fort Benning in Georgia, was only an introduction to the heat and oppressing humidity that was the south. While she loved her current job and the men in her unit, a large part of her was eager to see what else was out there. She recalled Master Sergeant Long describing the breath taking beauty of Bryce Canyon and Sequoia national parks.

Ema had never really had the opportunity to explore the West Coast. Maybe a little natural breath taking beauty was just what the doctor ordered.

Making up her mind, Ema finished her drink, pulled out her wallet and handed her credit card to the bartender to close her tab. She was going to head back to the hotel and plan a low key route through the various national parks in the West. Leaning on the bar, taking one last look around, Ema noticed the dark haired girl was now in a flirtatious conversation with a dark gentleman she had previously failed to notice. Watching the interaction left gave her an uneasy feeling, the way the man looked at her, watched her it was too focused almost predatory in nature. The whole thing gave her the chills, but he wasn't actually doing anything wrong so she decided to stay out of it, maybe her instincts were just on edge after the whole Derek affair. The bartender handed back her card, Ema stuck it in her jeans pocket and headed out the back door, ready to plan the next part of her adventure.

*******************

Two hours later Ema was scurrying back to the bar, all the while cursing her stupidity. Ema had used the hotel's 24hr business center to plan a scenic route through the Rocky Mountains into California and back through the Black Hills of South Dakota before returning to Fort Benning. But when she went to finalize her reservations, she realized her wallet was missing. Mentally retracing her steps, Ema realized she must have left it at the bar. Not wanting to wait until morning, Ema decided even at 1:30 am the bar was probably still open and hopefully the bartender had found her wallet. Trying not to focus on the negative consequences if it wasn't there, Ema anxiously rushed through the dark streets to her destination.

Don't panic, you're almost there... someone was bound to pick it up, even if they didn't it's nothing you can't handle, she told herself. The pep talk was her best attempt at keeping her insanity and fluttering heart rate in check. As she walked by the alley that passed directly behind the bar, she a strange noise caught her attention. She paused for a moment trying to make out any details in the dark alley, unfortunately she couldn't see much except shadows. Just as she was about to continue walking she heard what sounded like a muffled high pitch scream and the distinctive sound of sharp slap followed by the thud of something heavy hitting the ground and another softer muffled cry.

"Shut-up, bitch. That was only a taste of what I am allowed to do to you. Start cooperating or I'll make you wish you weren't born." Came a deep cruel voice from the shadows. "Dan, help me get her into the back, the drugs don't seem to have kicked in yet."

Another slap, as she heard a car door open, another voice called out

"Yeah, I'm coming. Calm down Jim, you know how pissy the boss gets when merchandise is damaged during shipping."

"Shut up and get back here, I need you to hold her down while I finish."

Deciding something was definitely wrong, Ema reached in her back pocket for her cell phone but it was empty. DAMN-IT. Not carrying a cell phone while deployed, she hadn't even thought about grabbing her phone before leaving. FUCK, someone over there is in deep trouble, and it sounds like she needs help NOW. Ema tried to consider her options. She could either go for help, praying they returned in time to save this girl or she could interfere and try to stop them herself. Her moment of hesitation caused the decision to be made for her. Ema heard a deep chuckle followed by the cruel voice saying, "Sleep now, little girl, the nightmares are only just beginning." When the car door slammed, Ema had only seconds to act if she hoped to make a difference. Stepping forward into the alley, Ema shouted, "Hey, what the HELL is going on back here?"

"None of your fuckin' business, get out of here."

"None of my business huh? Who's in the back of your van? It sure didn't sound like she agreed to be there."

"Sure she did sweetheart. She practically begged me to take her with that short little black dress on that perfect luscious body. Don't worry, they'll appreciate her beauty where I'm taking her. Might even fetch the top seller this month if I advertise her right. You on the other hand, I'm not sure how much you'll fetch yet. "

"What are-"

Sensing the danger too late, the fight was over before Ema even realized what was happening. The second stranger appeared out of the shadows and slammed Eva to the ground, knocking the wind out of her. As she struggled to breathe, Eva realized the man was already on top and quickly binding her hands behind her back with zip ties. Struggling against the bite of the ties Ema tried in vain to get free but the man was too strong making it impossible to escape his grip.

Not wanting to give up, Ema started to scream as loud as she could "HELP ME, I'm in the alley, HE-"

A large hand slapped over her mouth muffling the sound, without hesitation Ema bit down as hard as she could. The hand tried to pull away but Ema refused to let go. In an effort to make her release him, the man slammed Ema's head into the concrete. The world went momentarily dark as Ema felt her jaw slacken and release his hand. The man flipped her on her back and looked her over with disgust.

"Stupid bitch!" as he let his hand fly, backhanding her hard across the face. Ema felt dizzy and nauseous, one entire side face of her face was on fire and her jaw ached from the impact. The pain only served to make her angrier and throw caution to the wind. Ema turned back and spit in her captor's face.

The man screamed in outrage, "Why you insolent cunt! I'm gonna teach you some manners if it kills you!" He slapped her again and again, each blow landing harder than the previous one. After the fourth blow, Eva was seeing stars.

"Hey, save it!" said the other man grabbing his hand mid strike. "She's actually kinda pretty, Boss'll want her alive and in relatively good shape. Give her a dose and toss her in the back with the other one."

"Bitch bit me and spit on me, Jack. Hope the Boss throws her to the wolves in the hunt just for me."

"Haha, I'll make the suggestion. He loves throwing the real rebellious ones in, makes for a more interesting game."

Eva felt a prick in her arm and the world as she knew it faded to black.