The Light Between the Trees Ch. 09

"Raven, you need to understand this," he tells me, earnestly, "You'll know if it's the end, because I will have discussed it with you. Here, take this."

He hands me the half-empty bottle and I take it gratefully.

"Are you okay to walk?" he asks.

"How far?"

"About five minutes."

I nod, and follow him as he leads us down the trail. We walk in silence, and I think it becomes obvious to him how he's misjudged, how slow I am over the uneven ground, barefoot. It feels like we're walking for another half an hour, but eventually, the trail runs into a little clearing. It's crossed by an access track, winding its way down the side of the valley, just wide enough for a vehicle. A silver all-wheel-drive is parked off to the side, encrusted with dirt. Covalent goes over to it and opens the passenger door. I make to get in, but he stops me.

"Not you."

I stare at him, confused.

"This is my car," he explains, "I own it. The registration's in my name."

"I don't get it."

"The first place they look is the vehicle."

I'm struggling to comprehend. Why can't I get in? How the hell am I going to get out of the middle of nowhere unless he drives me? He drops his pack into the passenger seat and closes the door. When he turns back to me, his expression is serious.

"This isn't the boatshed, Raven. That was just us getting to know each other. I needed to know how you felt, and you showed me. This isn't playing anymore."

Despite the heat, I shiver, looking into his eyes.

"You have two choices at this point. We do it here, and I get the shovel out of the back, or we do it at the place I arranged."

I'm shaking as I ask, "What if I changed my mind?"

He reaches out and tucks my hair behind my ear, a curiously intimate gesture that belies the fact that he's discussing how to dispose of me.

"You haven't though, have you?"

He's waiting for me to reply. I need to tell him. I need to say thanks, but no thanks, retrace my steps back up the track now I have some water onboard, get back to the station, to the city, to my storage and get Chloe back out of the place that I put her. I need to... I need....

"I haven't," I confess, my voice barely above a whisper.

"That's it then. It's no longer a question of if, but of when."

I stare back at him, uncertainly. "When will you do it?"

"When I'm finished with you. Don't worry, Raven, it's going to be wonderful. I'm going to make sure it's perfect."

He smiles kindly at me, cupping my cheek in his hand, and I believe him. I've made my choice; I'm not going to survive this. There's a part of me that just feels relieved.

"What do you want me to do?"

He withdraws his hand and I feel keenly the loss of his touch. He's businesslike now, striding past me to open up the back of the vehicle. I can see the back seats are folded down and there is a pile of luggage in the back. I see cans of food in bags, coils of rope, cardboard boxes, and a shovel. He unzips a bag and pulls out hair clippers.

"From this point on, we're going to need to minimise DNA. A major source is hair. Kneel down."

I remain where I am, my shock evident on my face. He approaches me, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"You need to kneel down."

"What?" I gasp, looking from his face to the clippers, "What are you going to do to me?"

"Whatever I think is necessary, Raven. You get that, I know you do."

"But...."

"I want the hair removed, so there's less chance of evidence left behind."

I can feel his hand on my shoulder, the subtle weight, wanting me to kneel as instructed, but I don't.

"You've surrendered yourself to me," he explains, "Your body belongs to me. I'll change it as I see fit. I'll bend it and shape it, and then finally, I'll end it, as promised. You know that this was always going to be the outcome. You're just delaying the inevitable. You have already sacrificed yourself for me."

His calm, steady tone penetrates the tumult in my brain. He's right: I'm a sacrifice, on my way to whatever altar he has constructed. There are ritual steps to prepare me for my final moments, and this is the first. Little by little, he's going to take away my self, until I'm ready to give my body up to him, to fulfil that ultimate moment that he's been preparing me for. I can see it all now, the path in front of me, and I'm not afraid. It's actually comforting to know after everything I've been through that there's an end, and that it will be glorious. Slowly, I drop to my knees in the dust.

He takes his time, and I close my eyes, listening to the buzz of the clippers. I can feel whisper-soft sensations on my shoulders, and I realise it's my hair as he shaves me. When he's done, I look down and see my dark locks strewn across the dirt. I raise my fingers to my scalp and touch my shorn skin.

I can feel the stubble, everywhere. There is the strange sensation of the air passing over my scalp. I can't stop touching myself, fascinated by what he's done to me.

"Stand up."

I stand, as bidden, looking up at him. He smiles, reaching out and running a hand over my head. For the first time in my life I'm completely bare, stripped of hair completely, shaved and naked.

"We'll keep the eyebrows."

He smiles, and as if to emphasise, he bends towards me and places his lips on each eyebrow, bestowing a kiss.

"How do you feel?"

I can't answer him, as if I'm bound to silence. There is a fire within me, kindled by what he just did, how easily he took possession of me. His eyes travel down my body, stopping at my crotch. I follow his gaze, and see for myself. My pussy is swollen and flushed. I'm so aroused, it's almost unbearable.

"Ready for transportation?"

I can only nod. I don't know what it entails. My mind is curiously blank.

Covalent pulls something out of a bag. It looks like a sleeping sack, but it's made of a black, shiny plastic. He unfurls it in front of me, then rolls up the length until he's holding it open between his hands. He crouches down and puts it on the floor.

"Step in."

I slide a foot into the black material, then the other. Covalent begins to unroll the sack up my legs, and I get a sudden quivering thrill, flashing back to the post I read from the woman who wanted to be disposed of in garbage bags. I look down at my body being enveloped in the glossy, black plastic and I realise that it's happening to me, right now.

"Hands on thighs."

I obey, and he unrolls the sack up over my tummy and my elbows, trapping my arms. Any notion of escape is now finished; Covalent has wrapped my limbs inside the sack and as he brings it up over my head, I feel myself surrender. Something is pressed against my face and secured with a strap behind my head. I take a breath and hear a hissing sound. He's put a mask over my nose and mouth.

There is a tug and the sound of the plastic stretching and then it all goes quiet. He's sealed the bag over me, the only connection with the outside world being the tube running from my mask that's supplying my air. He tips me backwards, and I allow myself to fall into his arms as I'm lowered gently into the back of his vehicle. He pushes me all the way in and then I hear the back door slam.

For a moment, it's silent, and then I hear another door open and then strange sounds. A little motor whirs into life. I want to ask what he's doing, but the mask over my face prevents me. Instead, I lie in the back, relieved at being able to rest at last, my hands pressed against my inner thighs as instructed. The plastic is stretchy, and I squirm, but it's somehow comfortable, ensconced in my little dark world after the punishing physical effort to get here.

The sack begins to wrap itself more tightly against my legs, and I can feel it becoming tighter across my shoulders too, constricting me. I wriggle, but it's no use: I'm being shrink-wrapped as he sucks the air out of the sack. As much as I try to move, the plastic clings to me now, enveloping my body tighter and tighter until finally I'm immobilised in its grip. The motor stops.

"There," I hear him say, "All packaged up for the trip."

A hand brushes down my body, exploring the slick black surface. He finds a breast, taking my hardened nipple and rolling it between his thumb and his finger until I'm writhing under his touch. The fingers release me and slide down my body, taking their time, tracing over my belly button, arriving at last at my crotch. He applies gentle pressure, teasing me, his fingertips stroking my slit. I try to move my hands, but they're sealed into position inside the sack. All I manage to do is bring the heels of my palms closer to my labia, squeezing and grinding to try and supply friction to my pussy. It's agonising how close I am, how little more I would need to move to be able to bring myself to climax, but I can't quite get there.

I hear him laughing gently. I can imagine him looking down at the shiny black surface, watching it wriggle and undulate in frustration. My breathing is becoming more laboured with my efforts, but I just can't quite get myself off. It's torture.

"It'll take an hour to get back to the road. From there it's probably another hour on. Are you comfortable?"

I groan loudly, signalling what I want from him. I need him to touch me. All it would take is a few strokes of his fingers and I would finally be able to orgasm. Instead, he pats my desperate pussy with his hand.

"I'm sure you can occupy yourself."

I hear the engine roar into life. I can't believe he's going to leave me like this, packaged up in the back, desperate to cum. It's inhuman, it's degrading. Please. Just one touch.

I hear him put the radio on and we begin to make our way along the access track. I feel forgotten in the back. I'm so trapped. I'm so close.

I'm so fucked.

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[Next chapter: Shrink-wrapped in the bag in the back of Covalent's vehicle, Chloe is transported to her final destination. What does Covalent have in store for her?

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