Trappers Bend Ch. 01

"Well, what about it? We ready to go?" Dane asked.

The older man scratched his beard thoughtfully and paused, his smirk just visible in the light of the kerosene lantern.

"I know, I know," the lanky teen said. "I'm in charge for this one. I've checked both bags, gone over everything. I just...." He trailed off.

"'No training wheels,' remember?" Byron said. "Your words, not mine. You're the boss this time."

"But you'd tell me if I'd forgotten something, right?" Dane asked.

"You're not always going to have me to go over everything. You've got to be able to trust yourself to do the research, the acquisition, even train your own people. You can't assume that you can trust anyone to spot a problem if you haven't been able to spot it yourself."

Dane was silent, checking his watch in the light. Ten minutes from go/no go. He looked back at Byron, a little pleadingly. The older man shrugged.

"If you'd forgotten something that could ruin everything, yeah, I'd tell you."

"In that case, umm, any last minute advice?"

Byron's face softened. "Yeah. I wouldn't be going along if I thought this was going to end with us dead or in jail. Stay calm, stay on your toes, and stick with the plan. It's just another job."

"For you," Dane said, taking a deep breath to calm himself. He sat up straighter, clearing the uncertainty from his mind — at least, as much as he could.

"Okay," Dane said, his voice a little gruffer, a little deeper. "Supplies are packed and double-checked, we both know what to do. Game time."

He turned off the lamp.

"Yes Sir," his father answered, smiling in the darkness.

It was just before five in the morning, and Ana could sense the woods stirring already. She was still getting used to the isolation of rural Washington. Her parents had only bought this house in unincorporated Trappers Bend a couple years ago. She'd been out here a few times since they'd died, and hadn't minded being alone. But it was different this time, knowing she was staying overwinter. It changed her relationship to the place. Whatever power the isolation, darkness, and wind had over her mood wouldn't dissipate harmlessly back at her old apartment. She'd get used to the loneliness, or she'd drown in it.

Ana rubbed her face, as much to work this unaccustomed melancholy from her thoughts as to wake up. It had actually been a good stay so far. She'd come up too late in the season to get any major work done on the house, but her late parents' caretaker, Karl had already fixed the minor plumbing problem and patched the little leak in the roof above the kitchen. She'd even managed to work out handshake deals with contractors to do some repairs and remodeling in the spring. Aside from some last-minute chores and shopping, she was ready to make it through the winter, with enough work to stay busy, and plenty of books to keep her entertained. And assuming her somewhat flaky but otherwise irresistible friend Candace made it out, she'd be far from lonely when the snow hit.

Yesterday had been her first real day off since she'd gotten here, and it had been a delight. She'd handled a few morning errands, and then spent the afternoon in the woods — just bundled up, found a spot, and plopped herself down to spy on the fauna. She'd sat perfectly still for what must have been at least a few hours, watching a family of deer graze only a few feet away. But just as the mother raised her head, Ana had heard the sound of scampering in the undergrowth and looked over, scaring the deer off.

It had been a rabbit, she was almost sure — she'd caught a flash of a white tail out of the corner of her eyes. Although she supposed it could have been the white tail of the fleeing deer she'd seen, and some other little scurrying creature disrupting her vigil. Well whatever it was, if it insisted on scaring off the deer, today she'd watch it instead.

So she'd gotten up early to get the jump on what she hoped were rabbits, returning to their thicket to catch them just before sunrise, when they were at their most active. Ana knew almost nothing about tracking, and not much more about animals. Aside from a brief and tragic episode with a mouse, she'd never had a pet growing up, and she'd never really had the time or the interest in college. But with a year off her grad program and virtually uninhabited forest all around, she'd developed a keen interest in her little scampering neighbors. Her studies could wait for the snow.

The Internet was on the fritz again, so Ana stuck her head out to check the temperature as the coffee finished brewing. It was definitely colder than yesterday, although a pair of thick socks would probably make up the difference. She filled her thermos with coffee, grabbed a banana and a few granola bars, and carefully placed the food in her backpack, alongside a notebook, a couple extra pens, a flashlight, and her compact first aid kit.

Out on the deck, the sauna was gently steaming through the cover. For a moment Ana considered calling off the early morning excursion and starting her day off with a relaxing soak instead. But no, there'd be time to do that when she got back. How much more satisfying it would be after spending the morning in the forest. She smiled, picturing the momentary sting of cold as she stripped down, then lowered herself into the tub to melt in the heat.

Ana looked out over the railing, just barely discerning the edge of the clearing where it darkened into the forest. She took a sip of coffee, listening to the breeze. She could almost pass the morning right here, just listening to the wind lightly rustling the trees, darting through the little paths and meanders leading off into the underbrush. But the sky was already starting to lighten. It was time to be on her way.

Ana took another glance behind her as she closed the gate, descended the short stairway, and walked down the path that wound around the deck. It was chillier out in the open than she'd anticipated. The deck was bounded by the house on two sides, and an awning from the door to the hot tub provided a sheltered alcove, which had made the weather seem more temperate than it really was. Maybe a change of plan was in store after all. An early morning soak sounded lovely, and it's not like the rabbits wouldn't be there tomorrow.

And there was something else too, some vague sense she had that this was the wrong day to go out. She was heading into national forest land, where there weren't many people around this time of year. The few she'd met had been either harmoniously indifferent or quite pleasant. Still, there'd been moments yesterday where she'd had the distinct feeling that someone was watching her. The precise moments, she'd forgotten, but the unease remained.

Ana pushed the thought out of her head. In her earth tone fall jacket, old jeans, and comfy, ratty three wolf sweatshirt, she was sure she looked like a small bundle of nothing in particular, her red hair, her only mark of distinction. With a round, pretty face and soft curves, Ana could attract attention when she wanted to, but she felt safely anonymous out here. She doubted she'd so much as see anyone today, let alone face any danger.

Still — she reached into her backpack and pulled out a suitably indistinct hat. She felt better. Warmer.

The path followed a stream that wound across the property, merging with a river (little more than a stream itself this late in the year) and wending off into the forest. The little path — no more than a depression in the grass and underbrush — crossed into the state park with nothing to mark the transition but a decrepit old Private Property sign. People were known to miss the sign and wander onto the land from time to time, or enter it further down, where a little park bridge crossed the river into a clearing that marked the boundary of the property. She decided to take the path through the park this time, following the river to edge of the woods, then taking a trail into the clearing where she'd spotted the deer.

Ana squinted off into the trees, listening for footfalls. It was very dark and quiet, all alone save for the first morning birds. She relaxed, stepping onto the wooden boardwalk spanning a section of marsh that was almost dry this late in the year. She gently grasped the weathered rail, her eyes sharp for signs of her quarry and froze at the tiny scrape of a footfall through the nearby leaf litter. She was coming up on the spot where she'd seen the rabbit run off into the brush, but the sound she'd heard was confusing. Too heavy for a rabbit, but too close for a deer.

She stepped off the footpath, her ears perking at the distinct sound of a pebble kicked free. Could she have just startled some creature before she'd even seen it? She stood still, trying to place its position, what direction it must have been moving, whether it was even aware of her.

Something seemed off. The unease was back, stronger this time, and she felt the hairs stand up on the back of her neck. She breathed in slowly, deeply, concentrating. Had she sensed a dangerous animal? Probably not. There were coyotes in the area, but they weren't much of a concern unless you kept small pets or livestock.

Cougars weren't unknown, but they weren't common, either. The weather had been decent this year, with enough rain, which meant plenty of food. And when there was food and water, cougars avoided people. Anyway, there were other homes with pets, livestock or both less than a mile away. Easier and safer prey.

Ana let her breath out and slowly made her way around a large bramble, passing between it and an ancient, mossy conifer, dark and looming in the early light.

There was a rustle behind her and then-

She gasped, her glasses knocked off her face and crunched under her foot. There was something else in there place, in front of her and around her. What was it? Had she walked into something? She took a sharp breath, her vision obstructed. Something was tight against her face, around her head, blocking the early light.

Ana's heart pounded in her ears as her gasp was cut off by an alarming pressure around her neck. Spider webs aren't this thick, she thought distantly, waving her hands in the air in front of her to push the unknown obstacle out of the way. The constriction grew to a terrifying tightness, and she reached frantically to her throat.

There was something around it, wrapped much too heavy, much too tight, and what felt like a layer of thick canvas pulled painfully tight over her face. And then a sense of cold dread as she worked her hands back, to feel gloved hands, sleeved in rough fabric, holding the tight band choking off her air.

"If you stay quiet, I'll loosen it. Understand, sweetie?" a male voice asked, quietly.

Young, arrogant, threatening, a little nervous. Speaking with a growl that didn't come naturally. It was slightly muffled but unmistakable, and much too close to her ear. Ana pulled away, struggling to breathe, only to feel the strap tighten. She managed to force out a sound like a small cough. I'm being strangled, she thought, doesn't he understand?

"Nod if you'll stay quiet."

How had she not known someone was there? She flailed her arms in the direction of the voice, and tried to kick, but she could barely lift her feet.

My legs must be drunk, she thought, feeling them wobble and give way. Strange. They've always held me before.

What must have been moments later, the world phased back in. Ana was on the ground, with the memory of a sharp movement backwards and down. She traced it back. Something had been choking her. She was on her back, which meant they'd removed her backpack, but the strap was still there and still much too tight.

Ana wanted to pull it off, but she was afraid to move her hands, afraid the strap would tighten again, afraid that arrogant voice was still beside her ear, waiting. She wanted to scream, to at least try to scream, but she just lay there for an endless moment, her body shivering, her head, pounding.

And then there was another male voice. Older. Friendly, but authoritative, with a scratchy baritone. A voice that in any other context, she might be inclined to trust. Although this voice lacked the arrogance and bravado of the younger one, it held something much worse: a tone which suggested that, all things considered, this was going quite well.

"This is important. You're in danger if you struggle, and we want to get you home safe. Can you stay still and stay quiet?"

"Hghhh!" she choked, nodding frantically as she fluttered her hands near the ground, trying to show them that the belt around her neck was too tight, but afraid to grab it.

"Good," the voice said. A heavy hand patted her thigh in an avuncular manner. "Now, let's get you all squared away."

Ana heard one of the men shift, squatting beside her head, and then a click as the belt around her neck slackened slightly. "Okay," said one of the men said quietly. "Three, two, one."

Hands grabbed her arms from both sides. On the right, she felt deft, long fingers stretch her arm out, cruelly digging in and bruising as they wrapped something heavy on her wrist. On the left, the motion was quicker, more absolute. Like he'd done this a thousand times, and felt neither relish nor hesitation. And in moments, her wrists were both locked in heavy leather cuffs.

The click of the locks sent a cold knife of fear twisting into Ana's stomach, her mind suddenly silent. And the full impact of what was happening — the full significance she'd been unable to process — hit her. She'd frozen up, unable to admit to herself what was happening, much less resist it. She'd frozen up, and now she knew it was too late.

Ana took a breath to scream, and felt the belt pull so taught that she could only hiss from her throat, a sound no louder than the feet of a crow nearby, hopping on fallen pine needles. A sound quieter than the creatures she'd never found in the undergrowth.

"Now, now, remember what we said, sweetie," said the younger man. "Nice and quiet and still for a little longer, and we'll make it much, much easier to breathe. Okay?"

She just lay there, too weak to even nod. The belt slid back just enough to breathe and ease the pounding in her head.

The young man called out another short countdown, and the two rolled Ana over onto her belly on what felt like a canvas tarp, her limp arms lifted, and locked behind her back with a clink.

They quickly worked straps under her chest, one at her armpits and the other beneath her breasts, rolling her onto her side and then back as they fed them across, quickly and efficiently. Then they passed the ends of the straps over her arms behind her back, and tightened the straps painfully, pinning her already helpless arms tightly to her back. The entire thing was done silently in less than a minute, as if she were simply a product on a line being wrapped and packaged. As if for her kidnappers, this was just another day on the job.

"Ready to mask?" Dane asked.

"Almost," Byron answered, pulling the straps around Ana's arms tight enough to make her "whoof" in pain. "Alright, on your mark."

Dane paused, stroking his fingers along her back, admiring the way the flesh bulged around the strap, even through the sweatshirt.

"Come on," Byron said.

"Sorry, yeah," Dane replied, "We'll be fine. It's not far."

Byron grunted in response.

"3, 2, 1, over."

They flipped her again. Ana grunted and squirmed for a moment. The padded cuffs protected her wrists, but the straps dug into her forearms, and the cuffs must have pressed painfully into her back. But a warning tug on the strap around her neck was enough to stop her struggles.

"Well, there, she's settled down nicely," said Byron quietly, patting her thigh affectionately. "Docile as a lap cat right now, so don't upset her. She's terrified, poor thing."

Ana whimpered quietly, as if begging for some relief in response to the soothing tone, the words too faint for her to hear through the canvas bag. Her breaths came in short, quick gasps, struggling for air. She put her feet flat on the ground, cautiously lifting her hips to get some of the weight off her arms.

"It's okay," Byron cooed, shifting towards her feet. "No squirming now. You're doing very well." He picked up her right foot, and started to straighten it gently.

Dane gave a short tug on the strap around her throat to get her attention. "Okay, girl. I'm going to take the bag off your face and put you into something more comfortable. Will you be a good girl and behave?"

The response from Ana was dramatic and immediate. She tensed, bracing her left foot on the ground, and kicked out at Byron, nearly knocking him down. Then she wheezed out a short squawk through her tight through. Dane immediately yanked on the strap, choking off the call for help, while Byron sat on her legs, giving Dane a whithering glare.

The fight immediately left Ana's body. Inside of the improvised hood in the quiet woods, it must have sounded Earthshaking, and there was a sense of relief in the way her body acquiesced, as if she knew it had been enough to call for help, because it just had to be. As if now, all she had to do was wait.

"Guess I'll handle this part," Byron said wryly. "Ease up on the strap a bit and pay attentions."

"Miss," he started in his most reasonable voice, "I'm going to take the hood off and put you into something a little more comfy. But you have to listen for a second, okay? Nod if you will listen."

Ana nodded, and Dane eased the strap a little.

"Tightening this strap around your neck again could really hurt you, and no one wants that. You have to be very still and very quiet. Stay calm, and I'll make sure you make it home, safe and sound. Okay?"

They seemed to take her quiet sob for an answer, lifting the cloth bag from her head. A blurry face loomed up above her, with what she thought was a salt and pepper beard, and some sort of hat, almost completely indistinct through the tears and shadows. The dim light was growing to a pale blue. Another fifteen or twenty minutes and it would be daylight. Maybe then, someone would see her. There must be a jogger, a hiker — someone.

She'd be quiet until then. She'd listen. She'd wait. They'd let their guard down. She'd wait and then scream at just the right moment. It played out so vividly, in violent acts of rebellion — screams, kicks, head butts, stumbling then sprinting away to safety, her bondage falling away. And then she'd ID them by their terrible voices, their cruel fingers, the blurry salt and pepper beard.

She didn't even realize she'd closed her eyes until she felt someone push a thick, bitter tasting rubber bladder between her teeth. There was something coating it, and the bitterness quickly gave way to numbness as the heinous device expanded, driven by little puffs of a squeeze bulb screwed into the front. The moment would have to be now, before they smothered her voice.

"Nnnggghh!"

The men didn't even pause. one gave the nightmare device another pump, while the other worked tubes into her nostrils so she didn't suffocate on her sobs. Ana made no further attempt to resist as they tilted her up by the shoulders and worked a heavy rubber hood over her head. Her whimpers were almost inaudible even to her as they tightened the straps, pulling her jaw against the bladder gag.

The belt around her neck finally released, but Ana felt no relief. The moment she'd waited for had passed. She sagged with a sort of stifled resignation as they replaced the belt with a heavy, padded collar which closed with the terrible click of a padlock. Someone roughly grabbed her nipple through her clothes and pinched down hard, then gave the terrible bladder one more pump to quiet her moan a little further, pressing her cheeks painfully against the rubber mask.