Chapter 2: The Power

Leaning on the back of the couch, Erin watched Abby fuss over her best friend. Every so often, Erin would crack a joke and try to make light of the situation, but the truth was that she was very concerned for Samantha. Sam, "blondie" as Erin had been calling her since the day they had first met, was like the sister that Erin never had. When she had found Samantha lying out in the woods, her heart had almost stopped. Stark, cold fear had gripped her with an angry hand. But now that Samantha was awake and seemed to be alright, Erin was back to her normal self, laughing and smiling.

"I'm gonna grab a Diet Pepsi," Erin said. "You two want one?"

Samantha did, but Abby declined. Erin walked into the kitchen to grab the sodas, and then paused. The kitchen held the back door of the cabin, but it was open halfway. Erin's brow furrowed. Why was the door open? She shrugged.

The wind must have opened it, she dismissively thought.

She started to walk to the door to close it, before a thought struck her...

There had been no wind that morning. None at all.

The thought barely had a chance to complete itself before a hand wrapped an iron grip around her mouth. A viselike arm grabbed her around the waist, pulling her tight against whoever was grabbing her from behind. Erin immediately started to struggle to get loose from whoever it was that had hold of her. She opened her mouth to scream, but the strong hand against her mouth muffled any sound.

"Don't fight me, cunt!" a menacing male voice hissed into her ear. "I've got a blade and I'll cut your pretty little neck!"

Erin stopped fighting, her eyes wide with fright. What was going on? Who was this man? And what did he want? Her mind raced with questions, while at the same time, she tried to think of a way to warn Abby and Samantha.

"Where're the others?" the man whispered into her ear, his breath warm against her skin. "In there?" He gestured slightly to the swinging door that separated the kitchen from the living room.

Erin closed her eyes and nodded.

"Good girl." The voice was not at all pleasant.

Erin felt the arm that held her around her waist remove itself. She felt the man's movements as he reached into his jacket pocket. Then she felt a cold, sharp blade press itself against her neck. Tears of terror sprung to her eyes. She felt certain that she was going to die, right there.

"Move, bitch," the man instructed her, his voice still hushed. He turned her to face the swinging door. With a tremendous resignation, Erin shuffled to the door, wanting to cry out to warn Sam and Abby, but knowing that if she did, her captor would very likely kill her.

Erin went through the door. Abby was still kneeling on the floor next to the couch. Samantha was sitting up, assuring her mom that she was fine. The two initially paid no attention to Erin's return. When Jack and Erin had passed through the door, Erin felt her assailant stop her.

Samantha was the first to look up to see her friend being held at knifepoint by some man who looked familiar. But when she tried to place the face, her mind refused. "What in the... ?" she said as she rose quickly to her feet.

Abby followed her daughter's horrified stare, to see a man she never thought she would see again. Her entire world suddenly filled with a black dread as she hurriedly stood up.

"Jack Foxx!" she said in recognition. "What in the hell are you doing?"

"I'm holding a blade to this pretty young bitch's neck," Jack shot at her. He glared at Abby.

Dear God, the mother thought to herself. He looks even more crazed than he did when the police first arrested him.

Her next thought was: Please God, don't let him hurt the girls!

"Sit on the couch, 'mommy'," Jack said in a voice that left no room for debate.

Abby quickly sat down. "I'll do anything you want. Just please, don't hurt the girls!"

Jack smiled, showing yellowed, crooked teeth. There was no humor at all in that smile, no spark of kindness in his malicious gaze. "Ain't that sweet. Such concern!"

"You! Honey tits!" he turned his wicked eyes to Samantha. The teenager stood, shaking in fear. Her eyes were wide and she could barely keep from whimpering. Jack used his free hand, the one that didn't hold the knife to Erin's throat, to pull out a length of rope that he had stuffed into his other jacket pocket. He tossed the rope at Samantha, and it landed at the teen's feet. "Tie your mommy up!"

"Do what he says, honey," Abby told her daughter when Samantha hesitated.

"Yeah," Jack agreed, pressing the knife closer into Erin's flesh. "Do what I say. Honey." The last word dripped with venom.

Samantha choked back the tears she felt were coming, then did as Jack had instructed. Her eyes met her mom's only once during the process, and Samantha silently gave her an apologetic look. Abby nodded, knowing that her daughter was only doing what she must.

Jack's eyes were glued to Samantha the entire time. His eyes crawled over her body, watching her titties shake under the cotton pajama shirt, watching her ass every time the young teen bent over. He licked his lips hungrily. Abby saw Jack's stare and she felt her flesh crawl. She closed her eyes, fighting the tears that threatened to spill out. She could see the fate that awaited them all. This man who hated her guts, this dangerous rapist and murderer, would brutally rape and kill all three of them. They would all die out here in the middle of nowhere, in

this remote cabin. She tried to plead with Jack, tried to convince him to let the girls go, that she would do absolutely anything he wanted. But Jack shut her up each time by pressing the knife into Erin's neck.

Samantha finally finished tying her mother up. She stood silently, a tear falling from her eye, while Jack quickly looked over Samantha's handiwork. Satisfied that she had sufficiently tied Abby up, Jack turned his leering gaze on Samantha.

"Now then," he began, "honey tits, you're going to come here and take your friend's place."

"No, please don't!" Erin protested. She did not want to see her best friend have this man's knife at her neck.

"What do you want from us?" Samantha said at the same time, tears now flowing freely down her cheeks.

"Both of you bitches shut up!" Jack roared. The knife bit deeper into Erin's neck than it had yet, and a tiny ribbon of crimson blood started to run down her throat. "Get your fucking ass over here!"

Samantha did as she was told. Jack grabbed around the shoulders with one arm and used the hand that held the knife to press the sharp instrument into Samantha's neck. Erin took two steps back, watching the man hold her best friend in the same threatening position that she herself had been in only a second before.

Jack turned to stare at Erin, and the teen's mind suddenly went blank. For the first time in her life, she was no longer certain that she would live to see tomorrow. Or even the next hour. A deadly chill crawled along her flesh as her eyes were locked with Jack's. The insanity that dwelled in his stare was too much for her, and she had to look away.

"Okay," Jack quietly said with a nod. "Here's what you're going to do, girl. Strip for us."

Erin did not move at first, not sure that she heard him right. She opened her mouth, perhaps to protest or question him. But no sooner did her lips open than Jack pressed the knife tighter against Samantha's neck.

"Strip!" he yelled at her, his voice like a gunshot in the cabin.

Erin was also in her pajamas from the night before. She quickly brought her shaking hands to the buttons of her pajama shirt and started unbuttoning it. But her hands were trembling so much, it was almost impossible to undo the small buttons.

"I'm becoming impatient, little girl," Jack growled at her. Abby started to say something, but Jack silenced her with a glare. He turned back to Erin, who was fighting with the second button on her shirt. "Do you want me to strip you?"