Chapter 6

Wake up. A little voice in the back of her head whispered to her. Emily gave in after a while and slowly regained consciousness. Her eyes squeezed together trying to stop the pounding headache behind her eyes. Her body ached all over. She must have gotten really drunk last night, because Emily had never felt this bad in her entire life. She tried to remember what happened, but her mind was completely blank.

Suddenly a memory flashed before her eyes. A strange man pointing a gun at her. Emily's eyes shot open. Bright light temporarily blinding her. After blinking a few times her eyes focused on her surroundings. Everywhere she looked there were trees. She sat up straight and pushed herself to her knees. Twigs dug inside her knees and she noticed that she had barely any clothes on. More confusion washed over her. She braced herself against the tree and got up. Her weight settled upon her injured ankle and Emily hissed in pain.

One by one pieces of her memory came back to her. A man had abducted and tortured her, but she had gotten away. It had been dark when she let herself fall asleep, so she had been out for hours. She had to get moving. Harrigan was probably looking for her and she had lost no idea how big her advance was. Her ankle had swollen during the night, but the pain was more bearable now. She started to walk. She was trying hard to remember which way she had come from the other day, but she didn't recognize anything. Emily froze. She could swear that she heard something. Again she heard some kind of rustling. Her eyes searched her surroundings.

"I see you, Emily." Emily turned around and found Harrigan standing a few meters away from her. Her eyes settled on the gun trained at her before she looked up at him. Her face showed no emotion, although she was trembling with fear from the inside. She didn't want to go back, but she also didn't want to die out here. Her fingers brushed against the cuff on her right wrist. She hadn't paid any attention to that thing last night, but now she could use the handcuffs to her advantage. A plan started to form in her head.

Harrigan stepped a bit closer. Light fell on his face and Emily could see his gleeful expression. He took his time examining each inch of her body and with every scratch on her skin his smile got bigger.

"And here we meet again." Another step in her direction. "Why don't we go back and I will forgive you for your childish actions." Another step.

"No thanks. You can keep your forgiveness to yourself." She answered him with a smile, but her eyes remained cold. Her answer affected him. His jaw tightened and she could see that he had to calm down his anger.

"I give you one more chance, Emily." He spit her name out. "Or we do it the hard way." She didn't answer. Harrigan growled and made a move at her. Emily simply turned away before she grabbed the second cuff with her left hand and launched herself at Harrigan's back. Her arms found its way over his head and she pulled tight. The chain dug into his neck cutting of his airway. Harrigan began to move beneath her desperately trying to get Emily off of him. He elbowed her in her ribs, but Emily held on. She felt them move backwards and before she knew it her back collided with the trunk of a tree. Her head flew backwards smashing into the hard surface. Harrigan took advantage of her dazed state and pulled himself free. Emily's body slumped against the tree. Her body felt heavy. The rush of adrenaline she had just moments earlier was gone. She pushed herself up, but a hard kick to her chest made her fall back again. Emily coughed. The kick had knocked the wind out of her. Hands grabbed her face and pulled her closer. Harrigan's face appeared in her vision and she tried to focus on it.

"You should've just done what I said. Then none of this would have happened." He yelled at her. His spittle flew out of its mouth and landed on her face. She jerked her head back in return. He pulled a syringe out of his pocket and pushed it into her arm.

"No!" She began to struggle, but he held her arm in a death grip. She could only watch as the drug was injected into her body.

"What was that?" She asked. Her words were slurred. Whatever he had given her it was already kicking in.

"Something to keep you quiet for a while." He pulled her arms behind her back and cuffed her hands. He clicked them tighter than necessary and they dug painfully in her flesh. He picked her up and swung her over his shoulder. Emily couldn't move anymore. Her muscles just wouldn't obey her. But she could feel everything. She stared at the ground beneath her. All the blood rushed to her head and a sudden dizziness washed over her. She wanted to tell him to stop, but her mouth wouldn't cooperate. A soft noise was all she could make out. The only response she got was a hard shove in her stomach from his shoulder.

Emily got restless. Harrigan had been walking for hours and the drug still hadn't worn off. She tried her fingers again and she could swear that she felt a little twitch. Immediately her fighters spirit returned and she flexed her fingers again and they moved a bit more. Soon the movement in her whole hand returned.

She let out a small whimper when he stepped into the abandoned building. Her movement had returned for a while now and she began to struggle.

"Stay still!" Harrigan yelled at her.

"Or what? You'll do what to me? You're going to drug me again? Let me tell you what you are. You're just a pathetic little coward hiding behind a fancy doctors coat." She spat at him. Her words dripped with hatred.

"I am not a coward!" He threw her off his shoulder and smashed her head first into the wall. He held her in place against the wall and moved his face next to hers.

"You're going to regret pissing me off." He hissed into her ear. With that he shoved her into the same room where he had tortured her before. Without the ability to use her hands she landed hard on the concrete floor. His hand took a hold of her hair and pulled her up.

"Done fighting already?" He asked her with a sick smile.

"Never" Emily kicked out at him, but she missed him. With a snort of laughter he let go of her and watched as she fell on the floor in a heap. She rolled onto her side and tried to push herself up. Her hands being cuffed behind her made it quite hard. Emily ignored the satisfying grin on Harrigan's face as he watched her struggle with it.

"Need some help?" He grinned at her. He hauled her up by her arm and shoved her into the metal table. He pushed her into it and pressed one hand into her back preventing her from getting up. Not being able to use her hands she tried kicking out again. This time she received a scream of pain. But the moment of victory was short lived as he returned the favour and gave a vicious kick to her already injured ankle. A loud crack was followed by an immense pain shooting through her lower leg. Emily closed her eyes and took a moment to relativize the pain.

Harrigan uncuffed one of her hands and he tried to cuff it to a metal ring on the side of the table. Emily pulled her arm back and hit him in the head. Before she could hit him again Harrigan smacked her head into the table. Emily could feel the warm trickle of blood dripping down on her face. Her head was pounding and her eyes didn't seem to focus on anything. She was faintly aware of someone tugging at her arms. Her eyes stared at the metal table. At the red stain that was growing larger by the second. The sight of her own blood straightened her mind. She was half standing behind the table. Each of her wrists were cuffed to one side of the table next to her head. Luckily they were close enough to where she was standing so that she wasn't forced to lie across the table with her arms stretched above her head. Her hands gripped the edges of the table. Her head was killing her and she kept her eyes squeezed shut. Footsteps told her that Harrigan had walked closely behind her. The sound of duct tape being ripped filled the room. She felt him kick her legs apart and he quickly duck taped each leg to one of the table legs. Now she was completely immobilized. Harrigan got behind her and lightly pressed his body against hers.

"No" Her voice was nothing more than a hoarse whisper. Her eyes had opened and she saw her hand squeezing the edge of the table. Her knuckles slowly turning white from the pressure. A big hand stroked her back and Emily had to swallow the bile rising in her throat. Suddenly he pulled her body to him. His hand held a tight grip on her hair and her head was pulled backwards. He rested his head in the crook of her neck and she could feel his hot breath on the side of her face.

"Not so tough now, huh." He whispered in her ear.

He placed the hand that was not in her hair on her side and it slowly made its way to the front of her body, until it rested right above the hem of the shorts she was wearing. Emily's breath stopped and her body tensed against him. All kinds of situations flashed before her eyes, but before she could react his hand travelled further. When his hand reached her thigh Emily jerked her body forward to trap it between her body and the sharp edge of the table. Harrigan cursed loudly behind her and that made her crush his hand even harder.

His hand left her hair and pulled her body back so he could free his hand. His presence behind her disappeared, but that didn't last very long. His body pressed hard against her, this time against the side of her body. A hand tangled itself in her hair and her head was once again pulled backwards. He forced her to look at him and he seemed to be rather calm, but his eyes were cold and he wore a sadistic grin.

"Oh Emily, I think we both know that I don't desire women in that way" He said calmly. To specify what 'that' was he thrust up against her. Emily's body tensed unconsciously under his touch and Harrigan chuckled lightly into her ear. Emily clenched her jaw. Harrigan had felt the fear in her body and used that to torment her even more.

So it came as a surprise when he tore the back of her shirt open. The sudden cold hit her and made her shiver. Expert hands unclasped her bra and shoved the fabric aside leaving her back bare to him.

"I haven't forgotten about your behaviour from before. So I believe a punishment is in order." His hands started to touch her back. His touch was light, but it sent a trail of shivers down her spine.

"You don't have to do this, Harrigan. My team will find me. If you let me go now, we can work something out. You don't have to do this." Emily tried to reason with him. Her voice was shaky and she tried to ignore the immense headache starting at the back of her skull. His hands suddenly squeezed her shoulders causing Emily to gasp in pain.

"You're right. I don't have to do this… But I want to. Nothing is more satisfying than seeing someone breaking. Knowing that it is your work, that your hands made him bleed. Do you know that feeling, Emily? The feeling of being powerful, of playing god over somebody's life? You must know it. You're an FBI agent. You deal with that kind of stuff every day."

"I do know the feeling. I have blood on my hands too. I'm not going to lie to you. But I'm not like you, I don't find pleasure in hurting someone." To her surprise he released his grip on her and took a step back.

"That's a shame, really. You have no idea what you're missing."

"Nothing you say can make me…" Emily suddenly screamed in pain when harsh leather came in contact with her skin. She hadn't noticed that he had removed his belt, or that he was about to hit her with it. The place where he had struck her felt on fire, but the burning sensation slowly turned into a dull ache.

"Oh, how rude of me. I interrupted you when you were speaking. Please continue."

Emily took a deep breath and gritted her teeth.

"… change the way I feel…" Whack! Another strike hit her delicate skin. This time she had heard the whoosh of air before the belt struck her, but she still couldn't prepare herself for the pain. She stayed silent. He struck her another time.

"Go to…" Whack! "hell" She growled at him. Which resulted in another hit.

"Nah, I think I would rather stay here and make your last moments on earth a living hell."

The strikes came down fast. The sounds of leather against skin filled the room. Emily stayed quiet. She didn't scream, she didn't beg, she didn't even gasp in pain. She just clenched her teeth together and kept her jaw firmly locked.

Tears sprung in her eyes when a hard blow ripped her skin and warm blood started to trickle down her ruined back. The next blows hit her on the exact same spot and she had to bite her lip to stop herself from screaming.

"Tell me you're sorry for running away." Silence.

He hit her again.

"Beg me to stop."

"Never." She turned her head to face him and the belt struck her hard on her cheek. The hard sound rung in her ears and the blow didn't help her already pounding head. Tears threatened to fall and she quickly shut her eyes to keep them in.

After a while Emily lost count of the times that he had hit her. Her back was one bloody mess and the pain was overwhelming. Black spots danced before her eyes and Emily fought to stay conscious. Her arms gave out from beneath her and her body hit the table. There was no strength left in her. She was vaguely aware of that the blows had stopped.

Harrigan looked at his prisoner. His eyes taking in his work on her back. Then his eyes settled upon her face. Her eyes were closed and she almost looked peaceful. Harrigan frowned. He wanted her awake. He wanted her to feel the pain that he had caused. He slapped his hand down on her abused back. Emily's eyes flew open and a scream of pain escaped her mouth. Harrigan wrapped the belt around her neck and pulled it tight. Emily's eyes went wide as she struggled to breathe. Her foggy mind tried to make sense of the situation, but the pain was too overwhelming to think straight. Her instincts to fight took over and she desperately tugged against the handcuffs. Every cell in her body was screaming for oxygen.

"Come on, say it. Beg me to stop." Harrigan's voice was low and threatening.

Say it! Make it stop. A voice in her head seemed to scream at her, but Emily couldn't get the words out of her mouth. She wasn't sure if that was because she didn't want to give in to this man or because she simply couldn't speak at the moment. Maybe both. The belt loosened enough for Emily to take a big gulp of air.

"Say it" He whispered in her ear.

"Never" Emily spat at him. Her voice was hoarse, but her tone was filled with hatred and pure determination. Once again she couldn't breathe as the leather cut of her airway.

"Beg!"

She opened her mouth to answer him, but no sound came out. So Emily just shook her head. She started to get dizzy. Emily stopped struggling and let her body relax. She hoped that Harrigan thought that she was unconscious and that he would leave her alone. The belt loosened once more and Emily stayed completely still. He released her wrists from their bonds and walked out of the room. He didn't lock the door. Emily was confused. Why would he untie her and leave the door open? Her thoughts were interrupted by another set of footsteps. They were lighter this time and it reminded Emily more of a woman than a man.

They stopped right beside the table that she was still lying on. Cold fingers placed themselves against her neck. Emily's eyes shot open and she grabbed the wrist in a sudden death grip. A surprised high-pitched scream reached her ears and Emily looked up to see a girl standing in front of her. Her eyes were wide in shock of Emily's sudden movement, but she quickly calmed down again.

"I'm not going to hurt you. I'm here to help you." Her voice was sweet and reassuring. Emily released her grip on the girl's wrist.

"Who are you?" Emily cringed in pain when speaking hurt her sore throat.

"Shh. Try not to speak. It's okay. I'm here to help you." The girl said once more. Her hand moved to brush some hair out of Emily's face.

Emily relaxed. Her instincts told her to trust the girl. The tender fingers against her cheek were the first gentle human contact that she'd had in days. Emily couldn't help but wonder if this girl was just a hallucination of her delirious mind or that she was really here to help her.

To be continued...