Hi! Thank you for continuing to read this story. Don't worry Elf I'm not going to let Roy get raped. I thought that be putting Roy off center completely he would be less likely to find a way out of his present situation. It won't be as much fun if he gets out too quickly. ;)

PLEASE let me know how I'm doing!!

Susanne

CHAPTER THREE

They were climbing up the side of a hill. Roy was having a very hard time keeping up. Johnson seemed to take perverse pleasure in causing him to stumble and fall. By the time they'd been traveling for half an hour his knees and hands were abraded from multiple falls. Connors was leading the way, followed by Roy and Johnson. Anderson was bringing up the rear which made Roy even more nervous than he was.

"Where are we going?" Johnson growled. Absent minded, he pulled on the chain again, causing Roy to stumble. He caught his balance before he went down completely but the whole process was starting to wear a little thin.

"I don't know," Connors responded. He did have a destination in mind but he didn't feel like sharing it with Johnson. The man really was a pain in the ass. He slipped his right hand into his front pocket and fingered the handcuff key. He'd made sure to pocket it as he climbed out of the bus. He'd been the last one undone and the last one off. He'd considered flinging the key as far away as he could when he'd spotted Johnson slip the cuff on Roy. Connors heaved a heavy sigh and continued on. They had a long way to go before nightfall.

"Why don't we stop here to rest for a little while?" Anderson asked. He was entertaining some particularly dark thoughts where the civilian was concerned. Now if only he could get him away from Johnson. The big thug would want to keep him for himself. He wasn't very good at sharing.

"No. We have to get further from the crash before it's found," Connors responded without breaking stride. He knew what the other two men were about. He had no intention of letting the civilian fall prey to their twisted needs.

"I thought you said you didn't know where we were going," Johnson stated. Beside him he could hear his new friend gasping. He knew he was walking too fast but it was Connors that was setting the pace.

"We're getting as far away from the crash as possible. Beyond that I'm making it up as I go along," Connors spat. He felt sorry for the civilian but he had no intention of getting caught again. He was guilty of the crime they'd tried him for but he still didn't want to spend the rest of his life in prison for what he'd done.

"Sshh, I hear someone coming," Anderson hissed. The inmate crouched down behind a dense bush. He kept looking back in the direction they had just come.

The other three also took refuge behind cover. There was no way it could be the police. As far as they knew no one had found the crash yet, much less found a phone and reported it. Roy was pressed against the ground as Johnson leaned over him, ostensibly to protect him. Panic was gnawing at Roy's mind. How was he going to get out of this? He had no way to break free of the handcuff unless he found a police officer with a spare key. Somehow he didn't think Johnson was going to let him get away.

Even from his position scrunched into the ground, Roy could hear sounds of feet shuffling through the undergrowth. Roy tried to lift his head up enough to see what was going on, he really hated not knowing. He was promptly pushed back down into the dirt. Johnson was really enjoying this a little too much. The handcuff bit a little deeper into Roy's wrist as he tried to get his nose and mouth out of the dirt.

"Keep down," Johnson growled. Then he seemed to notice Roy's predicament and let up a little. Gasping quietly, Roy tried to inflate his lungs.

Two men came out of the trees. Instantly, Connors stood back up and made a bee line toward them.

"What are you doing here?" Connors demanded. "What part of splitting up didn't you understand?"

When Johnson finally let Roy get up, he found that the two men were inmates as well. He vaguely recalled them but he wasn't sure if it was a good thing or bad. Deliberately, Johnson pulled on the cuff. Roy had to take a step closer to the large man or else risk further damage to his wrist. While the inmates argued, Roy glanced down at his hand. All ready, he saw that a thin trail of blood was trickling down his hand. His stomach flipped upon seeing the deep furrows that had caused the blood.

"You want to stick around, fine. Just make sure you can keep up," Connors growled. He hadn't had much to do with the brothers. He knew he didn't want to have anything to do with most of the people he'd been in prison with. The few he had liked hadn't been on the bus.

"Sure, no problem," the elder of the brothers responded. Then they were off again.

OOOOO

The sound of cars rushing along the highway drifted to them through the trees. Roy felt the first signs of hope begin to stir. He might just get out of this yet.

The group crouched down in the shrubs along the highway. Connors wanted to take a few moments to examine the situation before exposing themselves. He glanced over at the Good Samaritan. The blond man looked a little shell shocked. Not entirely unexpected given his present situation. He wished Johnson would undo the handcuff. He knew the big man was a sadist who loved being in control. He would have a better chance of getting the man away from Johnson if it wasn't for the metal shackle. Sighing in frustration, Connors looked back at the highway between them and the hills beyond.

"What are we waiting for?" Anderson whined. He felt better when they were moving. Sitting still seemed like a really bad idea. They needed to cover as much ground as possible before the search started up.

"I'm thinking," Connors growled. Anderson had the ability to drive him nuts. There was just something about the man that absolutely drove Connors out of his mind. There had been nights in his cell when he couldn't sleep that Connors had tried to come up with the most imaginative ways possible to get rid of the man. Luckily for Anderson, Connors hadn't had the chance to implement any of his ideas.

The highway wasn't very busy at this time of the day. For that Connors was grateful. Glancing both ways, Connors broke cover and sprinted across the asphalt. Behind him he could hear the others following. Half way across, he heard a scuffle. Connors glanced over his shoulder to see the Good Samaritan sprawled on the road, Johnson dragging him along by the handcuff. The man couldn't get his feet under him because Johnson was deliberately moving too fast.

"Johnson, give him a break," Connors growled. Completely ignoring him, Johnson dragged the man all the way over to the other shoulder. The small trickle of blood that Connors had noticed earlier was heavier as the metal bit further into the man's wrist. His hands and his knees were skinned rather well from being dragged. Once they reached the shoulder, Johnson stopped moving and glanced down at the man as he struggled up to his feet. Swallowing quickly, the man ran a trembling hand over his mouth as he looked around at his companions. Despite his best efforts, Roy felt a dark despair creeping up over him.