Lost In The Woods

I hugged her. "It's more dangerous that way than if you know how to handle them safely. I insist you learn a few things."

She lowered her eyes and whispered, "Yes Sir."

So I started a short lesson in gun safety. I showed her the safety. I had her take the clip out then to pull the slide back to eject the chambered round. I showed her the hammer was now cocked. I had her squeeze the trigger to get a feel for how hard it pulled. I warned her against putting one hand on top of the other to steady the weapon. Then I had her load the clip on an empty chamber and slowly lower the hammer to the safe position. She asked a lot of good questions. I was impressed.

I took her down to the lake and threw a chunk of wood in the water for a target. I gave her some earplugs and I had her shoot one clip of ammunition at the target. By the last round she was coming close.

The clouds rolled in and it started to rain. I wrapped her in the rain jacket I bought her, put mine on and we sat shoulder to shoulder under the canopy next to the fire and talked as I cleaned the gun. I let her load a full magazine in it when I finished. The wind came up and I was really glad we had the tent.

It was almost twilight and we were cleaning the camp up for the night when we heard someone crashing around out in the woods. I took Kim to the tent and gave her the gun.

She stammered, "Is... is that a bear?"

I assured her, "No, bears are never that noisy. That's a man and one that doesn't know what he's doing in the woods. Stay hidden in the tent." I went back and started to douse the fire. I was about to pour the first pot of water on it when I heard.

"Leave it alone or die shithead."

I looked up to see a paunchy man about thirty five to forty. He was holding a shiny silver revolver on me. I sat the pan of hot water back on the fire and straightened up.

He growled, "You have something that belongs to me. I want her back."

I squatted back down. "What makes you think I've got ... whatever you want?"

"You're the only one up here. You have to have her. Why else would you buy all that woman's gear. The bitch ran away from me up here a week ago." He quickly turned aside and said, "Lenny get ready to cut this asshole. We'll find out where she's at."

With the rain and wind I couldn't be sure but I thought I heard the action of the forty-five work in the tent.

Lenny appeared just across the fire from me with an open switch-blade in his hand.

Roger shot near me and said, "Answer me or we'll kill you!"

"It looks like you're planning to kill me anyway."

He laughed, "Well at least you're not stupid. Yeah we're going to kill you after you tell us where the bitch is. But we'll make it fast so you won't suffer so where is she?" He lifted his pistol again and the forty-five roared from the tent.

Roger was suddenly face down in the mud. He was facing the woods and the pistol was gone. Lenny jerked his head around and started for the tent.

I grabbed the pot of boiling water off the fire and threw it in his face. Then I grabbed a branch off the wood pile and cracked it across his wrist. The knife dropped into the mud. I followed thru by clocking him on the jaw on the back swing.

Lenny hit the ground and I was on top of him. I pulled his belt out of his pants and bound his arms behind him then I tied his shoes together using the laces. Finished with Lenny, I pounced on Roger and tied him the same way. When that was done, I went to the tent to check on Kim.

When I got to the tent Kim was kneeling shaking her head. She shouted, "Jesus Christ that's loud!" Then she took my face in her hands and kissed me.

I said, "It's alright now. I've got them."

She shouted, "Why are you whispering! I can't hear you!"

I gently took the gun from her hands and put the safety on. I shouted, "It's alright! Your ears are still ringing from firing the gun in the tent. It'll go away soon. You were perfect! Now I need to see about Roger's wound." I got the first aid kit as I left the tent.

I hauled Roger under the tarp. It looked like she'd hit him in the arm.

He came around and groaned. "The stupid bitch shot me."

I said, "It's too bad she isn't a better shot. Then I wouldn't have to fuck with you."

He whined, "What you so worked up about man?"

I sat on him to immobilize him while I prepared to dig the slug out of his arm. "You mean other than you shooting at me and threatening to kill me? Other than the whip marks you put on Kim? Other than you turning her into a whore. Other than you threatening to torture me and have Lenny carve me like a Christmas turkey before you killed me? No reason, no reason at all." I started to dig with my knife.

He screamed, "God damn crazy bitches! I should have just left her and married another one!"

"How many of them have you married," I asked?

He grunted. "All of them. How do you think I got control of them."

Kim yelled, "All of us! Sasha and Bernice too? You married all of us!" Kim walked up to him and kicked him in the face with her good foot.

He groaned, "Yeah and Alicia and Georgia and Helen... Oh shit that hurts. You're doing this on purpose you God damn Mother fucker!"

I growled, "No I'm not. If I were it would hurt a lot more." I turned to Kim, "Find Lenny's knife and bring it here." The bleeding wouldn't stop.

Kim rooted around in the mud and found the knife. She brought it back and asked Roger, "Where are Sasha and Bernice?"

He groaned, "In the woods. We left them in the woods. The silly bitches."

I added some wood to the fire and stuck Lenny's knife in the coals. When I finally got the slug out of his arm I forced alcohol soaked gauze into the wound and all the way down to the bottom. Roger howled at the sting of the alcohol. Finally, I said, "Roger this is going to hurt." I pressed the glowing knife to the wound to cauterize it.

Roger screamed once and bucked then he passed out.

That was a blessing in disguise. I was able to finish dressing the wound and splinting his arm before he woke up.

Kim asked, "Is he going to be alright?"

I nodded, "I think so. At least this will last until we get him to a real doctor."

"How are we going to find the girls?" she asked.

I looked up into her worried eyes. "I'll go and try and find them. I want you to sit here and keep the fire going. I'm going to tie Lenny and Roger together. You keep an eye on them."

She said, "Okay." She gave me another soft long kiss and disappeared into the tent only to reappear quickly with the gun. She cocked it and sat on a log, watching as I tied the two of them up.

I tied Roger's arm in a sling then roped Lenny and Roger together, back to back. I sat them at the edge of the canopy and told them to not move. I told them Kim was nervous and had the gun so they should be real quiet and not upset her.

I noticed that Kim had put a pot of water on the fire. I lifted an eyebrow.

She smiled, "When you find those two they are going to be frozen. I thought a little hot tea would be good."

"Good thinking," I said. I kissed her on the forehead, pulled up my hood and headed off in the direction Roger and Lenny had come from.

~~~~~

In the camp, Roger came back around and decided to try and talk himself out of the situation.

"Kim, baby. You know I love you. I was going to divorce those two sluts. Come on and loosen the ropes a little. I hurt so bad."

Kim laughed a flat laugh with no humor in it. "And are you going to divorce Georgia and Helen and the other girls you have? Roger you're a bigamist and a pimp and a drug dealer and I don't know what else, maybe a murderer. You turned me, Sasha and Bernice and those other women into whores, whipping girls and drug addicts. You were going to kill Seth and then you were going to kill me. You were probably going to make me an example to Sasha and Bernice. If I were doing it I'd make the ropes tighter."

Lenny moaned, "Please! The ropes hurt when I move. God, my face is on fire!"

Kim smartly kept her distance. "Then don't move" she said coldly.

Roger said, "I didn't know you knew how to use a gun."

"I didn't Roger but Seth gave me a short course this afternoon. I didn't squeeze the trigger like he said or you'd be dead. I was aiming for your heart. Or where your heart should be you heartless bastard!"

Roger asked, "How did he seduce you in just a week? It took me months."

"Well at least you admit you seduced me. Okay Roger, I'll tell you. He found me off the trail down a steep slope. I'd twisted my ankle and was dirty, hungry, thirsty, cold and bruised. He gave me a canteen of water and some jerky. I was so thirsty I drank it all. Then he put me on his back and climbed that slope carrying me. He made a travois, he called it, and hauled me up here when I couldn't walk. He treated my ankle and he treated the whip marks on my back and ass. He fed me and taught me how to fish. He put me in his sleeping bag and took the open side to keep me warm. That's how he seduced me."

"So how many times has he fucked you?"

"You know Roger, he hasn't had sex with me yet. I offered but he said no, gently and kindly but he wouldn't take me. I had to wait until he was asleep to get him to hold my breast. He's seen me naked and he tells me I'm beautiful even with all the welts and sores on my back and ass. He seduced me by being a perfect gentleman, by protecting me. You saw he bought me good hiking boots to protect my injured ankle. He bought me this jacket to protect me from the rain."

"Yeah but can he make you cum like I can?"

"I'm fairly certain he can. I almost exploded when he was treating the wounds on my ass and he was doing nothing sexual to me. I can only imagine what it would be like if he really tries."

"I'll bet you're really hurting. I have some happy pills here in my pocket."

"No! No pills! I weaned myself off them before I ran. Actually, I don't hurt as much now as I did since the first two weeks I spent married to you. Thanks to Seth I'm healing."

~~~~~

I carefully walked out in the woods until I encountered the thicket that Roger and Lenny crashed thru earlier. I worked my way around the end of it and started calling, "Sasha, Bernice, shout if you hear me." Nothing. It took me half an hour of working my way behind the thicket before I faintly heard an answer.

"Keep talking so I can find you. Who are you?"

The faint answer came back "Bern... Bernice. I'm Bernice. We're so c... c... cold."

I found them hugging each other. They were soaking wet. They had no jackets and were dressed in skirts and blouses with high heels. I helped them to their feet and started leading them back around the thicket.

Sasha whimpered, "I hurt so bad! Roger told me to stay here. We ...we should go back. I need a happy pill."

"Sasha. Roger's been shot. He's not coming. Your only hope is to obey me and follow me." I turned and led on, slowly because the two of them were stumbling along on four inch heels. Finally, after another half an hour I saw the faint light of the fire. The way was much clearer then and we made it back to the fire in about fifteen minutes.

I could see that Kim was alert and had heard us. She had the gun out. I called out, "Kim, it's me. I found them they're right behind me."

She gasp. "Seth! It's you! You've been gone so long!" She lowered the gun.

I led the two girls into the camp and stood them close to the fire under the canopy. Both of them were shivering. They sank to the ground and hugged each other.

Sasha focused on Roger. "Roger may I have a happy pill, please, please. I really hurt. Please husband! Please!"

Roger growled, "Shut up you druggie whore. Can't you see I'm hurt."

Kim leaned close to me and said, "Seth, they really need a pill. I know that it was terribly hard to exist on half a pill until I weaned myself. I think he has some pills in his breast pocket but be careful he's tricky as a snake."

I nodded and whispered. "I'll be careful but you keep the gun ready." I went out and after a short search I found Roger's pistol. I surreptitiously emptied the chambers before I took it back to the fire. I turned around, cocked it and stuck it under his chin. "Roger I'm going to get the girl's pills. Now you'd better be still because if this pistol has a hair trigger, as I suspect it does, any attempt to get loose will be the last thing you ever do. Now I'm going to get the pills are they in your vest or your coat.

His eyes were wide in terror. "They're in my breast pocket" he sputtered. "Be careful with that thing!"

I had to pull and heave to get the pills clear of the ropes around his chest. Finally, I got the pills out and backed away from him. I slowly lowered the hammer on the gun just as if it was loaded. I put the gun in my jacket pocket and gave each of the women half a pill.

Kim made the two women tea but they were shaking so much they slopped about half of it on their hands. I had her go and get two sets of jogging pants and sweatshirts and two towels.

I turned to the girls. "Stand up and strip."

The two struggled to their feet and stripped, dropping their soggy clothes on the ground without a whimper of protest. They stood naked, waiting.

Sasha mumbled, "Do you want to fuck me or Bernice first? I take a whipping better than she does."

I said, "Turn around, both of you." They did it and as Kim said, their backsides were a mass of whip marks. About that time Kim returned. "Change of plans. I'm taking them to the slit trench. Heat the other pot of water. We need to wash them. Don't take your eyes off Roger and Lenny."

Kim said, "Don't worry, I won't. Please wait until I get another pot of water."

I smiled, "Good idea but I'll get the water. You watch them." When I got back I took the two naked, shivering women to the latrine and waited until they finished and then walked them back.

Kim and I washed them and we spent a long while putting ointment on their welts. I lowered the food cache and gave each of them some jerky.

Lenny hollered, "What about me! I'm hungry too!"

I snarled back, "Yeah but you and Roger have enough fat to last you for a couple of months. You won't starve."

Lenny started cursing, "You God damn whoremonger! Give me something to eat or I'll kill you and keep your ears as souvenirs. You mother fucking bastard. I'll fuck your mother in the ass so hard you'll feel it. I'll... "

I got up and slapped him hard, "Keep it up. You're giving me more and more reason to just throw you over a cliff and leave you up here for hawks, bears and wolves to deal with your rotten carcass." Nevertheless, I stuck a stick of jerky in each of their mouths. That shut them up, they had to keep their lips on the jerky or they'd drop it.

We got the two girls dressed and pulled the sleeping bags apart. We stuffed them into one of the bags. I told Kim to go to sleep in the other bag. The storm had blown over and the stars were bright and close.

Kim refused, "If you're staying up then so am I. I don't feel safe alone. I need you to hold me."

So I did. We draped the other sleeping bag over our shoulders. and stayed up all night.

While we were sitting there I asked Roger, "Why are the girls in high heels. That must have slowed them down a lot on the trail."

Roger snorted a laugh, "After that skank Kim got away I took their tennis shoes away. They can't run very far or very fast in heels. I can catch them if they run. I don't care how much they hurt. I can always reward them with a happy pill. Why are you so interested? Are you planning to fuck them too.

Around three in the morning Kim fell asleep in my arms.

Just after dawn I got out a flare and fired it out over the lake.

Kim shook herself awake when I fired the flare. "Why did you do that?" She asked.

"I'm hoping that the fire spotters will see it and send help."

I fired three more flares at about fifteen minute intervals.

I had Kim fixed oatmeal for all six of us and lots of hot strong coffee for me. I made Bernice and Sasha feed Roger and Lenny. I could see Lenny talking to Sasha as she fed him. When they'd finished I went over and checked on Lenny. She'd dropped a can opener in his hand. I got that and checked all his pockets, picking up two more knives in the process.

I stood up only to be faced with Sasha holding Roger's gun on me. "Give me the pills and let Lenny go! Or I swear I'll kill ..."

That was as far as she got, Kim hit her on the chin with the palm of her hand and Sasha flew off the ground, landing in a heap. Kim retrieved the pistol and sat on Sasha's chest. She yanked Sasha's head up by her hair and growled. "I'll kill you if you ever threaten Seth again." She cocked the gun, "You want it now or do you want to live bitch?"

Bernice was sort of fluttering around the edges of the fight between Kim and Sasha. "Kim? Calm down honey! What's so important about this guy?"

Kim turned on Bernice. Still sitting on Sasha and holding the gun in her face, Kim snarled, "What's so important about this guy! His name is Seth and without him you'd still be sitting out in the woods! Cold, wet, hungry and without pills. You might even be dead, torn apart by a bear or a cougar. Without this guy I'd be dead! He rescued me just like he rescued you! Bernie he hasn't even fucked me yet. I told him it was okay but it's not with him. This stupid bitch...!" She yanked viciously on Sasha's hair banging her head into the ground. "Wanted to turn Lenny and Roger loose! They'd kill him and me and probably both of you as well! They can't leave any witnesses! It's easy to pick up more stupid broads like us! They don't need us! The very least we can do is get Roger on bigamy charges! Probably a lot worse like dealing drugs and being a pimp! I'm not going back to being a whore... ever!" She pointed the pistol up and uncocked it.

I felt in my pocket, relieved to find all five unused rounds were still there. With a quiet sigh of relief I took the gun from Kim and helped her to her feet.

Roger laughed, "You can't get me on bigamy charges sweetheart. The weddings were a sham. Nothing was ever filed with the state. You can't prove I ever married you."

Kim twisted out of my arms and kicked Roger in his injured arm. He screamed and Kim kicked him again. "You twisted sadistic son of a bitch."

She was winding up to keep kicking him when I said, "No Kim! Let the law take care of him. Come here. ... Now!"

Kim turned and said, "Yes Seth." She hobbled back to me and nestled under my arm.

Bernice shook her head. "Why Kim? What did he do to you to make you obey him like that? Did he whip you that bad?"

Kim was silent for awhile then she softly said, "He saved me. I'd probably be dead by now if it wasn't for Seth. He's never hit me, not even by accident. ... Bernie are you a submissive?"

"Yesss. You know I am. What does that have to do with anything?"

"I am too. Ever since he saved me the only thing I want to do is submit to Seth. He protected me and I'll protect him, with my life if necessary. He's my new master, if he wants me. He told me to stop and come to him. That's exactly what I did. If he told me to kill you that's exactly what I'd do or die trying."

Sasha was whimpering and trying to hide behind Bernice.

I was shocked at Kim's admission. To give myself some time I had Sasha and Bernice take their clothes to the lake and rinse the mud out of them. I didn't waste any soap on them.

~~~~~

In the fire tower, the morning dawned bright and fair. Jill rolled out of bed with a groan. It was her turn to do the earlywatch so Meg could sleep in. She started the coffee and made a scan of the area. She noticed that there were more people in the camp than earlier. She wondered where the others came from. She called in her first report of the day and started to get a light breakfast for herself. She was looking out the window at the lake when the flare rose over the lake burning a bright red-pink in the early morning light. She shook her friend, "Meg! Get up, something's happening!"