" . . . I'm just worried about her. She's so shy around men, and now some lunatic has nabbed her. What's that going to do to her? Oh, God, I hope she's alright." If it was possible for this woman to cry, Roden thought, she was close to it.

"I'm sure Ess will be able to hold her own, especially against Max. He's very docile and rather quiet himself. I'm sure she will be all right. We just need to find her and bring her home."

Just then, he remembered a detail from Max's message, and wondered why he didn't think of it when he first saw the unconscious man in Esther's apartment. "Max seems to think that Esther is in trouble, and that he is rescuing her from someone else who wants to hurt her. If that's the case, I'm sure he is striving his best to keep her safe. Maybe he thought this guy we found in her apartment meant to do her harm. He probably thinks that he has her best interests in mind. I'm sure she's fine in his hands." Was he trying to convince Manda or himself? He couldn't be sure.

"What do you mean he thinks he's rescuing her from someone else?" This was new to Manda. Roden had failed to mention this part previously, so he filled her in by repeating Max's voice message word-for-word as best as he could remember.

They didn't have time to discuss or analyze this tidbit any further. Suddenly, the passenger door opened, making Roden and Manda jump. The next moment, Martin slid into the seat and slammed the door shut. He looked at the other passengers who were both slow to react to the getaway. "Well, come on. Let's go. Let's get out of here."

Roden shifted the car into gear and headed out of the parking lot. After turning in the direction of Max's apartment, he addressed Martin, "So, how did it go?"

"Oh, fine, fine," was the reply.

"Fine?" Roden repeated. "Do you care to elaborate? What happened?"

"My plan was perfect. Went just as I thought. No one saw me stage the guy outside of the emergency room, and no one suspected that I knew more than I let on." Martin was smug. Manda's accusation had certainly been correct. This guy was enjoying the situation entirely too much.

But then, Roden contemplated, Martin didn't know any of the people involved. What other emotions could there be for him other than enjoyment? . . . Perhaps disgust? Perturbation? Distress? They seemed reasonable responses, but were evidently not the only plausible ones in this circumstance. Still, getting a thrill from a crisis situation, that was disturbing.

They drove on in silence. Hopefully, Max's apartment would lead them in the right direction. Roden just wanted this incident to be over with.

CHAPTER NINE

The first sensations began as a constant vibration mingled with light thumps that jostled everything just a little. Then, sound harmonized with the movement. The resonance came low and unsteady, no real pattern to the reverberation. The thumps were accompanied by low percussive thuds in a cadence without rhythm. Intermittent crescendos swelled and whirled in abrasive pitches, rising and fading in short intervals. The sense of sight returned at last, but it wasn't very helpful. Everything was dark. Painfully bright lights came and went with the crescendos at distant moments, stinging the eyes, and revealing a solid black environment.

It was a while before Ess was able to regain enough consciousness to comprehend her surroundings. She was in a vehicle that was in motion. There were no stops or sharp turns, and it felt like it was moving very fast. She lay across the backseat, where she had no view of the driver or the scenery outside. Her last memory had been of her apartment. She could not fathom how she ended up here. All she could recall at the moment was fear, and so she became afraid to move.

It was obvious from her lateral position that she wasn't buckled in, and the jostling of the vehicle shook her enough to make Ess aware of her restraints. Her wrists and ankles were trussed together in away that rendered her immobile, but did not hurt her.

After this long assessment of her situation, true panic set in. This was wrong, all wrong. She tried to think, but it was difficult to focus. All Ess remembered was that she had been home, and now she wasn't. For a moment she suggested to herself that it was a bad dream, but she knew that she was too alert to be dreaming.

With this panic came shivers. As frightened as she was to move, she couldn't keep herself from shaking. She concentrated on getting her breathing under control while tears stung her eyes and the taste of bile crept up her throat.

She knew that she needed to concentrate on getting herself away from this situation. The reasons for her abduction could wait; the freedom from her abductor could not. With the panic clouding her mind, no escape ideas would surface. Ess damned her inability to think under pressure.

Suddenly, she was sliding across the seat as the vehicle took a turn without slowing down. Her head slammed into the vehicle door, then her body was flung to the floor, causing her to release a few painful whimpers and groans. After several uncomfortable seconds spent trying to recover herself, she felt the car screech to a stop, jolting her even more.

The noise of the driver's door opening startled her, and she began to kick and pull at her restraints. Then, the back door opened at her feet. She looked towards it and saw all hope of freedom blocked by a large silhouette. The man was in black, and his features were unclear in the dark, adding to his ominous figure.

He leaned into the car's cabin, and reached for her, pulling her up off the floor. With little effort he hauled her back onto the seat, and bent over to reposition her. Without thought, Ess reacted.

With all her might she kicked at him, hitting him hard in the stomach with her knees. She heard the wind leave his chest as he doubled over. This put his head in just the right position to strike again; so she did, making contact with his face. She wasn't sure, but she thought she could feel his nose break.

He collapsed on the floor of the vehicle, with his legs hanging out of the door. As he held his hands to his face, and struggled to regain his breath, Ess reached towards her feet to work at the knot that bound her ankles. She tore at it with her fingers, bending and ripping her nails in the process. After a few seconds, the knot started to give.

The man regained his breath, and began to vocalize his pain. This made Ess more desperate as she continued her struggles. She was numb to the ache in her fingers while she worked to free herself.

Finally the rope began to unravel. She kicked and pulled, liberating her legs. Her wrists were a different matter, but they could wait. Ess wiggled her way out of the vehicle, trying to avoid the man on the floor.

She was just about out the door when the man had enough control of his pain to notice her attempted escape. He growled and grabbed at her arm. She reacted by screaming and flailing, managing to knock him in the nose once more with her elbow. He screamed in response and let her go so he could cradle his face again.

She edged her way to the end of the seat, and stood on the ground. Looking around her, she saw only darkness and trees. She was in the middle of a forest somewhere, lighted only by a half moon. The pavement beside the vehicle was only a narrow country road. The faint sound of a passing car could be heard in the distance, letting her know that she was near another road. Perhaps it was the road they had just turned off of a few moments ago.

Before taking another step, she turned back towards the man in the car. Just then, he looked up, making eye contact with her while cupping his hand against the blood gushing from his nostrils. The look in his eyes spoke fury. That stare told her that, if he caught her, he would seriously harm her, or probably kill her.