Kathryn stepped off the bus, tightening the belt of her coat. She stood on the corner for a moment trying to decide which way to go. If she walked around the park it took an extra 15 minutes to get home, but she hated to walk through the park at night. The blast of frigid wind that hit her in the face made up her mind for her. Stepping on to the path, she sighed with relief; it felt at least 10 degrees warmer among the trees.

      "So far so good." Kathryn mumbled to herself as she made her way along the path. Suddenly she stopped dead in her tracks, she had a sudden feeling that she wasn't alone. Turning she saw someone wearing a ski mask right behind her. Before she could scream, she felt an intense pain surging through her body; then the world went black.

      He threw her over his shoulder and went deeper in the trees. He left her on the edge of the park and scanned the street, making sure there was no one around. Reaching into his car he grabbed his pack and hit the switch to open the trunk, then he made his way back into the trees. Kneeling down beside her immobile body, he quickly cuffed her hands and gagged her with a scrap of material. Checking the street a final time, he hefted her limp body, raced to the car, and placed her in the truck. Soon my dear, he thought, We'll be at my special place, and then the fun will start. Starting his car he made his way out of the city, towards the hills where his cabin rested.

      Kathryn woke up with a start. She was tied to a bed that had a musty old mattress. The single light bulb hanging from the ceiling did little to dispel the gloom. My God, where am I? she thought. Then she remembered turning to see the man behind her in the park. What did he do to me? What is he going to do to me? The questions assaulted her in a non-stop melody. She lay there in the gloomy dank room for what seemed like hours before she finally heard a noise above her.

      With every footstep that made its way across the floor, her fear increased ten-fold. The footsteps stopped. A door squeaked opened. Light from above spilled down the stairs. When his foot hit the first step Kathryn's fear overtook her and she blacked out. She came to. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, stroking her hair. She shook her head violently from side to side trying to get him to stop touching her.

      Grabbing her hair, he gave it a hard yank. "Calm down. I won't hurt you unless you make me." He smiled as she lay still, her eyes filled with fear. He reached and ripped off her gag. "Don't bother screaming. No one will hear you. All you'll do is make me mad, and you don't want to do that."

      "What do you want with me?" Kathryn croaked

      "You sound a little dry, here this should help." He stated, grabbing a glass from the floor and putting the straw in her mouth. Kathryn slurped the water as fast as she could "Ok, that's enough." He said, pulling the straw out of her mouth.

      "What do you want with me?" Kathryn asked again.

      "We're going to have some fun, and if you behave I'll let you live." His dead eyes stared at her through the mask. "Are you going to behave?"

      She tried to say something but her mouth wouldn't work.

      "Answer me, Bitch!" he screamed slapping her across the face.

      Tears sprang from her eyes as she mumbled "Yes."

      "That's better. See you can do this two ways, the easy way and the hard way. It's your choice. I don't want to beat you. But I will if I have to." Reaching down beside the bed, he produced a pair of scissors. "If you don't move I won't cut you." he stated and cut her clothes away from her body. When he was finished he stood up and removed his own clothes and tossed them on a chair beside the bed. "There, now we're both ready to have some fun." He grinned as he turned to face her, his erection throbbing with anticipation.

      As he slid onto the bed beside her and started to grope at her breasts, Kathryn found herself sinking into a deep pool. It was as if she was watching him do this to someone else. Her fear had given her a safe place to hide. Kathryn was barely aware of the ravages he inflicted upon her body. She had become numb to the pain and the humiliation as she waited for his hunger to be sated. Just let me survive this. Please let me live. She kept thinking. Finally after what seemed like an eternity, he rolled off her to lie beside her.

      "Now wasn't that fun, just like I told you it would be?"

      Kathryn didn't answer she just stared at the ceiling.

      "Remember how I told you if you behaved I'd let you live? Well I lied." He sat up and grabbed his belt off the chair and wrapped it around her neck.

      "Please, no!" Kathryn screamed as the belt tightened around her neck choking off her pleas.

      "I'll never forget you." He whispered watching the life fade from her eyes. When he was finished he dressed and untied her lifeless body. Crossing her arms across her chest he spotted a ring on her finger and took it for a memento. He wrapped her body in an old blanket, took her up the stairs and out of the cabin. He made his way to the open grave he had dug earlier. "Rest in peace." He chuckled as her threw her in the hole and filled it in. When he finished he dusted off his hands and made his way back up to the cabin. Turning, he gazed down at the clearing that held dozens of unmarked graves. "All my lovelies," he thought before going inside.