Dark Secrets

Wouldn't Be Pure

The two hooded figures suddenly and silently emerged from the darkness. They stood at the top of the stairs staring down at Carl and Serena.

With his back to the stairs, Carl wasn't aware that his s****l conquest was on display. He groped at Serena like the clumsy jock he was. He pulled at the lightweight fabric of her blouse.

A couple buttons popped off, giving him access to reach around and fumble with the hook on her bra.

Based on his awkwardness, Serena wondered if Carl was a virgin. The thought neither pleased nor displeased her. It was mere curiosity on her part.

Impatient with his mishandling of such a simple task, Serena reached back and unhooked the bra herself, letting it fall to the ground and exposing her breasts.

She pulled his head towards her greedily. The look on her face indicated that she definitely enjoyed what Carl was doing at that moment. She was glad he was more adept at actually fondling her breasts than trying to get access to them.

Serena's sharp nails drew a thin line of blood as they glided across the exposed skin under the hairline on the back of Carl's neck.

Carl winced in pain and in surprise. He touched the back of his neck and pulled his hand away.

A few specks of blood dripped to the cement. "You like it rough?" he asked her.

"Hell yeah," she stated unequivocally.

Carl grunted as he gripped her arms and pulled her into his body, grinding against her through his clothes without mercy. As he reached down and began to unbutton his jeans, they both moaned with pleasure.

The two hooded figures attacked at that precise moment!

They swooped down from their spot at the top of the stairwell. The hooded figures threw punches at the head and kicked in the most vulnerable of bodily locations.

"Hey, what the f-" Carl managed to scream out in shock and protest before an elbow to the mouth interrupted the outburst.

The elbow belonged to Serena - who joined in with the attackers!

Despite his efforts to defend himself, the three of them got the best of him in a matter of minutes. One of the hooded figures pulled a length of rope out from the pockets of the robe and bound Carl's hands behind his back. The other one had a small roll of duct tape and slapped a piece of it across Carl's mouth.

The three of them dragged Carl, bloodied and battered, up the stairs of the alcove. At the top, his legs flailed and he kicked the trash can over.

Garbage spilled out as the metal can clanged and somersaulted down the steps. When the trash can stopped at the bottom of the stairs, the only sound that could be heard was Carl's muffled vocalizations of protest under the duct tape.

"Cool it, Romeo," one of the hooded figures warned him.

"His name's Carl," Serena explained.

"Who gives a s**t what his name is?"

Serena nodded her acquiescence. It really didn't make any difference whether they knew his name or not.

The attackers forced Carl across the street. They walked through his father's sedan's headlight beams and up the street a block until they reached a station wagon parked against the curb.

The two hooded figures forced Carl into the back seat. One got in on each side of him. They slapped the manual door locks.

When they finally removed their hoods, Carl discovered he had been kidnapped by two young adults, a male and a female.

Serena got into the driver's seat. She turned the key and the engine roared to life.

In the backseat, the kidnappers tied Carl's legs with more rope. Carl twisted in the seat to take one last look at his father's car, left helplessly in the middle of the deserted urban street.

"Sure got a live one tonight," said the male kidnapper.

"And I'm sick of it," said the female. She stared into Carl's eyes and continued, "You want to know what happens to people who make me sick?"

She reached under the front seat and pulled out a butcher knife. She held it up to Carl's throat with the sharp edge against his skin.

Carl's eyes widened with fear and he tried to scream through the duct tape. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead as he imagined how the knife would slice his throat if the station wagon hit a pothole.

Serena monitored the situation via the rear view mirror while she drove. She admonished her co-conspirators, "Be careful, you two. No accidents. It's getting late and I don't feel like having to start over from scratch with another one tonight."

"You're right. We don't want to make the Master angry," said the man.

"I just want to see him suffer," his partner said as she caressed the knife against Carl's face.

"Plenty of time for that later."

The three of them laughed wildly while Carl continued to twist and grunt to no avail.

"Why can't we drug them or something?" the young woman whined.

"Then the blood wouldn't be pure," the man replied as he looked Carl up and down.

Serena noticed Carl's reflection in the rear view mirror, mentally noting and enjoying the look of terror in his eyes.

* * *

"I feel like we've been in the car all night," the female kidnapper complained as the station wagon raced down the dark and deserted highway past nothing but trees. She couldn't remember how long it had been since they saw a street light or an off-ramp.

"It's been about two hours since we picked up Carl," Serena informed her partners as the first drops of rain hit the windshield. "Hold on, we're driving into a storm."

Even with the windshield wipers swishing back and forth, it was hard to see the road. Luckily, Serena had made this trip before and was well acquainted with the territory.

A flash of lightning streaked across the sky and provided enough light to reveal a sign that said: Welcome To Maplecrest, Vermont.

Not long after they passed the sign, Serena slowed the car and pulled over to the side of the highway near a barely noticeable break in the trees. She turned off the highway onto an unmarked and secluded dirt road.

The station wagon bounced along the unpaved road for another fifteen minutes. For the first time since he had been abducted, Carl felt thankful. His gratitude was due to the fact that the young lady had tired of threatening his neck with the knife long before they hit this terribly bumpy patch of road.

The farther into the woods they got, the stronger the storm raged. Everything looked distorted through the walls of water washing over the car's windows. The tires kicked mud through the air.

Serena brought the station wagon to a stop in a small clearing in front of a cave. Branches bent to the breaking point by the wind slapped against the cave's partially concealed entrance. Serena and her two partners yanked Carl out of the vehicle.

"I hope the Master will be pleased with this one," Serena said.

They could barely hear her over the sounds of the howling wind and torrential rains. Because of the way they had tied his legs, Carl couldn't take normal steps. The three of them pretty much dragged Carl through the mud and hauled him face first into the cave.

Carl lost his balance and tumbled to the floor. With assistance, he was able to get back on his feet.

Again, his eyes widened with fear when he saw the interior of the cave. Carl looked from side to side. His heart raced even faster than it had all night.

Up until this point, he kept trying to tell himself that this was all some sick joke, maybe a prank from the guys at the frat house. He almost deserved it after some of the stuff he pulled since freshman year.

He had hoped that at any moment, one of his captors would start laughing and say, "Sucker, we tricked you." Then all of them would have a good laugh together and he'd start planning how to get them back.

However, standing there, looking at the cave, there was no doubt that this was anything but a joke. These people were definitely into whatever they were into for real and worse yet, they were clearly crazy.

Carl took it all in. The only wording he could think of to describe it was "a mock church."

Pentagrams inscribed on the floor formed a repeating pattern. Several hideous looking stone gargoyles took the place of statues of saints.

Rather than the stations of the cross depicted in paintings on the walls, scenes of violence, murder, and mayhem stood out. An altar in the middle of the room sat draped in black fabric.

A group of people, dressed in those same medieval robes that his captors wore, kneeled before the altar.

Carl felt so overwhelmed that he failed to notice the most obvious thing until last.

Next to the altar, there was an upside down, life-sized wooden cross!