Champion

Chapter 8

Laurena's jaw hurt. The leader, Broast had punched her when she refused to stop screaming. What did she care if they disliked her screams? But the ache in her jaw was telling her that she may want to consider doing whatever she had to in order to keep them happy. She doubted they would let her go, or even let her live for very long, but they could easily make her last moments far worse than they had to be.

Stiffening her resolve, she decided to do whatever they wanted. If they wanted her body she would give it to them. If they wanted her passion, she would fake it better than she ever had before. If they wanted to debase her for their amusement, she would go through with whatever cruel machinations they could imagine, as long as they promised a quick, painless end once they were done. Hoping to get their games over with quickly, and bring her final release from this terrible fate, she stopped her crying and sniffling; forcing her best sultry look onto her bruised face.

"If you boys are absolutely certain this is what you want to do, how about you untie my hands so we can do it right?"

Broast and his men shared a look of confusion. This is the last thing he expected. They rarely stole s****l favors from women travelers. They were business men after all, not animals. But this mouthy b***h just didn't know how lucky she was that she had been way-laid by enlightened highwaymen like themselves. They were doing her a favor, teaching her how much trouble her smart mouth could get her in if she wasn't careful around less civilized company. Any woman this beautiful should realize her place, and they were just going to help remind her of that. But now she was acting like a seductress, not a sufficiently cowed maiden.

Uncertain what he should do, but knowing that he had to be decisive before his men, Broast decided on a compromise.

"I'm glad to see you in a more agreeable mood my dear, so I will meet you half-way. I will cut you down from yon post, but the bonds shall remain on your wrists until we are through."

Knowing that the sooner they began the sooner it was over; Laurena nodded her head, still struggling to keep the seductive look on her face while trying not to vomit at the thought of the men touching her. As Broast approached her she heard a strange high pitched sound, like a whip swinging through the air, and Broast staggered sideways. No more than two heartbeats later, she heard the strangest thunderclap of her young life.

Looking at her principal captor, she saw his lifeblood begin to leak from two small holes on each of his sides, below his left and right armpits. As she gazed upon him in confusion, he fell to the ground, and she realized he was dying. She couldn't imagine how such small holes could do that, and she couldn't really bring herself to care.

***

David wasn't sure what that sick fucker had planned to do with the knife, but he was never going to get the chance now. His shot had come in low, apparently it was more like 700 meters, and so with his next shot he adjusted accordingly. His second target was the head of the fat fucker on the left. He wasn't sure why he picked this guy, but he guessed it had something to do with the fact that this guy looked like he was too ugly to get a decent woman without force. I'm probably just projecting, David thought to himself.

His second round passed through the fat man's throat, not exactly where he was aiming, but at this distance with this equipment it was good enough. His third target was chosen for him, as one of the men below grabbed up the knife from the dirt and started to move toward the woman. David planted his third round in that overachiever's chest. Courageously attack a tied-up, half-naked woman will you, not on my watch, he thought with satisfaction. He got too excited, worried about the woman's safety and punishing the wicked, and missed his fourth shot. Steadying his breathing, he aimed and fired his fifth and sixth shot a single second apart; downing the last two would-be rapists with a single shot a-piece. Looking through his scope another minute, he checked to see if any of his targets were faking. One move, one twitch, and the goat-f*****g camel-jockeys were getting an extra round, just because.

After a minute David scanned the area around the fire, and apparent camp, for anyone else that might be on guard or running away. He continued scanning the area for another five minutes; but he couldn't see anyone else, and the woman's movements were becoming frantic. Pulling his NODs off the mount on the M14, he clipped them to the Rhino mount on his helmet, and re-adjusted the focus back to where it was before. Then he pulled his M4 out of his rucksack, and left his pack, the M14, and Mk 48 there. If something went wrong with the girl or the camp, he would be able to move and maneuver better with the small M4 carbine, and without all the extra weight. Turning back to the camp he checked one final time with his NODs; and not seeing any movement apart from the woman, he decided to go down and introduce himself.

*** Same Day, Different Stuff ***

101915MAR13 DW (according to David's Watch, but who knows what time it really is)

NOT the Rukusl Valley, Donga Province, Mukavia

Laurena had no explanation for what had just happened. Her five would be rapists had dropped from small holes that appeared in their bodies, each one followed by that strange thunder. After the last one had fallen she had waited for her turn, certain that she would be next. But as the quiet seconds became a minute, and then two, she began to think the thunder was over. That was when she realized she was still half-naked, still tied up, and still in the mountains; with no one left alive nearby to free her. She began a spell to conjure a knife, but she couldn't focus. She was frightened and confused; two emotions that were ruining her concentration. Frustrated, she began tugging at her bonds, pulling them every which way in the hope that they might loosen enough for her to slip free.

Ten minutes later, after twisting and tugging at her bonds and wracking her brain for a simpler spell that might free her, she was exhausted. Her wrists were chafed and bleeding, and she was no closer to freedom than when she started. Heartbroken to be so close to freedom, and then to realize it was an illusion, her world crumbled. Allowing the full weight of her body to hang from her painfully bound wrists, her head slumped low and she cried what she assumed would be her final tears in this life. She was going to die here of dehydration, and her crying was only ensuring it happened faster. She had yet to realize that her hysteria was the only real obstacle before her, and if she were able to calm herself, and think rationally, she could probably have gotten free easily. Unfortunately, as is often the case, emotion had trumped logic.

"Excuse me, miss. Do you speak English?"

Laurena was surprised by the voice...and didn't recognize the accent...and didn't know what English was. But at that point she truly didn't care.

"Who is it? Can you get me down?" she asked hesitantly while looking around for the unknown speaker.

"Yes ma'am I can. I'm David, and I'll have you down in two shakes."

Stepping out from the darkness at the edge of the firelight, the figure from her dreams appeared. He was dressed almost exactly as he had been in Eros' vision, except for the strange object he was wearing over one eye. Her god's Champion had found her, in the last place she ever expected to be, and at a time she had given up hope of ever being found.

She had no idea what he was talking about. Two shakes of what? But as he drew a large, wicked looking knife from his bulky vest she pushed his strange comment from her mind. That knife was now of far greater import to her than his unusual words. He stepped closer to her, standing to the side and reaching over her bound form to sever the ropes securing her to the post. She shivered in the rapidly chilling mountain air, suddenly very aware of her exposed chest. With one slice of his knife she was free of the post, and immediately lowered her arms to cover her breasts. Though she was exceedingly proud of her magnificent body, she was unaccustomed to displaying so much of it outside the temple; and it was getting cold.

"I need to cut the rest of that rope off your wrists miss, and take a look at the damage it caused," he said, motioning to her still bound hands now clenched before her ample bosom.

Nodding her head, she held out her restraints to the man, and spoke the first thing that came to mind. "My name is Laurena, David. If you remove the bindings I can heal the cuts on my own."

Reaching out with his knife, he gave her a part confused and part dubious look as he carefully cut off the last of the ropes. "It is nice to meet you Laurena, but you really should let me take a look at those. The cuts could get infected; god only knows where those ropes have been."

As soon as her wrists were free Laurena reached for her robes, attempting to use the tattered remains of her top to return it to some form of modesty. Sliding two longer strips over her shoulders, she tied them behind her neck, creating a modified halter to cover her breasts from direct view. Not the best fix, but enough until she could get a change of clothes.

"Your concern is appreciated Champion, but even I can heal injuries this minor", she responded to his concern.

Focusing her will, which was easier now that she was no longer bound and distraught, she chanted a short spell of healing. The spell worked, and sent her magic into her wrists to repair as much of the damage as she was able. The cut and chafed skin knit back together, but her wrists still retained what appeared to be three day old bruising, and were very sore. Sighing, she again wished she were a better healer. It seemed that in blessing her with such great beauty, Eros had also cursed her with terribly minimal healing magic. She suspected it was to preserve the balance.

Looking up she noticed the deeply surprised look on David's face. "What is wrong Champion?" she asked confused and somewhat embarrassed by his response to her healing magic. She knew she wasn't nearly as good as a fully qualified priestess, but her magic was certainly not bad enough to warrant that level of shock from the Champion.