Sam drifted in and out of consciousness. Every time he tried to move his head, he felt a sharp pain in the back of his skull and passed out again. Soon his bouts of clarity became more frequent and lasted longer. Sam realized he was sitting in a chair but couldn’t move. He tried to rise but his limbs wouldn’t respond. Footsteps paced around him in the blackness.
At last, he could raise his head and open his eyes. He realized he was tied to a chair. Ropes tied his ankles to the legs and his hands behind his back. His clothes had been removed.
He craned his neck to see who’d attacked him. His heart skipped a beat as Joel stepped into his view. The ginger man was naked and handling a butcher knife.
“Joel?” Sam said in a whisper. “What happened? Did you knock me out?” The smile he received
