A People's Plight

Susan  It had been a normal day at work for Susan, except for the fact that her manager had sprung a surprise on her half an hour before home time, but it was not a nice surprise.  He had demanded a report on his desk by 9am in the morning, so he could review it and pass it off as his own ready for a meeting with the executives at 10.  This meant that Susan had to stay behind after work to do the report, it had taken three hours, she had missed her last bus home and didn’t have enough cash for a taxi.   That was the reason why Susan found herself walking through the damp ankle length grass that covered the unlit section of Western Park, halfway through her hour-long trek home.  She had decided to take the short cut through the park as it shaved a full half hour of the journey time.  She was tired and all she wanted to do was to get home, have dinner and then have a soak in the bath before heading to bed.  She wasn’t used to long walks, so she would definitely need the soak in the bath.   Too busy focusing on her thoughts, Susan didn’t notice her surroundings until it was too late.  In front of her she so the shadowy outline of a man, she paused and was about to ask him what he wanted when an arm wrapped around her torso trapping her arms against her body.  Before she could scream, a hand holding a cloth covered her mouth and nose.  A sweet smell tickled her nostrils.  She tried to struggle but the man’s grip was too strong, she was held tight against him.  Thoughts rushed through her mind, what was going on?  Who was this person?  What was going to happen to her? And why was that other man just standing there and not helping her?   Trying to figure out a way to escape, Susan went to lift her leg to stamp on her assailant’s instep, but her leg wouldn’t move.  Her limbs felt heavy, a drowsiness seeped into her mind and her eyelids started to close.  Panic welled in her chest as she felt a needle pierce the skin of her neck.  The hand and cloth left her face and the arm around her body loosened.  Her assailant adjusted his hold of her, now supporting her body under her armpits, leaning her against his chest.  Another pair of hands grabbed her ankles, below the hem of her cropped trousers.  Susan felt the rough hands on the bare skin of her ankles sending tingles coursing through her body, setting her nerves on fire and heat surged in her groin before unconsciousness finally overwhelmed her.