Posted by PK on October 28, 2001 at 17:33:11:
Belinda was not comfortable at all. Being naked and tied to a plastic office chair with
electrical flex will do that to a girl. It was almost a relief when the door started to open, the
few minutes had seemed eternal. She hadn't heard any footsteps but then she hadn't
expected to. Amanda rapped the door lightly with her knuckles as she entered.
"Hello? Anybody home? Good grief, it's like the Mary Celeste in here." She eyed the
abandoned coffee cups and twinkie wrappers with evident distaste. Her expression
brightened as she turned to Belinda. "Well, almost...we have a survivor." She smiled.
Belinda would have greeted the huntress but the duct tape covering her mouth prevented
her. "MMrrrph", she said.
"Oh, you want to talk?" Amanda approached. She ripped the tape off. "Do tell me, dear girl.
Spill the beans. Bare your heart." She glanced down. "Oh, I see that you have. Nice tits, by
the way. No offense." She licked her lips.
"Th..they're getting away," Belinda stammered. "The bastards left me here to...ah.."
"Distract me?" Amanda offered. "Slow me down? Appease me? Yes, I get the general idea.
My, you DO look nice."
"You've got to hurry," Belinda said urgently. "They.....they're heading for the cars." It was
hopeless. By now they'd be there already. Amanda had taken longer to get here than she'd
expected.
"Not happy with your former colleagues, I take it?" Amanda teased. "No, of course not. Here
you are, trussed like a turkey..." she paused, "No, staked out like a goat. But that would
suggest they're lying in wait to GET me." Her eyebrows rose a fraction. "Wouldn't that be
fun..."
Totally hopeless. The bastards must have reached the vehicles by now, they were probably
out of the park. Not even this monster could catch them now. "They're not here," Belinda
insisted desperately. "They're getting away." If only the huntress would go after them she
might have a chance.
"And they left all their toys," Amanda said, glancing around the room, full of high-tech video
equipment. "I don't suppose there's one of those hand held videocams in here? I've been
thinking about doing one of those low budget horror flicks, you know? The ones where you
run through the woods with a camera, all Blair Witch? What we really need.." She looked
thoughtful. "Is any of this on film? Tape, DVD, whatever..."
Belinda had no idea where this was going. "We have film of you and the other girl..."
"Carol," Amanda snapped. "Her name is Carol."
"..And Carol..." Belinda placated. Don't annoy her, for Christ's sake. There's a spare hand-
held camera there..." she nodded towards it.
"Thanks. I meant footage of what happened here. Oh, lovely." She smiled. "There's a
security camera in here. This is going to be a classic."
Belinda was intrigued despite herself. "What?"
"But what am I thinking? We have to get you dressed first. Oh, what a shame. They must
have been in a terrible hurry. Your clothes are in rags. Not to worry. Back in a tick."
Amanda disappeared again. While she was gone, Belinda reviewed her options. The best bet
seemed to be cooperate and pray. At the back of her mind the notion formed that this must
have been how Carol had felt. An odd and disquieting emotion tried to surface. She
suppressed it. Amanda was back. She carried a deerskin top and a pair of moccasins. "Put
these on," she said. There wasn't time to explain that she couldn't do that while strapped to a
chair, Amanda had produced a knife from nowhere and was cutting through her bonds with
no more effort than you open a letter. Belinda stood up shakily and took the proffered items.
"You're going to hunt me?"
"Heavens no. Well, not today anyway. We can discuss dates later. I just think it you'd look
fetching in it. Oh, go on. You know you want to." Her mouth quirked with amusement at a
private joke.
Belinda put on the halter and the shoes. They were surprisingly comfortable and the fit was
excellent. Her mind veered off on tangents. "I don't believe this," the producer had said . She
doesn't have a license to hunt us. She's only one woman anyway and she's not even armed.
Nothing's going to happen, she's just trying to spook us."
Well, she'd certainly done that. Unarmed? Belinda noticed a strap around Amanda's right
thigh. A knife from nowhere? She'd bet her life there was a sheath just around the curve. She
also noticed than unless the makeup artists had used hair dye (would they have dared?)
Amanda was a natural redhead.
"What happens now?"
Amanda poked her tongue out between pursed lips. "Do you know, I have no idea? Well,
ideas, yes, but no battle plan. I'll have to work on that. I was only going to invite you to a
party. Jolly little soiree, roast chick on paper plates..."
That was enough. "You did this deliberately," Belinda accused her. "You wanted to scare us.
All the theatrics. You could have done it without the warnings if you'd just wanted to catch
us." And now I'm left carrying the can, she thought bitterly.
"Well, it WAS your idea," Amanda said. "Oh, not you in particular but the whole scene. The
milieu. I don't usually play to the camera but you corrupted me."
"I didn't...." I didn't do it.
"No, you just conned another woman into being sacrified for profit. Oh God, I'm turning into
PC version of 'The Crow'. Batman?"
"I didn't...." Yes, I did, Belinda finally admitted to herself. Only doing my job. Just following
orders. I didn't know. Yes, I did. I knew. "You can talk. You knew and you killed her anyway."
Amanda nodded. "That's right. I won't quibble about the fact that she's not dead yet, you've
written her off. Me, I'm just a lawnmower."
Guilt, Belinda realised. She flushed with shame.
Amanda's smile was friendly now. "Corny, isn't it? Innocent Victim faces Doom, realises that
she isn't innocent. Nice twist, but I have a horrible feeling it's been done before. Well, never
mind. We have choices to make in the here and now. Go back to keep Carol company as
she cooks - don't you just love alliteration - or pursue the fleeing miscreants like Nemesis.
Tell you what, you choose."
Pursue? "I told you, they're gone." While you've been babbling on, she didn't say.
"I'm sure they're trying," Amanda said. "But we haven't been here long enough for them to
have got far on foot."
"The cars..." the time delay. The knife....her visual attention was as clear as a word. And the
huntress reads body language. She doesn't need psi. (doesn't mean she doesn't have it)
"Goes straight through tyres and petrol tanks," Amanda said. "Fun with lo-tech. Shall we
dance?"