A Lesson in Passion (4 page)

After another harrowing bus ride,
they arrived back at the airport to find that it had been cleared
and that most flights were finally back on schedule. They were so
ecstatic to get on the plane home that even the mostly drunk crew
of college guys couldn't dampen their spirits.
I get to take a shower in my own bathroom, get to sleep in my
own bed and eat food I know won't make me gag
, Ginny thought as she reclined back in her seat after
take-off. Never had she been so happy to go home.

They arrived on time at Sky Harbor and made
their way to the luggage carousel. Lisa looked sullen and wasn't
very talkative on the flight. “What's wrong with you? You can't
tell me your not happy to be home,” Ginny said as they watched each
piece of luggage pass by.

“I feel awful about how this
vacation turned out. We spent all that money and you sat around and
read a bunch of half-assed books.”

“Every vacation has its problems.
Remember when we went to Germany and they lost my luggage? I was
wearing the same outfit for a week,” both Ginny and Lisa smiled
fondly. Lisa spotted her bag and grabbed it.

“Yeah, it was a very unflattering
outfit, if I remember correctly. Which reminds me, have you ever
worn it again?”

“After a solid week of it, no. It
got burned when I got home.” Ginny collected her bag and they
walked outside to catch their shuttle back to the parking lot. “Oh,
God, remember when that greasy Italian guy wouldn't leave you alone
in Egypt. He latched onto you like a puppy.”

And so it went, story after story got both
Ginny and Lisa howling with laughter. They arrived at the lot and
got into Lisa's car. Both girls kept coming up with one amusing
anecdote after another. “Remember the smell in our hotel room in
Spain? It smelled like dead fish and sewage. Remember how the front
desk said it was just the restaurant on the first floor? We never
did eat there, did we?”

“How about the shark scare in
Australia. That woman made everyone freak out over a tuna or
something. I wonder if she still feels bad about that?”

Lisa pulled onto the 202 heading east. The
stories kept coming since Ginny and Lisa had been vacationing
together for over ten years, since they graduated from high school
and went to Rocky Point in Mexico. Their friendship had lasted past
the easy times of childhood and through the difficult times of high
school, especially since they were both too different to be
popular. And now, they were occasionally mature women with
different lives, but still, the best of friends.

Both girls were having a great time, probably
the best time they'd had all week. It was no wonder that neither of
them saw the pick-up truck before it hit them.

• * Chapter 4 *
  

Ginny felt a strange pounding in
her head. She was vaguely aware of her surroundings, but in a
detached sort of way. She heard sounds but couldn't identify them,
along with feeling strange movements and inhaling bad
smells.
What's going on?
she thought to herself as the pounding
continued.

Taking a deep breath, Ginny tried
to sort it out. She could be very analytical about things, which
served her well in her job. The last thing Ginny could remember was
driving home from the airport.
Did Lisa
and I get in an accident? Are we okay? Am I dead?

Ginny began to panic. She opened
her eyes but everything was dark. She tried to move, but couldn't
seem to move her limbs. Ginny had never been so scared. She
couldn't move, couldn't see and there was that smell again.
Surely this couldn't be heaven, not with that
smell
, Ginny thought.
Of course, this could be hell and I may have overestimated
God's forgiveness.

Ginny's head began to clear and she realized
that she was slumped over something, with her butt in the air. She
knew that no EMT or paramedic would transport her to the hospital
in such a position. Taking a deep breath, despite the foul odor of
animal and outrageous body odor, she willed her mind to
clear.

Okay, where could I be? I'm not in
heaven, no St. Peter, no pearly gates, massive headache. This could
be a cruel introduction to hell, but I don't believe in
hell.
She decided to take an inventory of
everything she did know.

She couldn't see. Why? Was she
blind? No, there was something on her head. Ginny tried to reach up
to touch the cloth covering her head, but then realized that her
hands were tied together.
Dear God, why am
I tied up?

Slowly she began to realize that
she was moving. Or, more to the point, the thing she was slumped
over was moving.
A
horse
, Ginny smiled to herself as she put
it together. She was on the back of a horse.
Why am I on the back of a horse
, she
wondered.

Ginny began to think of any possibility for
her situation. Was she in some warped Stephen King novel where a
deranged nurse was taking Ginny back to her house to make her write
the perfect novel? Did she get kidnapped by some Deliverance types
who were going to take her back to their lair and make her their
wife?

As Ginny kept coming up with the
most outrageous ideas, she began to hear men talking and laughing.
Ginny listened closely, but couldn't understand them.
What is that language?
She tried to place it, but it was completely unfamiliar.
Ginny's confusion turned to fear.
What
have I gotten myself into?

All of a sudden, the horse stopped
and Ginny heard a large group of people begin to cheer.
Oh, great, this can't be good
, she thought as she was manhandled off the horse. A quick
assessment told her that she was not permanently damaged, no broken
bones. She realized that her feet were also tied
together.

The cloth over her head was
viciously ripped off and for a moment, Ginny still couldn't see.
The sunshine was so bright, it overwhelmed her after the darkness.
As her vision returned, she squinted to look around. She was in the
center of a large group of men, standing on a wooden stage. The men
were dressed strangely and looked quite deranged. Ginny's head swam
as she tried to take in the situation.
Is
this some kind of movie set? Is this a period piece from the Middle
Ages?
Then suddenly, she realized something
else.
Am I shorter?

Could I be dreaming?
Ginny grasped onto that possibility.
Maybe I was in an accident and am in a coma, and
this is some elaborate dream I'm having. But why do I not feel like
me?

Ginny began to look around in
earnest. The men, mostly big, brawny types were wearing a variety
of animal skins and tunics. There were plaid colored kilts as well.
They were very dirty, with matted down hair and brown streaks on
their exposed arms and legs. They were also the hairiest group of
men Ginny had ever seen.
Wait
, she thought to herself,
this is just like the book I read about the
Highlands in Scotland. Dear God, is my dream based on a romance
novel?

It occurred to Ginny that if this was indeed a
dream, she should be able to do whatever she wanted with no
consequences. Ginny eyes lit up with the possibilities. She would,
of course, be saved by some mega-hunk who would then want to marry
her. The sex would be incredible, especially after her celibate
week in the Caribbean (not that she was all that sexually active
beforehand). And she bet she would be able to do things in her
dream that she would never do in real life, like fight her way past
all these sick, smelly men.

The biggest, hairiest and smelliest
of the group stood in front of Ginny, speaking in the same language
Ginny had heard earlier, but couldn't understand. For some reason,
she could now pick out a few words here and there.
Gaelic
, she thought to
herself.
He's speaking Gaelic and for some
reason, I know some of the words.

Ginny listened intently and managed
to understand a little of what he told the large group of men. She
heard something about a new mistress, since the old one was worn
out.
Could that be right?
The men are laughing and leering at her.
Uh-oh, am I the new mistress?
There were no words in Ginny's mind to describe how foul and
disgusting that possibility was. Ginny's face must have
demonstrated how she was feeling, because big, hairy, smelly guy
started laughing at her.

Ginny began to look around for her escape. She
was surrounded on all sides by walls or buildings. The courtyard
walls were at least ten feet tall, with ladders intermittently
dispersed and a wooden ledge that spanned the walls. At the one end
was a large door, or maybe a drawbridge, she couldn't tell. Between
her and any wall was at least twenty men, none of which looked at
all sympathetic to her plight. Ginny started to fidget when she
bumped into something on her leg.

Something was wrapped around her
right calf. Ginny started to fidget to try and determine what it
is.
Could be a sheathed
knife
, she thought hopefully. Then Ginny
realized that one small knife would get her to the first row of men
before she was disarmed. Staring at the large wooden door at the
one end of the courtyard, she noticed that a man, dressed in a
plaid kilt, was trying to climb over the wall. He obviously did not
want to call attention to himself.

What's he
doing?
, Ginny wondered. All of sudden it
occurred to her that the kilted man was going to open the
gate.
I bet there's a bunch of men on the
other side waiting to come in here and rescue me.
Ginny needed to make a grand diversion and
fast.

She was considering her
possibilities. If she could get to the knife, she could use it to
cut her ropes.
Wait
, she considered,
maybe I can get to
the knife with a diversion for her rescuers.

She paused only briefing to
consider how humiliating the next few minutes would be.
A girl's got to do what a girl's got to do,
especially if she doesn't want to be raped by a large group of
dirty, smelly men.

With that, Ginny threw herself to her knees
and began wailing as loudly as she could. She made an outstanding
spectacle of herself, Oscar-worthy indeed.

“Please, dear men, please don't
hurt me!” she screamed. “Have mercy on me!”

Curling herself into a ball, she
reached under her skirt and found the knife in its sheath. Next
came the delicate operation of trying to saw through her ropes.
Trying to concentrate on not slashing herself, Ginny managed to cut
through enough of the rope to pull free. All the while, she
continued to beg for mercy and listen to the crowd laugh at
her.
Hope you're enjoying the show,
boys.

The ropes around the her wrists were easy
compared to her ankles. Ginny was bent in half, reaching under her
skirt, to try to cut through her ankle restraints. She seemed to
have plenty of time, since the gross men were practically doubled
over in laughter at her display.

Fortunately, during her tirade, the
kilted man had made it over the wall and was ready to open the
gate. He looked as though he needed one more big diversion to
complete the job.
Okay
, thought Ginny,
here we
go.

Ginny stood up and faced biggest, dirtiest and
smelliest. He stopped laughing and stared back at her, trying to
intimidate her. Smiling and looking him in the eye, Ginny shouted
loud enough for everyone to hear, “Hell would be too good for you,
asshole.”

He raised his hand as if to strike her, when
Ginny pulled out the knife and threw it. Having no experience at
all with knife throwing, even Ginny was amazed when the knife not
only hit the mark, but embedded right into his eye. The giant
dropped like a stone to the ground, kicking up dust and making the
stage shake.

For a moment, the crowd was silent.
They were clearly stunned at what Ginny did, but not nearly as much
as she was.
Wow, didn't know I could do
that!

There was a loud crash as the doors were
thrown open. The men in the courtyard, still stunned at the killing
of their leader, turned to see about thirty kilted warriors at the
entrance to their keep. Ginny stared at the group, aware that a
bloodbath would soon follow. The man in the front of the warriors
was huge, bigger than even the head smelly guy. He was also
stunning, with wavy reddish, brown hair and muscles big enough to
be seen from space.

He's got to be my
mega-hunk,
Ginny thought.
Oh, the sex should be spectacular!

With a roar of animal proportions, the head
warrior raised his sword and started running into the keep. All the
men behind him raised their swords as well and began screaming.
Most of the men inside the keep were not prepared for the battle
that was about to begin and many of those closest to the gate doors
were mowed down in no time. Not wanting to be in the middle of the
action, Ginny turned around trying to find someplace to
hide.