Shain

Something was wrong with my jailer, kidnapper, or whatever you wanted to call him. He was acting as if it was Christmas, and he got his presents early. He came into the room where he had me secured yet again to the wire fence on the floor. My request to be tied to something less painful had been denied a second time. The only thing he changed was instead of tying my wrists spread apart. He tied them together above my head. What he didn't notice was that there was a piece of loose wire, and the sharp end was barely sticking out. With my hands in this position, I was able to rub the zip tie back and forth across it. I'd been working on it for the last ten minutes, but I had to stop since he just walked back in.

"It's almost time, Shain. Soon, they'll be here, and they'll see why they should've never done what they did. Just like you, they'll pay."

"How do you know they'll be here?"

"Because I called and told them where to come. The Regulators made it by my deadline. Now, be a good girl and be quiet. I have to concentrate."

He left the room only to return a couple of minutes later. I watched in utter horror as he carried in a large red plastic can with a nozzle and began to spread gasoline all around the room. Oh my God, he was planning to burn it down, and something told me he was leaving me inside when he did it. As he worked, he talked to himself.

"Yeah, they'll suffer. I'll make them watch as she burns to death, and there's nothing they can do to stop me. Then, when they think it can't get any worse, I'll make them suffer, too. They'll regret ever making fun of or hurting me. Do this. Do that. Can't you do anything right? Clean up the mess. It was bad enough I had to bow down to them, but the women and her… She was nobody, a slit. She wasn't a patched member. Just because her cousin was in the club, she got to act like she was somebody. Well, they'll see how wrong they were about Gilly."

As soon as I heard the name Gilly, I knew who he was. I clamped my mouth closed to keep in my gasp. I didn't want him to look my way. I resumed sawing on the ties. I had to get free. He would set the fire before they ever had a chance to get here and rescue me. I had no idea where we were, hence, no idea how long before they would be here. If he was doing this for the reason I now suspected he was, he was insane.

As I worked, I studied him. The hair color was right although it was a different style than he had in the past. The lines on his face were deceptive. I thought he was in his late thirties or early forties, however knowing who he was, I knew he had lived a hard life which prematurely aged him. He was in his early thirties.

I poked myself a few times, drawing blood, but I kept going. He was in the far corner when the ties gave away. Holding my arms in place as if they were still secured, I wiggled my fingers. I knew I'd have only one chance to get away. In order to make the most of it with the best chance of success, I would need to incapacitate him, not merely run. Which meant I had to get him closer.

"Please, you don't need to do this. I'm not ready to die. Please tell me what to do, and I'll do it. Just don't kill me," I sobbed. I made a big production of sniffing, and I even made my eyes fill with tears. My gut told me he'd get off on seeing me cry and beg.

His head snapped around, and he tossed the gas can down as he came closer. I saw the smile on his face. Yep, I was right. I sobbed harder and moaned pitifully. "I just got engaged. I'm in love."

He laughed maniacally and rubbed his hands together. He actually danced in place. "Oh, poor little Shain, she thought she deserved to get a happily ever after. Ha, ha, the joke is on you. You deserve nothing but pain, terror, and humiliation. Just imagine what everyone will think. The big bad firefighter died in a fire, the irony of it. And the bikers who came to her rescue were tragically lost as well. No one will know the truth, and I'll slip away to move on to a new town to start all over again."

"You're a monster! Why would you ever be an arsonist after you were burned like that?"

"Oh, the fire that caused this happened way after I had my first taste of flames and discovered how beautiful fire can be. This was just a slight miscalculation. Perfecting one's craft is never without risk. It was worth it. You should know this as a firefighter."

"I'm a firefighter because I want to save lives, not take them. I don't go around setting them intentionally to destroy property and harm innocent people. I don't do it so I can claim to be a hero or to boast."

"Oh no, Shain is too perfect to do anything like that. She walks on water. She can do no wrong. Do you think your precious Regulators are saints? Well, let me tell you, they're not. They've done bad things and have killed people. Your cousin and his club are full of devils who need to be purged. I should get a medal for eliminating them from this world."

He'd crept even closer as he got into his crazy spiel. He was standing only a couple of feet away. I needed him nearer before making my move. I had to make him angry enough to launch himself at me. Praying he would and not just light the place up, I took a deep breath, sent a silent prayer up, and let him have it.

"You're a disgusting weasel of a man. You're a coward. No wonder the Regulators did what they did. They didn't want someone like you around. You'd tarnish everything they stand for. They're not saints, but they're not the killers of innocents either, not like you. You don't deserve a medal. You deserve to be kept away from decent people. God, listening to your whining is making me sick," I hissed at him as I sneered.

I watched as his glee changed to astonishment, then to anger, and his face flushed red. A snarl was my only warning before he launched himself at me. I braced myself. The howl he gave reminded me of a wounded animal. As he reached me with his hands out to wrap around my throat, I made my first move. I swung my hands up and jabbed my thumbs as hard as I was able into both of his eyes. The squishy feeling was gross, but it didn't stop me. He screamed in pain and stumbled back with his hands over them. I rolled off the fencing and got to my feet.

I didn't run away. Instead, I ran to grab a long piece of wood I had spied earlier. Coming back with it, I slammed it into the back of his legs, causing him to drop to his knees, then I hit his back and finally the back of his head. I put as much force as I was able behind the swings. They weren't my strongest, but they did the trick. He slumped over on his face and lay there unmoving.

Not taking a chance he was faking it, I hastily tore the gun from his waistband. He didn't move. Cautiously, I kneeled to check his pulse. It was beating steadily. Not wasting my precious time, I frantically searched for something to use to tie him up. I found more zip ties lying on a nearby box. I used them to secure his wrists together behind his back and then his ankles together. Since he was too heavy for me to move him to a place where I'd be able to tie him to something, I brought his arms and ankles as close together as possible and zip-tied all four together. He resembled a trussed-up steer.

Feeling exhausted, I sat down to wait. I had no way to get back to the compound, and if what he said was true, the Infidels and Regulators were coming here. All I had to do was wait for them to arrive. Meanwhile, I wasn't taking my gaze off him. No way was I taking a chance on him getting away. As the minutes ticked by, I sat there thinking of what to do with him when the cavalry came.