The Abduction Of Stephanie

By N.J Salupo

Walking home from Cheerleading practice Stephanie never could have known what was coming next. Abducted and tortured at the hands of a sadistic man wanting revenge for the hazing of his only daughter, Stephanie fights to survive, hoping to make it out alive and in time for Prom, her heart being her only key to survival. Can she force herself to love someone so dark and twisted or will she become his prey?

• Language: English
• Publisher: N.J Salupo
• Release date: Mar 28, 2015
• ISBN: 9781507090152

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

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Stephanie can hear the breathing of her captor. With the creaking of the stairs she knows he is getting closer. What is he going to do to me? She wants to run, but can’t. Her naked body is restrained, chained to a wall. She wants to scream, but the gag in her mouth won’t allow her to. Why is this happening? Why now? She should be at home relaxing. Tomorrow will be her eighteenth birthday, and her Daddy has promised to buy her a brand new cherry red Corvette. Instead she is locked up in a cold, damp, basement. The room has a familiar smell to it, almost as if she has been there before.

Moments from now she could be dead. She would miss her Prom. Stephanie is most definitely a shoe in for Prom Queen. She would miss her graduation. She wouldn’t get to go to college. Stephanie has gotten a full scholarship to Yale, but none of that matters now. She can see the piercing blue eyes of her captor staring at her. He is standing before her now, tears roll down her eyes, as she fears the worst. She is shaking, partly from fear and partly from being cold. The room is dark, making it impossible to identify him by anything other than his eyes or height. He isn’t very tall, maybe five foot five or six, a good four inches shorter than Stephanie. "Is he just going to stand there and stare at me? Is he going to kill me? If he is going to kill her, she just hopes it will be as quick and painless as possible.

Stephanie has no idea how she got here. All she can remember is walking home from Cheerleading practice. She tries hard to think but her head hurts. It feels like she has been struck by something. She again tries to break free from the chains but no luck. She wants to go home. She wants to see her Mom and Dad; she wants to see her friends. She has to get out of here. You’re not going anywhere, says the man.

Ray! Dinner! calls a screechy female voice. The woman shuts the door at the top of the stairs. Help! Help! Stephanie again tries to yell; the ball gag still in her mouth prevents her. She hopes the woman upstairs will come and save her. No luck. Screaming isn’t going to work. She has to find a way to free herself from the chains. Screaming isn’t going to help you little lady. This room is soundproof. Ray picks up a pair of drumsticks and bangs away at an old set of drums in the corner. He chuckles and heads upstairs to wash up for dinner. Stephanie is safe for now.

Alone in the basement, Stephanie’s eyes adjust to the darkness. Still shivering, she looks around the room, a pit growing in her stomach as what seems like days without food settles upon her. In the left corner of the room she can see a bed. The mattress is exposed with no sheets to cover it. On the other side of the room across from the mattress she can see a workbench. There is a saw sitting on top of it. "If only I could reach that saw thought Stephanie. What happened? How did I get here?" Her head begins to throb in pain as if she had been hit with a Louisville Slugger. A glimpse of earlier that evening passes through her mind. She can picture a car, a tan car of some kind. There are two people in it. That’s all she can remember.

While Ray is upstairs having dinner, Stephanie has to focus on her escape. She knows it will only be a matter of time before she sees him again. She trembles, fearing his return. She again tries to free herself from the chains, but there is no possibility of breaking free. There isn’t anything useful within reach to cut them off. She is forced to stay put, chained to the wall, her naked body exposed, freezing, starving. She again begins to cry. "My boyfriend Billy hasn’t even seen me naked yet but some strange man has, thinks Stephanie. Feeling disgusted, a nauseous Stephanie tries hard to keep herself from throwing up. She can barely hold it in. She again tries to scream, knowing it won’t do her any good. Why won’t he just let me go?"

A door opens; Stephanie again hears the creaking of the stairs. Ray is walking down them, carrying something that looks like a doggy dish in his right hand, the left hand gripping a sharp object. Ray sets the dish down in front of Stephanie. It is filled with ground meat. You must be hungry. He looks her in the eyes and says If you promise not to scream, I will remove your restraints so you can eat. Do you promise not to scream? I promise, says Stephanie in a muffled voice. Ok, but one sound and I cut your throat. Do I make myself clear? Stephanie nods. Ray begins to undo the restraints and as soon as the gag is free of her mouth, Stephanie lets out an ear-piercing scream. Ray presses the knife against her throat and says, I wouldn’t do that if I were you princess". Stephanie falls silent, more scared than she has ever been in her entire life.

Ray puts a collar around her neck and unchains her rail-like frame from the wall. Get down on all fours shouts Ray. Stephanie reluctantly obeys. Why are you doing this? Stephanie asks. Because I can, says Ray. He is behind her now; she can hear him breathing heavily. He is holding the collar by a chain as if Stephanie were a dog. Stephanie braces herself, knowing what’s coming next. Only it doesn’t happen, at least not yet. Her virginity is still intact. Eat says Ray. I’m not eating that shit, says Stephanie. You’ll do as I say," commands Ray, pushing Stephanie’s head towards the dish of ground meat. Her blonde curls fall in front of her pale white complexion, which is nearly in the food. She feels a hard slap on her behind, leaving an angry red imprint of Ray’s hand. Knowing she has made him mad, her bottom stings with the heat of an erupting volcano.

Stephanie’s heart beats with signs of tachycardia. Plunging face first into the doggy dish, she knows she must do whatever it takes to survive. The smell of the food alone is almost unbearable, to the point of passing out. Eat every last drop and lick the plate mutt! Nibbling at the only source of food she has, her gold locks get immersed in her mouth as well, adding an even worse taste to an already bland stew of ground beef.

The food covers her face as she forces herself to take larger bites, smearing what is left of her makeup. Ray roughly pulls her hair back and gives another command. I said lick the plate! The edge of a cool blade is again at her throat. He presses harder this time, leaving a tiny scratch before taking it away. Stephanie does as she’s told and places her tongue to the bottom of the red bowl. Good girl. I’ve wanted another pet for awhile now. You must be thirsty. Where are my manners? I’ll get you some water. He chains her leash to a hook on the wall and heads back up the rickety old stairs. "Now is my chance to get away," thinks Stephanie.

Stephanie claws at the collar with both hands but this only causes her to choke. She pulls the chain trying to pry it from the wall; this doesn’t do anything but hurt her ordinarily smooth hands. She crawls as far forward as she can, trying to reach an object, any object, hopefully something strong enough to cut through the leather collar. She pats the different areas of the floor with her hands but there is only concrete. "There has to be a way out of here. She wants to scream but remains unexpressed knowing no one will hear her. Frustrated, she again tugs at the collar but it won’t come loose. So this is what it feels like to be a pet."

Ray returns with a bowl of water. This bowl has some sort of lettering on the front but she can’t make out what it says in the darkness. She laps up the water rather quickly, quenching an extreme thirst. Another glimpse crosses her mind. She can better picture the man and woman in the tan car. The man is frail with gray hair and a moustache; he is wearing a blue flannel shirt and an old pair of jeans. The woman has a more apple-like frame and is old beyond her years. She too has gray hair and her teeth are a crooked yellow.

Stephanie’s thoughts are interrupted by Ray’s voice. It’s getting late. It’s about time for bed. "There is no way I’m going to bed with him. I don’t want his grimy hands all over me, thinks Stephanie, picturing the mattress in the corner. My father will come looking for me and when he does you’ll be in big trouble. Ray laughs, and says Your father? How is the good doctor? Stephanie is terrified. He knows my father. How does he know my father? He won’t save you. He cares much more about his patients than his bratty little teenage daughter." The words cut into her like knives, as she knows what he says is true, even if she doesn’t want to believe him. A speechless Stephanie curls herself up in a ball on the floor and the water works begin all over again.

She isn’t there for long as she feels a hard yank on the chain, pulling her backwards. He stands her up and as is about to chain her up to back basement wall again. He pushes her. She shoves him back, further angering him. He holds the knife in his right hand and brings it towards Stephanie. She is able to hold his arms away, preventing him from stabbing her. She continues to struggle with him but for a man with his small stature, he is surprisingly strong. He handcuffs her to the wall with her hands spread apart above her head. He puts more chains around her ankles, spreads her legs and hooks them into the wall.

Stephanie is unable to move; already missing the freedom that being on the dog leash had allowed her. Say Goodnight Master. An angry Stephanie wants nothing more than to punch him in the face, how dare any guy treat her that way. Say it! shouts Ray, brushing the knife against her cheek. Good night Master says Stephanie in a sarcastic tone. Rays shoves the gag back into Stephanie’s mouth, choking her. He grins, kisses her forehead and leaves the room to get some shuteye.

CHAPTER 2

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She walks into class at Prince High, her frumpy black hair tied atop her head with a rubber band. A small strand covers her left ear and some more of her nest is stuck between a thick pair of bifocals. She hasn’t been blessed with good looks, height or even boobs for that matter. Her backpack houses a steady array of large books, necessary for a full schedule of honors classes. The bell rings and Agnes Bumgarner is about to face her classmates for the first time since the incident.  

The whisperings of an immature student body behind her back have already started. Look at frump girl. What is she wearing? I can’t believe she showed her face here again. Do you think it’s true? Doing her best to block them out, Agnes crosses her legs underneath her plaid skirt, takes a notebook and a freshly sharpened pencil from her bag and is ready for a lesson on the Cold War. She can’t help but notice an empty desk in the back of the room. A desk normally occupied by the student she hates the most, Stephanie Saunders. Stephanie and her gang of blonde bombshells always teased and tormented Agnes.

Agnes hasn’t had any real friends since elementary school or been on her first date, and her lips are still absent of their first kiss. There was a time when it almost happened, she was thirteen and during a game of spin the bottle she closed her eyes and puckered up for her first kiss but only ended up smooching Billy Williams’ frog. This was only a small thing in a life filled with embarrassment and humiliation for Agnes Bumgarner.

Agnes isn’t like other girls and never was. She is not obsessed with shopping, couldn’t care less about the latest fashion trend, and isn’t impressed by boys with fast cars. She doesn’t gossip to friends over the phone late at night or make appointments to get her nails done. She has no interest in social media, isn’t intrigued by the newest version of the iPad and only has a cell phone for emergency contact with her parents.

Agnes is interested in more important things like math and science and world history, and prefers reading books to watching movies. She hopes one day to become a brain surgeon as she is fascinated by all elements of the brain and how it makes humans act they way that they do. She is determined to reach her academic goals, after all, in a world without friends, it really is all she has going for her.

The whisperings die down as Mr. Klein begins the history lesson but the normally astute Agnes can’t seem to block out the events of weeks earlier. She will never forget that night as long as she lives; it was undoubtedly the worst night of her life. Grabbed and dragged into the woods without warning, Agnes kicks and screams and begs for her life to be spared but the arms around her are much too strong, preventing escape.

As they get deeper into woods day turns to night. The woods are quiet without even the sound of a chirping bird, and the few trees that have blossomed in the spring, tower above her like human shadows in the dark. Give me your clothes, says her captor. No! screams Agnes. Agnes feels a hard slap across the face and is punched in the stomach. A bandana is placed in her mouth to silence her. You will do as I say!

That’s when she sees three others coming towards her. She knows something awful is going to happen. Agnes claws and scratches, her delicate frame beat on blow by blow. She digs her nails into the ground trying to escape but is pulled back by her ankles. Her clothes are ripped off one article at a time. First her sweater vest and then her blouse, next her bra, exposing her flat chest to the world. Her skirt is taken after that and she watches bug eyed as it’s burned with a cigarette lighter. Still kicking and screaming through the muzzle of the bandana, tears roll down her face as her panties are ripped apart and burned along with the skirt. She hears the crunching sound of her glasses being stepped on, and then is yanked up by her hair and dragged into the Juniata River.

Agnes struggles for air, flailing her arms, trying to reach the surface but can’t get up as one of her captors has their foot firmly planted on the top of her head. Finally she is let up and a voice says, What happened Agnes? You are all wet. It’s much too cold a day to go for a swim. And where is your bathing suit? No one goes skinny dipping by themselves. The other captors break out in laughter. Agnes stares back, the look of a vigilante killer in her eyes, before