Dark Sand

31 - Hunting you down...

Sex is essentially a bodily function controlled by chemicals and like most bodily functions, it depends on how these things are balanced.

Dominic had me on a clean healthy diet, I spent most of my time exercising in one way or another and had a regular dose of serotonin. He had me on a regime that promoted a high sex drive so I was always ready and willing. It was sick really and I soon came to realise that.

I remember that I was desperate when he finally let me outside; gulping air as if I hadn't tasted it in years. I took a long deep breath and smiled. Then my necklace beeped as Sand turned it on with the remote. I have no idea how he managed to find a dog shock collar that didn't have an off switch on the device itself and buckled together with a code. It must have been a custom made device or a rigged Asbo anklet. I was still sure I could get it off with a blade of some kind if needed.

"If you're not back in two hours, I'm hunting you down," Sand said, way too satisfied with himself.

"And what am I supposed to tell people about this thing around my neck?"

"You won't see anyone around here. This is all private land and many miles away from anything or main roads."

"How many miles?" I asked, he just gave me a look. I wasn't about to get information that way.

"The device beeps rapidly when you come close to the perimeter so you will have warning, should you take it."

"Great," I mumbled but my irritation couldn't hang around for long as I bounded down the stone steps and ventured into the woods.

"Just be careful of the ravine, it's hard to see sometimes," he called to me. I half expected him to follow me and for the first half-hour walking, I jumped at every rustle and breaking branch.

I needed to get away and breathe. It had been 3 days since his very aggressive treatment of me. He was never apologetic but he was far more gentle afterwards. He didn't take me the next night or the one after that and my body started to miss him which made me feel sick.

I cleared my head in the fresh air and picked up my pace. I even ran for a bit but my fitness level when it came to endurance was nowhere near what it needed to be. I could only manage about 15 minutes before my muscles gave in. If I was going to ever escape Sand, I needed to fix that as soon as humanly possible.

I jumped when my neck beeped at me and froze. I cautiously took a few steps back. When nothing happened, I stepped forwards again and it buzzed again. I had reached the boundary line very quickly and was disappointed that there was nothing which had indicated civilization. I shouldn't have expected there to be. He wouldn't have set a two mile perimeter only for me to reach a town or road.

Sand had said the land was extensive, but there must be something just outside the 2 miles, otherwise why not make it longer? I would follow the actual road next time and see if I could see a main one leading off from it.

I stared at the space ahead of me, imagining a large force field blocking my path. Part of me wanted to run headlong towards it, but I wasn't that brave...yet.

Still, defining the boundary seemed like a good idea, and finding a hiding spot where I could start sneaking out supplies for my final escape was also a priority. The closer to the boundary the better so I could run unencumbered as far as possible before picking it up.

Ideally, I would be able to steal the motorbike I saw in the garage for most of the way, but I needed a plan B, just in case, and of course a plan J Julie would be proud of.

I made a mental note of my plan I was beginning to form as I started to mark out the boundary, creating landmarks by bending tree branches around one another to grow that way but still looking semi natural to an untrained eye.