Tired. So tired. And yet as she drove home through the city, listening to Sweet Old World, she was afraid that she was not going to be able to get to sleep once her head hit the pillow. Life was too busy and there was just too much to think about. Her day was an endless series of interruptions, and it carried over to her thoughts every night as she tried to go to sleep. Try as she might, she just could not quiet her mind. She’d had the same problem as a girl – only then her thoughts bounced back and forth between cheerleading practice, her next debate tournament, a power struggle with her student council vice-president and whether this would be the year she would break the school record in the 400 meters. Sarah Jennings was a young woman in a hurry – then and now.

Only the race had changed. Now she was a woman, and the challenges were decidedly adult in nature. Trying to bill enough hours at her law firm so she would make partner a year, maybe two, before her peers. Hitting all the professional functions she could in order to network her way to more clients. Then there were the volunteer boards she served on – decent enough causes, all of them, but she knew down deep that she was only on them for appearances. It wasn’t that she had anything against the Sisters of Charity Hospital Foundation raising money, just that she was more interested in representing the hospital than the annual donation goal. To Sarah, life was nothing more than a series of encounters and confrontations. That was the life as a litigator trying to get ahead, she thought. I may not like it, but I know I’m doing it right. Some day life will slow down, she thought. Then she’d have plenty of time to enjoy it.

The city dissolved into suburbs without her noticing, her mind still jumping from meeting to meeting, problem to problem. A parade of elephants could have marched down the sidewalk as she was stopped at the light and it would not have registered. Finally she reached her corner and made the turn. The neighborhood was quiet. She liked that. People minded their own business, no “We’re neighbors so let’s be friends too” kind of shit. She liked that even better.

Sarah pulled the BMW into her garage and shut off the ingition. She took a deep breath, glad to be home. Gathering her briefcase off the passenger seat, she got out, thinking this would be the night she’d finally get some sleep.

But sleep came earlier than expected.

Before she got to her door she was grabbed from behind. Her mouth opened but the scream never got out – a cloth coming down over her mouth and nose with a strange smell. A sweet, rubbery smell from way back. Tonsils she thought, my tonsil operation…count backwards…. She was still struggling, her body reacting out of instinct as opposed to any rational, calculated thought. The person holding her was strong. There was no room to wriggle. She tried to kick but her leg felt like it was moving through water. The rubbery smell was stronger, becoming more a part of her. Her knees went soft and she felt herself slump. One more breath and then…nothing.

When she woke it was cold, or at least cool. She came to gradually, her mind trying to work backwards. The pieces were just not there. She remembered the struggle, but then…what? Her thought process was interrupted by the realization that she was naked. She was lying on a smooth, cold cement surface. She jerked up at this realization, and realized that she had been blinfolded. Effectively, too – there was not a glimmer of light coming in. And her wrists were, what? Some kind of cuffs, holding them together. Before she could scream, she heard a metallic click somehwere off to her right, then another.

Now she tried to scream, only to realize there was something in her mouth. A rubber ball, like one of her racquet balls, only harder. She mmmphed into the gag as she realized what the clicking was. A chain attached to her cuffs began to tighten, pulling her arms over her head. Slowly the chained tightened until her arms were raise over her head. The clicking continued, the chain growing taut again until she had to stand. But it didn’t stop there. Click, click, click. Jesus, she thought, not all the way, realized where this was headed. She went up on tiptoes, struggling to hold her ground. Click. She raised higher and listened, praying it would go no further. Click. Now she had no room left. Her calves were straining, her ribs drawn tight, belly hollowed. An image ran through her mind of how she must look, straining to hang on. To her relief, there were no more clicks.

“Welcome,” a male voice said. She turned to the voice, but when she heard it again it was on the other side of her. Whoever he was, he moved quietly. “You must have a lot of questions.” The voice was familiar, but she couldn’t quite place it.

“You’re probably wondering why you’re here,” the voice said. No shit, she thought. “I’ll tell you why you’re here. It’s time for you to just slow down a little. I decided you needed some help in that regard.”

Oh my God, she thought, it was him – the guy she’d gone out with for a drink a few weeks ago (a rarity for her.) He hadn’t called her afterwards, and she figured she had scared him off with all her talk about work and her problems. She had liked him, too. Good looking. Interesting (at least when she’d allowed him to speak.) But Jesus, what was going on here? He was obviously some kind of rapist. She was not used to fear, but the terror in her was growing. How could she possibly keep her cool in this situation.

“You see Sarah, your universe is just too big for you. I am going to shrink it for you. Until further notice, this is your universe. Just you and me, in this nice room I have gone to great lengths to prepare for your arrival. Now let me teach you the rules of this universe.”

Sarah shivered and pulled at her bonds. This guy was insane.

“Better fasten your seatbelt, as they say he in the movies,” he said. “Because it’s going to be a bumpy ride.”