until he was flush with the entrance of the dorm. If he was careful, he could sneak behind her and grab her without her knowing.
And then what? McGregor thought, momentarily morphing into a deer caught by the intriguing headlights of the girl. And then I’ll gag her and carry her to the car . His right hand patted his left hand’s wrist. He was wearing half a roll of duct tape, and feeling it there reassured him that he was now ready.
The girl looked light —maybe 110 pounds—and perhaps would even go willingly?
McGregor weighed his options: surprise or seduction?
He had a high opinion of himself with regard to the fairer sex, but his last two encounters hadn’t worked as well as he had hoped. He decided that the element of surprise would be better. After all, he didn’t have a history with this girl and developing a rapport would take time.
Leaving the shelter of the shadows, McGregor made his decision. Footfall after footfall seemed to grow louder and less natural than the noisy crickets and light wind. Perhaps it was just his seasoned ears overacting; she wouldn’t hear him. Closing over half the distance, the girl hadn’t turned save to flick a few ashes to the side.
He moved close enough to smell her smoke. It was intoxicating.
He was quiet, but suddenly not quiet enough. The girl turned around; he stopped. Their eyes met without a word exchanged between them. He crooked his neck slightly to one side. She dropped her cigarette, not bothering to snuff it out with the sole of her shoe. He began his final approach.
“ Who are you?”
He wanted to savor the moment without spoiling it with speech.
“What do you want?”
McGregor ’s mouth opened but he remained speechless.
She took a step back. He was between her and the dorm. The area was fairly well lit, but it was overcast and with the light behind him, he felt certain that she could not discern any of his features or his intentions.
She took off. She ran in a direction away from the dorm, but also away from the safety of the wooded park. This was unacceptable.
McGregor caught up with her quicker than he thought he would be able. Wrapping his arms around her, he stopped her advances as they tumbled to the ground.
It was her screaming that caused the back of his right hand to slam into her chin. This seemed to exasperate the situation. She was now screaming and kicking.
“ Quiet!” he said, pushing her to the ground. He peeled off a length of the duct tape from his wrist as she continued her attempt to squirm away from him. The boot on his right foot slammed down on one of her ankles keeping that leg at bay. His hand fell on her bloodied mouth, partially covering it with the tape.
She continued screaming somehow even louder through the gaps of tape and hand.
Ripping another piece of the tape from the roll on his wrist, he repositioned his legs in order to arrest the movement of her other leg. He applied the tape to her mouth more securely just as he heard some shouting behind him.
“ What the hell are you doing?!”
McGregor ’s head turned to see some guy running to disturb their intimacy. McGregor’s survival instincts overrode his sudden anger at being interrupted, and he jumped off the girl, sprinting to the woods. He continued to hear shouts behind him. The guy wasn’t alone and he was calling for more help.
As he entered the wooded area, McGregor risked one last glance behind him. He saw the girl being helped up by someone while two others were running full-speed for him. They looked athletic; McGregor at sixty-three was anything but athletic. Still, he had the advantage of a head-start and knowing where he was going through the dense woods.
The branches he had so carefully avoided during his initial approach tore into the skin on his arms and legs. The sounds of nature were completely silent; human sounds—angry human sounds had replaced them.
Every tree he passed seemed to be pointing its branches at him. He thought he heard
And then what? McGregor thought, momentarily morphing into a deer caught by the intriguing headlights of the girl. And then I’ll gag her and carry her to the car . His right hand patted his left hand’s wrist. He was wearing half a roll of duct tape, and feeling it there reassured him that he was now ready.
The girl looked light —maybe 110 pounds—and perhaps would even go willingly?
McGregor weighed his options: surprise or seduction?
He had a high opinion of himself with regard to the fairer sex, but his last two encounters hadn’t worked as well as he had hoped. He decided that the element of surprise would be better. After all, he didn’t have a history with this girl and developing a rapport would take time.
Leaving the shelter of the shadows, McGregor made his decision. Footfall after footfall seemed to grow louder and less natural than the noisy crickets and light wind. Perhaps it was just his seasoned ears overacting; she wouldn’t hear him. Closing over half the distance, the girl hadn’t turned save to flick a few ashes to the side.
He moved close enough to smell her smoke. It was intoxicating.
He was quiet, but suddenly not quiet enough. The girl turned around; he stopped. Their eyes met without a word exchanged between them. He crooked his neck slightly to one side. She dropped her cigarette, not bothering to snuff it out with the sole of her shoe. He began his final approach.
“ Who are you?”
He wanted to savor the moment without spoiling it with speech.
“What do you want?”
McGregor ’s mouth opened but he remained speechless.
She took a step back. He was between her and the dorm. The area was fairly well lit, but it was overcast and with the light behind him, he felt certain that she could not discern any of his features or his intentions.
She took off. She ran in a direction away from the dorm, but also away from the safety of the wooded park. This was unacceptable.
McGregor caught up with her quicker than he thought he would be able. Wrapping his arms around her, he stopped her advances as they tumbled to the ground.
It was her screaming that caused the back of his right hand to slam into her chin. This seemed to exasperate the situation. She was now screaming and kicking.
“ Quiet!” he said, pushing her to the ground. He peeled off a length of the duct tape from his wrist as she continued her attempt to squirm away from him. The boot on his right foot slammed down on one of her ankles keeping that leg at bay. His hand fell on her bloodied mouth, partially covering it with the tape.
She continued screaming somehow even louder through the gaps of tape and hand.
Ripping another piece of the tape from the roll on his wrist, he repositioned his legs in order to arrest the movement of her other leg. He applied the tape to her mouth more securely just as he heard some shouting behind him.
“ What the hell are you doing?!”
McGregor ’s head turned to see some guy running to disturb their intimacy. McGregor’s survival instincts overrode his sudden anger at being interrupted, and he jumped off the girl, sprinting to the woods. He continued to hear shouts behind him. The guy wasn’t alone and he was calling for more help.
As he entered the wooded area, McGregor risked one last glance behind him. He saw the girl being helped up by someone while two others were running full-speed for him. They looked athletic; McGregor at sixty-three was anything but athletic. Still, he had the advantage of a head-start and knowing where he was going through the dense woods.
The branches he had so carefully avoided during his initial approach tore into the skin on his arms and legs. The sounds of nature were completely silent; human sounds—angry human sounds had replaced them.
Every tree he passed seemed to be pointing its branches at him. He thought he heard
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