The denizens of Black Peak must have collectively escaped from an insane asylum. There was no other explanation for their behaviour, nothing that made sense to Holly, and certainly nothing else to explain how she was bound, gagged and surrounded by puppets. There were at least a hundred of them, lining the walls of the dining room and beyond, as well as occupying the dozen other chairs around the table to stare at the helpless athlete as she struggled against her bonds. Some were wooden antiques from past centuries, others hand-stitched by unskilled but enthusiastic hands, but like the house in which they sat, all were falling apart, mould gnawing at the edges of cloth, paints faded, lifeless eyes cracked and chipped. Indeed, from what the pretty redhead had seen, all of Black Peak was like this, both the homes and people having seen better days.
Not that she felt sorry for the villagers, of course. Being kidnapped, tied up and then raffled off amongst them didn’t engender much in the way of sympathy, and again she thrashed about, hoping against hope she could loosen the ropes enough to get free. It was no use; the coils binding her wrists to the chair’s armrests, her ankles to its legs, and the length pinning her to the backrest at her midsection, all held as firm as they did when the gang of hollering inbreds first tied her up. Likewise, her screams for help went unheeded, left muffled by the leather muzzle gag and with only the row upon row of puppets present to hear her. The first helpless tears began to gather in her sharp green eyes, and not for the first time, she wondered how her friends and colleagues from the Mirabella Women’s University soccer team were coming along. Sara, Madison, Coach Kozuki… what dreadful fates were in store for them? Had any been lucky enough to escape?
The loud bang of the door to the kitchen opening interrupted her musings, and helpless fury kindled at her breast at the sight of her captor toddling in with the tea tray. “You must excuse me, my dear, it’s been too long since I’ve had guests, and I quite forgot where I left the silverware.”
“Mmmmpppggghhh! MMMPPPGGGHHH!” Holly screamed indignantly. On some level, she’d been lucky. More than a few of her teammates found themselves assigned to utter brutes, the sort of men who’d made their intentions clear for their prizes with every leering glance. By comparison, the doddering old woman she’d been given to was rather benign, though that didn’t stop the pretty athlete from making her outrage known, short red hair flying about in her struggles. “MMMMPPGGGHHH!”
“It’s just so nice to have company over, after all these years!” proclaimed the old woman, the first tears blossoming in her eyes. “My daughters ran away to the city and left me all here alone with only my puppets to look after me. Here, let me introduce you to them. This is Thaddeus, and this is Crystaline, and this is Reginald.”
“Nnnggh, mmmppgghh! MMMPPPPGGGHH!”
“Don’t you be like that, girl. It was so nice of my neighbours to tie you up, and I don’t want their good work to go to waste. How about some tea? It’s a special blend of my very own.”
“Nnnggh!” Holly protested again. No, she wouldn’t be a slave for anyone, even some deranged old woman with puppets on what was left of her brain. “MMMPPPGGGHHH!”
“You really are just like my daughters, aren’t you? Selfish and ungrateful. Fear not, you’ll be staying with me a while, time enough to learn some protect respect…”