Extreme Therapy – 3

I stood in the water watching Craig walk back to where his friends were waiting. What am I going to do? I wondered. I mean, I have no way to get home at the moment, and I’ve been running around all day butt naked! Nobody even said anything to me! 

 

Waves continued to push me toward the shoreline, and I kept getting exposed. I would move back into the deeper water, only to be pushed forward again. Some wolf-whistles alerted me to the fact that a small crowd of boys were gathered at the edge of the water staring at me. Humiliation is a strange sensation. My face felt hot from blushing, but my body was shivering from fear. 

 

I moved back a little deeper so I could get covered again. Those boys, well a couple of them looked like they were in their 30’s! They kept watching to see when I would emerge and give them a show. Frantically, I looked around, but Craig and his friends were no longer in sight. Fuck!

 

I swam up the beach about 50’ or so before turning back toward shore. Only a few of the younger boys had followed along with me. There wasn’t much I could do about that. I walked on an angle, trying to make a way around them, but they kept walking ahead watching me the whole time. Their whistles turned to cheers as I came out of the water. They weren’t exactly blocking me from passing, but I would have to walk in between them in order to get by.

 

They moved slightly closer together as I approached, but there was still a space for me to squeeze between. I ended up having to turn sideways as I slipped between two guys who looked about my age. My right breast actually touched the chest of the one in front of me, which he commented on by saying, “Nice!” 

 

The guy behind me goosed my ass. I reacted with a hard smack across his cheek. It was one motion, I didn’t want to stop and make a deal about it. As I walked away, they didn’t seem to be following me. I did hear a couple of their comments though. One guy yelled out, “Can I have some fries with that milk shake?” I assumed that was the one who touched my breast. Another yelled, “Damn, how are we supposed to get that smell off of all these fish?” 

 

They all laughed, but I was too scared to go back and scold them for being assholes. Besides, there were a lot of other people on the beach. Some of them had taken notice of me, and I realized that several other men were now following me. I headed toward the boardwalk. That was the direction I though I saw Craig and his friends headed. 

 

My ‘admirers’ were closing in on me, and so I quickened my pace. There were three of them who sped up when I did, so I began jogging. I had to get away and I wasn’t exactly sure where my brother and his friends had gotten to. 

 

Ahead, the boardwalk led to a sidewalk as it turned into a town. I had been here before and knew that once I got to the sidewalk, it would lead to a strip of shops and restaurants. Jimmy had said they were headed to eat some lunch, so everyone must be in one of those. My pursuers were no longer gaining, but they weren’t falling behind either. A lot of other people took time to point out how bouncy my boobs are when I run. 

 

I felt another blush coming on, as I all but knocked down an 8-year-old boy when I sped past him. I heard his mom yell a profanity at me, but I didn’t have time to apologize. 

 

The little kids along the way always made sure to yell out, “Mommy she’s naked!” as I ran past. That ensured that everyone on the beach was alerted to my presence and all eyes stayed on my naked body. The guys who were chasing me kept calling out for me to slow down, that they just wanted to talk. I was not ready for any conversation with some freaks who would chase a naked girl down a beach. 

 

They WERE getting closer! I could hear their footsteps behind me. I was rapidly approaching an intersection and the light was red in front of me. Cars were streaming past. I thought I remembered a Pizza place we used to go to when we were kids, but it was on the other side of the intersection and I would have to wait for the light to change in order to cross. 

 

As I approached the intersection, I realized that there was no way to get past it so I made a hard right instead. I made the turn at full speed and ran right into a shirtless man. His chest was broad and he was tall. He wrapped his arms around me and I began screaming. I tried biting him and I heard him yell out, “Ouch Annie, that hurts!”

 

I looked up. Craig cradled me in his arms. My legs started to give way and he held me on my feet. “What is wrong with you? You’re trembling.” Craig said softly. 

 

I looked around, the three guys who had been chasing me ran past us when they saw me in Craig’s arms. He was bigger than all of them. “Where did you go?” I cried. I was so scared. “Why did you leave me alone like that?”

 

“You asked me to go, remember?” He said defensively. I did remember, and I didn’t ask. I screamed at him to leave me alone. I mean, who wants their brother talking to them when they’re naked? Just the same, I made sure to hold tightly onto his arm while we walked to the restaurant. 

 

As we walked, I could feel the eyes of all the people we passed. Men and boys were all staring openly, gaping mouths and not one of them said a thing while I held tightly to Craig’s massive arm. Women’s reactions varied from open support to hostility. The latter actively mocked me as I passed. I wasn’t offended at being called slut by a bunch of old ladies who probably graduated high school before I was even born. I was just glad my brother was there to keep the pervs away.

 

We got to the restaurant after a few minutes. The table that they had selected was a corner booth deep inside the restaurant. I suspected that Craig had asked for this table specifically. Normally he insists in sitting outside in the sun. 

 

Jimmy and Scott were chatting and laughing about something I didn’t hear, they didn’t noticed us until I had already slid into a seat and scooted in close enough that my boobs were now safely blocked from view by the table. Craig sat down next to me, which effectively blocked anybody walking past us from getting a clear look at how I was dressed, or undressed as it so happened. He played it off like I wouldn’t notice, and I wasn’t about to bring it up. But my big brother was protecting me, and I loved him so much for it.

 

At this point, with me at least mostly covered, I finally had a chance to exhale. Not literally, but I was so stressed since I had stepped back onto the beach. I hoped nobody noticed that I had been crying just a few minutes before. If they did, they didn’t mention it, thankfully.

 

Craig had order food for the two of us before he came to find me. Once it arrived, the four of us ate our lunch and continued talking. It was just burgers and fries, but I don’t think I have ever tasted anything so sweet and delicious as this burger. I had skipped breakfast, not knowing I would be heading out for the entire day. All of that volleyball took up most of my stored energy. Plus worry over being raped or worse also left me feeling quite empty inside.

 

If I wasn’t so hungry I would have ate slower. The problem was, once the food was all gone, it was time for us to go. Everyone else was getting up to leave, but I waited, trying to come up with some way to stall the inevitable. If I had my way, we would have stayed in that booth until nightfall and then taken the ferry home under the cover of darkness.

 

“Craig.” I said, formulating my plan as I spoke.

 

“What’s up sis?” He said, already standing and looking anxious to start the hike around the island. 

 

“Can I borrow your phone?” I asked, carefully.

 

“What’s wrong with…” He started before remembering that I had carried it with me into the ocean. “Oh, that’s right. I guess.” 

 

Craig unlocked his phone and handed it to me. “Thanks!” I said as I quickly popped out of the booth and sprinted into the lady’s restroom. Before the door closed, I heard him yell, “Don’t drop it in the toilet!” and for some reason Jimmy and Scott laughed. Did he seriously tell them? Jerk!

 

There were three women in the restroom all standing at the sink, taking with each other as I walked in. I headed straight into the first stall and closed the door. 

 

“What did I just see?” One of them asked. “What?” another replied.

 

“A naked girl just ran into that stall.” She said. “Miss, are you okay?” the last was almost certainly directed at me. I tried not to answer, but when they persisted, I only said, “Occupied.” 

 

They were still talking about me, but I was focused on my task. Fortunately, I kept Dr. Bough’s business card in my purse. I kept my thumb moving on Craig’s phone so it didn’t lock itself while I searched with my other hand. I dialed as soon as I found it.

 

“Hello, this is Dr. Bough.” She answered.

 

“Hi Dr. Bough, this is Annie.” I said.

 

“Did you get a new number?” She asked.

 

“No, this is my brother’s phone. Mine died, so I needed to borrow his.” I said sullenly. 

 

“Annie, did you make it home okay?” She asked.

 

“Home, I wish!” I said. “No, we are still on Catalina until tonight.”

 

“What? Ah.. why…” she began, trying to find the right question. “What did your brother say when you told him?” 

 

“I didn’t… that is, I didn’t tell him that you took me out of my hypnosis.” I whispered. Those women were still out there, and I didn’t want them to hear was I was about to ask.

 

“Why not, Annie. I’m sure he would take you home, or at least help you find something to wear.” She said.

 

“I can’t.” I told her. “If Craig knew that I knew he had brought me here naked like this… I don’t know if he would ever look me in the eye again.” 

 

I don’t know if any of that made sense to her, but she didn’t press further. Instead she asked, “What can I do for you then?” 

 

“Can you change me back?” I asked, hopefully.

 

“Change you back? You mean so you don’t know you are naked?” She asked.

 

“Yes, that exactly. If I have to be here, I want it to be like it was this morning.” I told her.

 

“I’m sorry, but it doesn’t work that way.” She said sadly. “At least not the way you are hoping for.” 

 

“What do you mean?” I asked.

 

“Well, I can’t make you forget you are naked. Your eyes clearly work. All I did was convince you that your nudity was normal. You knew you were naked, but you believed that was just how you were supposed to behave.” She explained.

 

That sounded right. When I first was brought out of my hypnosis, I wasn’t surprised to be naked. I was surprised that I came HERE naked. It was two realities merging, one where naked was normal, and the other where normal was normal. I had stepped from one to the other and experienced a culture shock.

 

“The problem is that now, especially now, you are too aware on a subconscious level that your being naked outside is absolutely not normal. It would take me weeks or even years to undo the damage that was caused when you were woken from your hypnosis the way you were.” She said. Dr. Bough didn’t sound sad exactly, but concerned.

 

“Is there ANYTHING you can do to help me get through today?” I asked.

 

“I ah…” She began and paused for an uncomfortable time. “I’m not sure it would be ethical for me to do anything in this state.” She told me.

 

“Please! I don’t care what, just make it so I don’t have to feel like a freak the rest of my life!” I told her.

 

“There is one thing that might help.” She told me. “Let me know when you are ready.”

 

I knew what that meant. The toilet in the restroom didn’t look very dirty, but just the same, I slid one of the seat liners out of the container and placed it on the seat. I then sat down, took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “Ready.” I told her, already closing my eyes for the next step.

 

Dr. Bough walked me through the trance exercise. Since my eyes were always closed when we did this in her office, it really felt about the same sitting her on a public toilet. I let go of all of my emotions, cleared my head and focused on one thing. Then I heard her counting from three backward down to one. Then…

 

“THREE!” Dr. Bough said. My eyes opened up.

 

“Wha?” I started. Looking around, I was still clearly naked and that was NOT normal. “Did it work? What did you do?” I asked.

 

“I couldn’t make you feel like being naked is normal. Not now. But I tried to implant the idea that it is okay.” 

 

“What’s okay?” I asked, unconvinced.

 

“Everything.” She told me.

 

“I don’t get it.” I told her.

 

“The ideas I planted in your head should help you feel more comfortable with reality. You can’t change everything, so you can accept the things you can’t change, right?” She said.

 

“Like that stupid prayer they say at AA?” I asked.

 

“Something like that. Instead of altering your perception of reality, I tried to help you accept it. That way you won’t be a nervous wreck the rest of the day. Plus, when you get home you will want to get dressed, so that is a big plus.” She told me.

 

“I think I understand.” I told her skeptically.

 

“This type of therapy doesn’t last long.” She said. “Nerves and worries have a way of overwriting this in your head after a while.”

 

“How long?” I asked.

 

“It depends on the person and the situation.” She confided.

 

“So… an hour?” I asked nervously.

 

“More than that, I’m sure. It could last days in a relatively stress free environment. For your circumstances, it might wear off after 12 hours or so. Tough to say.” She told me.

 

I thanked her for her help, though I didn’t see it as being helpful, and headed back out to meet Craig and his friends. They were waiting outside of the restaurant. 

 

I handed Craig back his phone, he said, “Took you long enough.” And poked me in the rib, not hard… more like a tickle. I poked him back and swatted his ass. We laughed and headed to the trail. 

 

The walk to the trail took about another 15 to 20 minutes. I remember passing by a number of people, and the occasional car drove by honking its horn. I didn’t really care now. It seemed like Dr. Bough’s treatment might have helped. I still was naked, I still wanted to get dressed. But until I was able to, things would be okay.

 

It was interesting seeing the guys we passed on the street though. With three huge football players as my escort, men and boys didn’t have the nerve to approach me or even make so much as a wolf whistle. But the expressions on their faces were priceless. I was genuinely being admired. Some of these guys were pretty hot too! And they were excited for a peek at ME. That honestly made me feel kinda good. I even caught my brother checking me out when he thought nobody was looking. Did my brother just…? OMG, and I can’t even tease him about it!

 

When we got to the trail, it was generally wide enough for two people to walk side by side, but with people coming down as we were going up, it meant we spent most of the walk single file. Scott was in front, then Craig, then me and finally Jimmy was last. My brother was wide enough that people walking past us on their way down couldn’t see me until the very last second. They would focus on me, their eyes would widen to the size of teacups, but before they could say something to me, they would see my brother and his friends and quickly look away. 

 

After a while, I started to have fun with it. I would step to my brother’s left when I saw people coming so they would have more time to focus on me. Then when they noticed me, I would duck behind my brother and not let them get another glimpse. Or I would ask for a break so we weren’t moving when the people passed by, giving them more time to stare. I tried every scenario I could think of, tease, flirt, hide. 

 

For about a mile, I pretended to be stretching my arms. I pulled my elbows as far back as they could go, which caused my breasts to stand out more firmly. Scott and Jimmy both noticed that one and Craig looked like a deer caught in the headlights, trying to figure out which way to run. Oh, I found a way to tease my brother after all. 

 

“Craig.” I said in a child’s voice.

 

My brother glanced back at me suspiciously, “What, sis?”

 

“My legs are tired.” I told him.

 

“So?” He asked. Too late though, I had already decided what I wanted to do. Bounding forward I yelled, “Piggyback!” as I jumped onto his back.

 

He had given me piggyback rides since we were little kids. I had done thing exact same maneuver to him multiple times. But this time it looked like he wanted to jump out of his skin. Fortunately, his muscle memory kicked in and he caught me just in time. I clung to his back with my breasts and bush pressed firmly into him. He had to feel it and it had to drive him nuts! 

 

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not into incest, but I will never get this chance again and to me this was so funny! He was awkward around me because I was naked. He can’t say anything to me because he thinks I am hypnotized. Now I can tease the shit out of him and he won’t even know I’m doing it on purpose. 

 

As Craig carried me, my breasts bounced softly against his back. I noticed that my nipples were getting hard. Craig must have noticed it too because he asked if I was cold. That did make me shiver for a second. Suddenly Craig set me down and motioned me to stop.

 

“Wait here.” He said. “I see some people I know up ahead.” 

 

He said it so casually, like it made sense that he didn’t want to introduce his baby sister to people he knows or something. If I was unaware of my present state, I might have argued, but all things considered I knew that he was going ahead to explain things to whomever it was before they could ask me about it.

 

“Okay.” I said. “I’m going behind that bush to pee.”

 

He looked at me weird, I normally don’t pee outside after all. “Nobody look!” I said as I stepped around to the other side of the bush.

 

I actually did need to pee. It took me a minute to check and make sure there were no snaked or spiders waiting to jump on me when I squatted down. It is an odd feeling peeing outside. Even after walking around naked all day, I just feel so unnatural urinating on the ground. By the time I had finished, I heard my brother and his friends talking with some girls. 

 

I stepped back into view and approached as casually as I could. “Annie, this is Tabitha and Heidi. This is my sister Annie.” Craig said.

 

“Nice to meet you, Annie.” Tabitha said sweetly. 

 

“Hi.” Heidi said, not so sweetly.

 

“Hi.” I told them. “I think I’ve see you at school before.”

 

“Hmpf.” Said Heidi. “I think I would remember seeing you!” 

 

Tabitha elbowed her softly and they both giggled for some reason. At least Tabitha was pretending to be nice to me, but it was pretty clear that they didn’t like me. I didn’t give it much mind, except that they decided they wanted to walk the rest of the way with us. 

 

I kept my distance as best I could. Tabitha was clearly flirting with Craig and Heidi was into Scott. Jimmy took the lead and I went second, followed by Craig, Tabitha, Heidi and Scott. When I would look back, they were occasionally walking side by side, but not always in the same pairing. Sometimes Tabitha would be walking next to Craig talking, with Heidi walking next to Scott. Other times Tabitha and Heidi were walking next to each other and Scott and Craig were either ahead of them or behind.

 

I did my best to ignore what they were saying to one another. Instead, I went back to my game of surprising other hikers. It was still fun to see the expression on their faces. I was starting to get turned on by the whole thing. 

 

I heard Heidi yell out, “Annie, think fast!” I’d seen enough volleyball practices turn into an ad hoc dodgeball game that my reflexes were to duck first and then look. Jimmy, on the other hand saw what was coming a moment too late. 

 

The blur that flashed over my head turned into a snake as it hit Jimmy in the shoulder and bounded off. His own reflexes kicked in and he jumped high and to the left. This was a mistake as the trail had narrowed right there. He slipped and began tumbling head over heels as he quickly descended the steep sandy slope into the bottom of the ravine.

 

Everyone was shocked at what just happened. After Jimmy finally came to a stop, we watched to see if he was moving. It was about a 60’ drop, mostly sand and small stones along the way with an occasional tree. He didn’t seem to be moving. Craig and Scott jogged ahead while the tree of us kept an eye on Jimmy.

 

“Who threw it?” I demanded. 

 

“Don’t look at us!” Heidi said coldly. “That thing must have fell out of a tree.”

 

“Nothing falls sideways!” I said, angrily. 

 

“Wind” Tabitha said. 

 

“He could be really hurt and you two are making jokes!” I scolded.

 

“The only joke here is you, slut!” Said Heidi.

 

I was taken aback. I got that some women didn’t like me being naked, but it was explained to them. Why were they such bitches about it? Well Heidi was at least. Maybe Tabitha was being nice to me because she likes my brother, but Heidi… I did my best to block out whatever they were talking about. Though I heard Heidi use the word “fake” a few times during all their ‘jibber-jabber’.

 

I continued watching Jimmy. Had he rolled over? I couldn’t remember if he was face down or on his back the last time I saw him. Somehow my brother and Scott had found a way to climb down there and were looking at their fallen friend. 

 

After a minute or so, Jimmy was on his feet, but he was standing weird. I saw Scott run off to the left and return after a few minutes. My brother waited with Jimmy and was doing something to his left arm.

 

I watched them for another 10 minutes before Scott returned. The three of them stood down there talking and I saw my brother head back to the right. I walked up ahead, keeping pace with him down below for about 50 paces. The drop had changed here from sand to rock. I watched as Craig scaled up the side of the cliff. He is an experienced rock climber, though I was quite terrified watching him hanging off the side of this rocky slope without a guide rope or any supports whatsoever. 

 

It took him less than 10 minutes to make it to the top. I didn’t noticed when Tabitha and Heidi had walked up behind me. They couldn’t have been there very long, or I would have heard them talking. It took a few minutes for Craig to catch his breath.

 

“Is Jimmy okay? I saw him get up, but is he hurt?” I asked, genuinely concerned.

 

“He’s a bit bruised, but the worst of it is a dislocated shoulder.” Craig explained. “There’s no way for him to make the climb back up here like that.”

 

“Well you’re not going to try carrying him are you?” I asked, incredulously.

 

Craig looked at me like I was an idiot. “No way we could carry his dumb ass up that cliff! Scott found a way back to the path that doesn’t require climbing. It should actually put us back near the beginning of the hike.” 

 

“So we’ll meet them there?” I asked. It didn’t seem right making Jimmy way for us with a dislocated shoulder and all, but at least we didn’t need an airlift or something.

 

“He really needs to get to a hospital to reset his arm.” Craig said. 

 

“I understand.” I nodded. Jimmy and Scott could head back and we’ll walk down together.

 

“Good, thanks for understanding.” Craig said before turning to Tabitha, “Can you please take my sister home?”

 

“Wait, what?” I asked. While Tabitha and Heidi shared an evil looking glance before announcing, “We’d be happy to!”

 

“Thank you so much.” Craig and immediately started heading back down the slope.

 

“Craig, stop. Don’t leave me here again!” I pleaded.

 

He turned back and saw that I was almost in tears again. Whatever Dr. Bough did for me, it seemed not to work without my brother nearby. At least I wasn’t near as confident I could complete this hike if he isn’t here with me.

 

“Sis, you’ll be okay. Tabitha and Heidi will take you home.” He assured me. 

 

“Why can’t we go together?” I asked.

 

“I really need to get Jimmy to the hospital.” He told me.

 

“Scott can manage.” I said.

 

“I drove, remember?” he asked.

 

Of course I remembered. I mean, it felt like a week ago, back when I still thought everything was normal and all. I nodded. “I’ll climb down with you then.” I told him. 

 

“I can barely make that climb. You never climbed anything outside of the gym, and half the time you need them to lower you with the rope.” He told me. It isn’t half the time… well, maybe half. 

 

Craig was right. I hated to admit it, but there weren’t a lot of options. Jimmy was lucky to have survived the fall and he’d be lucky if all he did was dislocate his shoulder. All I could do is watch with tears streaming down my cheek as my brother descended the cliff one more time and disappeared from sight.

 

I turned to follow Tabitha and Heidi, but they had already started walking up the path. I had to jog a bit to catch up to them and when I was about 15 paces behind, I slowed to a walk. They were taking me home, but there was no friendship starting. 

 

They seemed to be arguing about something. I heard Tabitha mention something about “Leave her.” I assumed they were talking about me, so I moved in a little closer to see if I could hear more. Heidi said something about “faking it” and Tabitha doubted anyone would fake something like that. Finally, they noticed I was right behind them and so they stopped so abruptly that I ended up walking into Heidi. 

 

So I am a 5’2” girl. On a good day I weigh around 118 pounds. I am reasonably fit, considering how much time I spend playing and practicing volleyball. Tabitha is about an inch taller, but probably weighs as much as me. For Heidi though, I’d guess she is at least 40 pounds heavier than Tabitha or I. It’s not that she is fat, but just thick. Where I wear a B cup, Heidi is at least a D. She also has hips like a grown woman and is maybe 5’6 or 5’7. 

 

So when I bumped into her, it felt more like she bumped into me. I bounced back a couple of steps and nearly tripped over my own feet in the process. “Watch where you’re going, faker!” Heidi yelled at me.

 

“I’m sorry.” I said. “I didn’t expect you to stop like that.”

 

“We should just leave you here!” Heidi continued. “It’d serve you right for being such a slut!”

 

I didn’t want to pick a fight with these two. I needed a ride home after all. I tried apologizing again, “I said I’m sorry!” 

 

“Sorry my ass. Fakers aren’t sorry for anything. Maybe you’ll be sorry if you have to walk home that way!” 

 

This wasn’t getting me anywhere. I decided to try a different tactic. Tabitha was the one who told my brother she would take me home. Besides, she did seem to be into him. She wouldn’t want to ruin her chances with Craig by abandoning his only sister.

 

“Tabitha, will you please take me with you?” I asked. 

 

Tabitha glanced at Heidi and then said to me, “I told your brother that I would take you home. Do you think I would lie?” 

 

“No, I…” This was a trap. “Thank you for agreeing to bring me home.”

 

“I don’t think you’re being honest.” Tabitha said coldly. 

 

“It’s true!” I told her. “I don’t think you would lie to my brother.”

 

“Is that all?” She asked. 

 

“I… Yes?” I didn’t know what she was asking about.

 

“So are you a faker?” She persisted.

 

“A faker? Fake what?” I asked, genuinely confused.

 

Tabitha looked over to Heidi who grumbled, “Oh she is so fake!”

 

This again wasn’t going anywhere, but there wasn’t another person I could turn to, so I waited for them to move on. “Well, you can’t prove it?” Tabitha asked.

 

“I would bet on it!” Heidi boasted.

 

“Really?” Tabitha asked. “What are the terms?”

 

“Like for like?” Heidi said questioningly.

 

Tabitha thought on it for a minute before agreeing “Like for like.” Whatever that meant.

 

“How long?” Tabitha asked.

 

“How long can we keep her?” Heidi asked.

 

The smile on Tabitha’s face was not at all friendly. I waited for the answer, but instead Tabitha turned back to me and said, “If you are coming with us, you need to be obedient. If I tell you to do something, you do it and if I tell you not to do something then you don’t do it. Do you understand?”

 

Obedient? Am I her dog now? This is not something I would normally agree to under any circumstance. But since I didn’t have a lot of options for getting home I agreed. I can be obedient for a couple of hours anyway.

 

“Okay, well, your first order is to walk ahead of us. Do not turn around to see how far back we are. I don’t want you listening to my conversation with Heidi, so you will be far enough that you can’t eavesdrop on us again.” Tabitha told me firmly.

 

I would rather walk behind them, so I can keep an eye on them in case they decide to ditch me. If I walk ahead and am not allowed to turn around, what happens if I get too far ahead? I wanted to argue, but I had just 10 seconds earlier agreed to be obedient. I wasn’t going to throw that away on this. If they ditch me, well, there are only 2 ways off of this hill and the way we are headed is by far the quicker. If they ditch me, I just have to wait until they come out the other side.

 

I nodded my agreement to Tabitha’s demand and began walking. I didn’t want to look back, but it was hard to not at least try. More hikers would be walking toward me, and I would monitor their sunglasses trying to catch a glimpse of my two stalkers. Now that I was walking alone, the men and boys on the hiking path were a lot bolder to try to talk to me. 

 

Without Craig there, I didn’t dare try flirting with them, and the erotic feeling I had when I felt safe had turned to fear of rape or kidnapping. To make things worse, every time I managed to get a glimpse behind me, there was no sign of Tabitha or Heidi. I continued walking to the bottom of the hill. 

 

There, I waited to see if Tabitha and Heidi would ever come out…