Alex stumbled, blindly, over dead tree stumps and wavering branches. She could feel her heart thudding in her chest, her breath quickening and her pace slowing. Her legs ached and the rope cut into her flesh.

It was dark, and cold. Goosebumps crawled up her bare arms, and her tank top was plastered to her back, clinging with sweat. Halting next to a tree, she strained to listen for footsteps. When she heard none, she breathed a sigh of relief, convinced that her captors had given up.

She pressed her back up to the cool tree trunk, taking rapid breaths. Alex knew she was lost, no matter what - it had felt as if the men had driven for at least an hour that afternoon. And she knew that Summer Hill was a very remote town, all the same.

It seemed like a decade ago that she had been safely surronded by fellow civilians. It seemed even longer since she had actually eaten. What where they planning on doing, starving her to death? And who exactly were ‘they’? What did they want?

Alex closed her eyes, willing herself to imagine that she was a million miles away from here. Tears spilled from her eyes as she painfully remembered the sight of her boyfriend, Jeffrey, in bed with her Bianca. Alex had wanted to surprise Jeffrey for their three month anniversary with a romantic trip to Sydney. However, when she had driven home to Grafton to surprise him with the tickets, she’d gotten a bit more then she’d bargined for.

That had been a week ago. Since then, Jeffrey had left an overwhelming thirty – nine messages on her voice mail, and another twenty – one on her answering machine in her dorm room. Her room had quite often been filled with flowers baring notes which pleaded forgiveness, which Alex had immediantly donated to the Theatre Hall. Those had been the times when she’d never wanted to see him again.

Now all she wanted was to be with him – at least she had been safe, if only under false pretences, in Jeff’s arms.

Alex suddenly felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. Her body stiffened, and her breath caught in her throat.

‘C’mon, Baby. I promise I won’t hurt you. I love you,’

She knew that voice, she realised.

Alex squeezed her eyes shut in a vain attempt to block out the images of Tim, the man who called himself her lover, the man who promised he’d never leave her.

Jeffrey’s brother.

‘I’d never cheat on you, Mac. I love you- I’ve always loved you.’ Tim called through the darkness.

She remembered the feel of his hands when he’d touched her. They were cold – the hands of a killer. Alex’d recoilded, and he’d slapped her.

Then he raped her.

The first time Alex had had sex with Tim, just before Jeffrey had asked her out, it had been sweet. Tender. Loving.

Now he was just cold, hard – not in the pleasurable sense of the word – and unfeeling.

Alex sucked in a deep breath and gently pushed herself off the tree when strong arms encircled her, knocking her sideways to the ground.

Tim rolled Alex onto her back, his hungry eyes boring into hers.

‘Please,’ Alex croaked. ‘No,’

Tim didn’t reply. He pulled a knife from his pocket and cut through the ropes that bound her fists, pressing them against his chest. He pulled his pants down and ran his hands down her body and slipping them underneath her skirt.

Alex closed her eyes, sobbing, as he pushed himself into her. ‘Please stop,’ she begged. Tim would not listen. In a rage, she began to beat him with his fists, screaming at him. ‘Sotp it!’

Tim grabbed her arms and held them to the ground, thrusting even deeper until she could feel herself begin to bleed.

Tears streamed down Alex’s face and Tim leant forward, kissing her tears away.

‘I love you,’ he whispered in her ear, inhaling the scent of her Chanel perfume.

‘Stop saying that,’ she spat at him. ‘You have no idea what love is. What it means to love someone.’

Tim slowly withdrew, and hoistered up his pants. He looked at her and shook his head. ‘No, you have no idea what it feels like to watch the person you love get it on with your brother.’

‘You’re disgusting,’ Alex said. ‘I could never love you. Not if you were the last person on earth.’

Tim smiled knowingly and bent down to pick his prize. Suddenly, Alex lashed out and kicked him in the stomach. Grunting, he fell back as Alex scrambled to her feet. It felt nice to move her hands around. She began to run once again, pushing her way through overgrown bushes and hanging branches. Alex quickly glanced back, and suddenly tumbled, not realisingh that she had reached the top of a hill which lead to the main highway.

She screamed, and made failing attempts to cover her head.

Alex’s heart began to beat faster, as she made out the sound of a car coasting along the highway towards her, yet there was nothing she could do to make herself stop.

Helplessly, she rolled onto the road, screaming, hoping, praying that someone would hear her.

The car stopped, and she heard the door open.

Footsteps crunched on the loose gravel, making their way towards her.

‘You’re too much trouble, little one,’ a male voice whispered in her ear.

Alex’s eyes flew open as the voice fell upon her ears, and she turned cold with fear. It was one of her captors.

She heard the shot of the gun, but felt no pain.