.talithatemplate strong {font:9pt Georgia; font-weight:bold; line-height:0.8em; letter-spacing:-1px;}
</style>
[/html]
She shivered as the screams sounded again. It was like she was trapped in a world where a brainwashing company was too cheap to buy several tapes, so the victims saw the very same images hundreds of times each day. She replayed it, each time crystal clear as if she was there yet again; she must have been raped five thousand times since the actual violation. Every muscle in her body spasmed as she shuddered and curled tighter into a ball, her bushy tail pressing hard against her hindquarters as she hid her head between her forelimbs and her chest. Why her? What had Andrezej wanted with her specifically? His goal had not seemed to be just to rape any female he came across. It had definitely been here who had been chosen.
She moaned quietly as she unfurled. Sleep still wasn't coming to her; she felt like she had boundless energy but was tied down by the knowledge that going too far by herself might coax him out of the shadows for another round. Talitha shivered again as she thought of him hiding in waiting for her, and he stood up slowly and dragged herself away from her circle drawn in the sand. Her father was usually around, keeping a watchful eye on her — what would have happened to her poor dad if Andre had killed her? — but all she felt when he was around was guilt. If she had never gone to Dahlia de Mai and got captured, there was a chance it never would have happened and she wouldn't have had to worry Gabriel so badly.
She moved, but she moved like a dead body animated. Her feet dragged through the sand and her head hunched down helplessly. She looked as if she could collapse in any second, and it was likely that she would if she went too far. Fatigue and hunger were getting to her, but she couldn't force herself to eat and she absolutely could not sleep soundly at all.