Veronica's Bound for Misery, Part 1
Story by JimmyGarcia
Story by JimmyGarcia
Posted tuesday 218 views
Veronica's Bound for Misery
Veronica whimpered. Her strained eyes watched as the needle on the fuel gauge wiggled beside the low fuel light and teetered closer and closer past the empty line. She'd been staring at it for the last fifteen miles, ever since the threatening orange glow had flickered on.
With only $55, a dying phone, an empty pack of cigarettes, and about 300 miles between her and a potential couch to crash on in Portland, Veronica had hoped to cross the state line into Oregon before her next fill-up.
She knew it wasn't likely, but that delusion sounded better than the lie that got her into this mess in the first place.
"No, no no!" Veronica groaned as the gas light started to flash.
Frigid dread washed over her as she stared out into the barren interstate ahead, seeking any exit signs amidst the infinite darkness of midnight.
Her high beams were on, but the dense wilderness of Northern California swallowed the light and only fueled Veronica's uncertainty.
The chewed fingernails on her right hand danced along her turn signal switch while her nervous lips hummed a pitiful tune, another soliloquy that pleaded with fate.
Maybe it could manifest an upcoming exit? Could something in her life go right for once?
She had hummed that same pleading bargain months ago. Back then, it was into her phone rather than her steering wheel. It was a text message. Words she had no reason to trust but was desperate enough to believe.
The message had been an offer from a "casting agency" to model.
"Just need you in a bikini for a music video. $1000 for each day of shooting!"
Veronica had hoped that it was her ticket out of the trailer park her family had called home sinceforever. The "agent" claimed that she had the "look". All she had to do was drive down to LA, and he would reimburse her entire trip.
Somehow, she'd wound up packing her bags and had driven across the country before she considered whether it was common for casting agents to scout for talent on adult cam sites.
"Oh, thank god!" she exclaimed with renewed hope as she drove down the desolate interstate.
Down the road, her headlights reflected on a hint of civilization.
<strong> *SHASTA CITY*</strong>
<strong> *EXIT IN 1 MILE*</strong>
Her eager blinker clicked in sync with the flashing gas light as she rolled down the exit ramp. The first station right off the exit was a promising oasis of bright lights.
As usual, her fortune quickly fizzled away as she drove closer and noticed two police cruisers, one parked and the other idling by the air pump.
Being a runaway wasn't a crime. She was 21 after all. Yet, having a stolen temporary license plate and a fake insurance card didn't exactly bolster her case for innocence. She wouldn't be charged with anything, but the threat of an unaffordable ticket or her car being impounded would send her straight back to square one. She'd rather die than go back home at this point.
<em>Maybe I could park at the pumpwait till they leave?</em> Veronica mused as her car coasted beside the station.
She prepared to turn the wheel to enter the station. But as she did, she noticed the deputy smoking a freshly lit cigar and having a laugh with the attendant beside the sliding glass doors.
<em>Damn it.</em> Veronica decided to pass the station, craving privacy and her own fix of nicotine.
Surely there was another option down the road?
The town seemed abandoned as she coasted in. A lone stoplight blinked yellow above a dead intersection. Dim storefronts, a dilapidated post office building, and a shuttered diner lined the main street.
"Cmonjust need gas," she said as she drove.
She hoped to find any sign of life or light, but all she got was a slow pitter-patter of raindrops that only reminded her of how unlucky she was.
Veronica cursed as the drizzle became a blanketing downpour that assaulted her car as it nervously turned toward the only direction that wasn't pitch black.
Squeaky wipers tried their best to hold off the rain, but the world remained blurred on the windshield. Just as her engine gave a worrying rumble, she noticed a faint, red, neon glow through the trees on her right. She didn't know what it was, but it was her only hope.
A cracked road appeared ahead on her right. It led into a dark wooded area, but led in the direction of those distant, ghostly lights.
Veronica hesitated, but stuck between a flashing gas light and the police, she had no other choice.
With a sweaty hand, she turned the wheel and navigated down the wooded road. She felt uneasy. The road went uphill toward that promising neon light, but the trees seemed to grow thicker as she continued.
She reached for the phone in the pocket of her skinny jeans. It was at 5% battery back in Sacramento. Now it was only at 1% and had no signal.
<em>All or nothing.</em> she exhaled as she rolled down the confining road.
The trees thinned further down the road as it curved uphill. As Veronica's car crested over the incline, the ghostly glow revealed a name through an opening between the pines ahead.
<strong> *KERRI'S GAS N SERVICE*</strong>
The flickering neon letters buzzed on the side of a dated building in the middle of the hill. It had two large shuttered service bays; between them was a normal door and a lit window. And most importantly, two gas pumps and a glowing "OPEN 24 HOURS" banner.
Veronica sighed as she drove up to the station and pulled into the first pump. She paused in her seat for a moment after shutting the car off, relieved, yet a nagging discomfort lingered, as if someone were watching her closely. The lights were on in the station, but she didn't see anybody, and there were no other cars parked.
"Gonna be ok, just here for gas, that's all," she reassured herself.
The heavy rain slowed to a misty drizzle, allowing her to step out without getting immediately soaked, but the haze that followed heightened the sense that something was off about the place. She opened her car door and took one last deep breath. A cigarette would have been her preferred choice of grounding, but she had run out long before the car needed gas. Unless anything made her jump, she was gonna be ok.
Chipped concrete crunched beneath her boot as she stepped out of the car. She stretched as she stood beside the silent vehicle. Her slender form needed it, and her spine thanked her, but the exposed skin from her stomach and arms shivered from the damp air. Her full breasts crested through the stretched fabric, while her nipples poked in response to the cool air.
Veronica modestly tried to pull her crop top down, but the top hem stopped right above the top barbell of her dangly navel piercing. She reached back into the passenger seat and grabbed a flannel shirt. As she buttoned the shirt on, she checked her face in the reflection of her car window.
Her eyes were sunken, and her shoulder-cut shag hair was still frizzy from the cheap dye job. The box said it was "Refined Ruby Red" but on her head, it looked more like "Hooker Lipstick Red." She did her best to tuck away the loose hairs and slowly unfurled a couple that stuck to her nostril ring.
Satisfied, she checked her back pocket and fished out the remaining cash she had. A couple of crumpled dollar bills, loose coins, and a rolled-up $50. It wasn't much, but it could fill her car up and buy her a pack that could sate her cravings.
<strong>*DING*</strong>
A loud electric bell welcomed her as she entered the gas station. She squinted. The white lights inside practically burned her vision.
The inside reeked of cleaning fluid. Misty silence from the outside was replaced with fluorescent buzzing. Once her eyes adjusted, she looked around.
The shelves were stocked with typical gas-station selections, but there were still no signs of people. No music. No ambient television. Just sterile buzzing.
"Hello? Sign says open," Veronica called out. Her words barely echoed as the small interior swallowed her voice.
Her wet boots squeaked on the linoleum. She approached the service counter, protected by a massive slab of plexiglass that was scratched and dinged. There was nobody on the other side, but the bottom had a metal drawer and a circle that appeared to be some kind of mic.
Veronica moved closer towards the counter and prepared to tap on the metal, but as her finger grazed the smooth steel, a movement caught in her peripheral vision.
Technically, there was no movement. Instead, she realized that someone had been standing in the corner of the booth that entire time. In a dim section of it, a tall figure stood. A young woman with a pale, indifferent face, narrowed by long black hair that hung straight around her shoulders.
"HOLY FUCK!" Veronica yelped as she jumped back and nearly crashed into the shelves behind her.
The woman didn't react. Rather, she just glided toward her usual place behind the counter.
"Sorry." the woman whispered, "I normally greet. I didn't hear you come in."
"It's fineI just" Veronica said breathlessly as her heart jackhammered in her chest. "Need gas$50 at thepump out there."
"Great. Cash or card?"
"Ccash." Veronica said with a long exhale.
"One moment. Let me get my till." the woman said as she glided out of view of the window.
<em>What the fuck! Who just stands there like that?</em>
Veronica shook her head as she reached for the lace choker around her neck. She inserted a finger under the soft fabric and slid it lower toward her chest. A small change, but it aided her as she recomposed herself.
"You said $50?" the woman reappeared behind the window, till in hand.
"Yes." Veronica approached the window and offered her $50 to the metal tray.
"One moment," the woman replied without looking. Her bony finger pecked at several buttons on the register.
Wary eyes scanned the booth behind the plexiglass. Veronica normally didn't believe in ghosts, but the attendant was making her reconsider. Nicotine withdrawal didn't help either, making her more jumpy than usual.
Minutes passed as the tall woman continued to wordlessly peck-type on the keyboard behind the glass.
"Soyou go to like a college nearby or something?" Veronica asked the quiet attendant. "No offence, just uh, seem kinda young to be running third shift."
"No. Born and raised here," the attendant said as she turned and looked at her face-to-face behind the glass.
Instinct made Veronica flinch, as if the tall woman would suddenly transform into some type of banshee. Now that she was nearer to the glass, she noticed characteristics on the attendant that seemed human. First was the name tag, Kerri. The second were tired eyes that mirrored those on her own face.
"Anything else?" Kerri asked with a surprisingly warmer tone as her hand retrieved the $50 bill from the metal tray between them.
"Um, yeahactually," Veronica stammered, feeling a mix of relief and confusion at the sudden shift. "Do you have any Lucky Strikes?"
Kerri met her gaze but didn't reply.
"Marlboro Reds would be fine too if you don't have any," Veronica added. Her earlier discomfort resurfaced as Kerri vacantly stared back.
"Young ladies shouldn't smoke. You know?"
<em>Ugh. Really?</em>
"I know. Thanks." Veronica shook her head, hoping to avoid a lecture she'd heard from everyone else.
"I'll just need ID. Let me check what I have," she replied as she stepped out of view again.
With a practiced motion, Veronica retrieved her ID from her pocket. As she waited for Kerri to return, she looked around the trinkets and doodads around the front counter.
A particular pegboard stand caught her eye. One side was lined with keychains and typical travel souvenirs, but the other was lined with various dog collars and leashes. Not just the typical throwaway kind either. Each row had different sizes, chain collars, leather collars, shock collars, and even large paw mitts.
Veronica picked one out. A black leather collar with an ornate patchwork of gray lace that mimicked the pattern on her own choker. She put the leather closer to her own chest, right above her ample cleavage showing atop her flannel, to see how it matched her rosy skin.
"Only dogs wear collars. You know?"
"HUH?!" Veronica yelped as she dropped the collar on the floor.
She turned to look at Kerri, who was now back in place and staring at her.
"Dude! You're gonna" Veronica sighed as she leaned down, picked the accessory off the floor, and placed it back on the pegboard. "Never mind."
Veronica did her best to force a laugh and redirect her own jumpy reaction.
"You uh, get a lot of pet owners here or something?" she asked.
"No. I do like dogs though." Kerri replied with a thin smile.
"Aw! Do you have any?"
"I did. She was cute. Loved toplay." Kerri's pupils dilated as she continued, "Real fun. But she got restless, escaped, and couldn't find her again."
"Oh damn, that sucks! I'm sorry."
"Don't be. I have my eyes on a new one."
"That's good at least!" Veronica said with a chipper tone.
"Indeed. Going to befirmer with the new one," Kerri continued. "She won't be able to get out very easily."
Veronica nodded in agreement, then gestured to the shelves behind Kerri.
"So, do you have any of the Luckys in stock?"
"Afraid not. Sorry. Pump is ready when you are though."
<em>Great. Well, at least I can fill up and get the hell out of this creepy place.</em>
"No worries then. Appreciate you checking!" Veronica tried to hide her disappointment as she made her way towards the door.
"Change will be ready once you finish pumping."
Nodding to reply as she left, Veronica made her way back outside, into the damp petrichor, and navigated towards her car. She paused, letting her eyes adjust. The searing white lights inside the station were significantly brighter than the moonless night of her misfortune.
Guided by the static glow of red neon, she made it back to her car. A couple of clicks and clatters followed as she started pumping the gas.
While Kerri still creeped her out, their last conversation offered her a sense of ease and confirmation that she wasn't a ghost.
Sure, she was undeniably peculiar and moved way too quietly. But, she was in fact, a person. Another woman too! Seemingly stuck in the situation Veronica had run away from back in Nowheresville.
<em>Almost there. Should be enough to gun it for Portland.</em> Veronica stared at the gas meter tick higher and higher.
Like clockwork, the pump clicked shut. The meter confirmed she was owed about $30 in change.
The door chime welcomed Veronica once more as she returned inside. Kerri stood in the same spot.
"Change is ready on the tray. Same one you placed cash in," Kerri said.
"Thanks again," Veronica replied as her hand scooped the small pile of bills and bundle of coins.
As her hand quickly shuffled the bills to count, a blare echoed through the woods. Police sirens, speeding toward an unknown direction.
The sudden noise caused Veronica to flinch and made her spill her change all over the floor. She cursed as the coins rolled all around and the stack of bills fluttered about.
Before she realized the suspicious absurdity of her reaction, the wailing sirens echoed one last time before they faded away in an unseen direction.
"You're very jumpy," Kerri noted.
"Thanks. It's been a long drive andI barely got sleep last night," Veronica complained as she collected her change from the floor.
"The police. Not a fan of them?"
"They're fine, justdon't wanna be on their radar," Veronica huffed as she collected the last quarter.
Veronica stood back up and met Kerri's gaze once more. She intended to thank her and leave, but the long smile on Kerri's face gave her an uneasy feeling again.
"Thanks again," she said as she stuffed the change in her pocket and turned to go.
"You liked that collar. Didn't you?" Kerri whispered.
The words chilled the back of Veronica's neck as stopped moving toward the door and turned back towards Kerri.
Kerri's posture was the same it had been the entire time, except now, her head was slightly tilted. The long smile was gone and replaced with an inquisitive expression.
"The grey one. You held it to your chest. You liked it?" Kerri asked.
"Yeah...looked cool but I was justfidgeting."
"It's a good collar. You should get it. Like a souvenir."
"Can't. I'm kindabroke." Veronica patted the change in her pocket. "This is all I got."
"Shame. It suited you." Kerri released a long exhale from her nose before she added, "The lace on it matches your eyes."
Veronica gave an uncomfortable chuckle before her feet finally agreed with her instincts and shuffled toward the door.
"Thanks," Veronica jibed as her hand pushed the door bar. "I'll come back for it when I have the-"
It didn't move.
She pushed it again with more force, but the door didn't shift. With a panicked motion, Veronica slammed her shoulder into the door. The frame shook slightly, but it stayed. Unmoving.
<em>Holy shit. Holy shit.</em>
With shaking hands and a chittering jaw, she turned to face Kerri. Still in the same position, with that goddamned neck still tilted to the side.
"Hey..uhm..what the <em>FUCK</em>is wrong with the door?" Veronica felt her eyes widening with terror.
She threw her shoulder into the door again, the impact stinging all over her arm, but the door remained in place.
"HEY!" Veronica's voice cracked as she shouted at Kerri.
"It's a safety feature. Magnetic lock." Kerri replied.
"Great! Can you unlock it?" Veronica sarcastically pleaded.
"Certainly. I have a proposition for you first," Kerri said as her head straightened.
"Proposition?" Veronica shook her head. "The fuck do you mean proposition?"
Veronica looked around at the other exits she could try. The window beside the door was thick glass. In the back corner, there was a door that led to the service bays, but it was shuttered with a steel gate.
"That collar you liked."
"DUDE! I don't want that fucking collar!" Veronica shook the door as she glared at Kerri. "Let me out!"
Desperate times called for desperate measures. Veronica didn't want to threaten her, but she needed to escape. Her eyes caught sight of a tire iron, positioned among the car supplies in the store. She moved to grab it, but at the moment her hand clutched the tool-
"This glass is bulletproof. The police would arrive in minutes if I called," Kerri quickly muttered.
Shaking white knuckles held tight around the tire iron, but as Veronica took in Kerri's threat, she felt her anger fizzle into despair.
Tears welled in Veronica's eyes as she realized her predicament. The tire iron dinged as it bounced along the floor as she dropped it.
"What...what the fuck do you want from me?" Veronica whispered with a broken voice.
"I have a proposition for you," Kerri replied coldly behind the glass.
The metal tray in front of the counter squeaked open, breaking the silence. It was halfway open and revealed the collar she had picked out.
"It's the collar you liked. I want you to try it on."
"You reallyyou did all this for a fucking collar?" Veronica whispered in confusion.
"Try it. And you're free to go." Kerri added, "I'll give you $500 cash if you do it."
Veronica stared back in disbelief.
"What's the catch?" Veronica asked with a raised but concerned brow. "Besides, how can I-"
The metal tray interrupted her as it squeaked open again. It revealed a roll of cash, a couple of $100 bills.
"Take the cash now. But I won't open the door until you try the collar on," Kerri continued.
Veronica stared at the enticing wad of money and looked back up at Kerri. <em>Surely</em> she'd never lie to her.
"That's it? Just try it on?" Veronica hesitated after a long pause.
"Yes. I want you to wear the collar. And nothing else."
"HUH?" Veronica's eyes widened. "WHAT?"
"You heard me."
Buzzing lights filled the silence between the two after the full proposition was dropped.
<em>What the fuck? Is she joking?</em> Veronica nervously stared back, hoping for a punchline. But. nothing. Instead, the door remained locked, and Kerri continued to stare.
"Wait..you mean likeNAKED?" Veronica chuckled with disbelief. "ARE YOU FUCKING CRAZY?"
"Yes. You'll be naked." Kerri replied coldly. "Once you do, the door will unlock, and you'll get back on your way."
Veronica stared at the tray in front of her. $500. It would have been more money than she'd ever had.
"WHY?" Veronica whined. "ISIS THIS SOME PRANK OR SOMETHING?"
"I told you. I like dogs. Have my eyes on a new one."
Veronica felt a sudden drop in her stomach as she finally put all the pieces together. She stood there in mortified silence as Kerri stared at her and waited.
<em>No no no Not this again</em>
A warm tear ran down Veronica's cheek. Kerri wasn't kidding. She thought she escaped getting exploited back in LA, only to wind up getting the same proposition, now for much, much less.
"Make your decision soon. Otherwise, I will call the police." Kerri demanded.
"WAIT!" Veronica pleaded. "II'llI'll do it." She felt another stream of tears run down her other cheek.
"Good. I'm waiting."
A bitter sob escaped Veronica's lips as she tried to put her words together.
"J-justI..just need" she choked back her tears as she continued.
<em>Why the fuck is this happening? Why? What did I do? What is SHE gonna do? Is she gonnanoI can't do that</em>
"Areareyougoing to do anything to me?" Veronica sobbed.
"I'm just curious. Just want to look."
"You're just looking no touching?"
Kerri paused before she replied.
"Yes. I will stay behind this glass."
<em>Okay. Nothing like what those fucking assholes in LA wanted me to do.</em>
Veronica took a deep breath and closed her eyes as she tried her best to compose herself. With pitiful arms, she used flannel sleeves to dry her eyes and cheeks. Being naked was fine. Better than walking into a scam modeling shoot that turned out to be a gang bang scene.
"Fine. Naked without touching just the collar," Veronica whispered as she kicked her boots off and willed herself to accept the proposition.
Her hands shook as she unbuttoned the flannel shirt, revealing her crop top. The shirt fell to the ground, and soon, her top slid off, leaving her in just a bra and low-rise skinny jeans.
"Keep your piercings on. I like them on you," Kerri muttered as she watched her undress.
Veronica closed her eyes as she rolled the jeans off her legs and peeled the socks off her feet. Standing there just in her bra and panties, she felt a shivering wave take over her body. Her hand could barely grasp the hooks on her bra as she moved to unhook them.
"Is this your first time? Being naked in front of anyone?"
Veronica responded with a simmering glare towards Kerri, but was hesitant to tell the truth. She had learned about what other girls in her town did to make money to escape their shitty lives as soon as they turned 18.
It was only six months ago when she finally tried it. She wasn't a prostitute, but she had a stint as a camgirl, to an audience of zero.
Being used probably felt like shit, but <em>trying</em> to get used to and not even getting any lookers was its own flavor of depressing. The kind that made random propositions seem sweet enough to throw your entire life away, especially when it came from her only viewer.
"Once you're actually naked, I want you to keep your hands at your sides," Kerri demanded.
The bra landed on the pile of clothes at her feet. Veronica kept one hand across her breasts while the other finally slid the panties down her legs.
Cool air prickled her pubic hairs as her pussy was revealed in front. Veronica was naked except for the piercing on her nose and navel, and the choker that remained around her neck.
"Hands at your sides."
<em>Just do it. $500 bucks for a peek. Just a peek hopefully?</em>
The nude girl reluctantly complied, which gained a smile from Kerri, who gestured toward the collar in the tray.
Veronica's hand shook as she grasped the collar-
"Why is it wet?" she asked.
"Sanitized it for you. You dropped it on the floor."
<em>Great. A captor who cares. Fair enough, I guess.</em>
Nervous hands slowly brought up the collar to her neck. As Veronica led it closer to her chest, a strong chemical smell hit her nose.
"Ugh, this cleaner reeks!" she whined.
"You're almost there. Put it on."
<em> I'm already naked. Hard part is done. Just clasp and wait, then Portland.</em>
Veronica took a big inhale and finally, clasped the leather collar right above her fabric choker.
<strong>*Chk!*</strong>
Veronica looked toward Kerri, hoping for validation as she completed her end of the bargain.
Instead, her vision swirled. Shelves and displays around her began to twist and whirl.
"Wh-whatthe-fuc-"
Saliva filled Veronica's mouth as nausea started to overwhelm her swirling senses.
Trembling hands reached for the collar around her neck, but as the dizzy girl tilted her head, the world seemingly turned upside down.
Without anything to orient herself, Veronica shrieked, but her terrified response was drowned out by the chaotic noise as she toppled over towards a shelf and spilled herself onto the floor amidst the assorted contents that fell with her.
"Good dog," Kerri said with a sinister grin.
Writhing on the floor, Veronica tried to regain her footing and stand, but the spiraling world around her caused her nude form to topple back down onto the sticky linoleum flooring.
"HELP!" Veronica screamed as she got back up and tried to crawl on all fours. "YOU LIED TO ME!"
The pitiful girl trailed saliva and tears as she squirmed helplessly on the floor.
"SOMEONE HELP!" Veronica continued to yell. "DON'T..KILL ME!"
"Don't worry. I'm not going to kill you," Kerri responded, still behind the window. "Besides, the more you panic, the worse it gets."
After a choking gasp, Veronica heaved. Nothing came out, but the constricting sensation redirected her panic and reminded her of the damned collar.
Still on all fours, she rose on her knees and leaned against a shelf as she tried to orient herself. She shut her wet eyes, ignoring the relentless swaying and wobbling, and attempted to focus and unfasten the dosed collar, wrapped around her neck.
<strong> *Chk!*</strong>
Relieved, Veronica tossed the collar aside. She wasn't sure if it would have made a difference, but right now, she was determined to find any way out. It was a mental win. A vital pick-me-up she could cling to that propelled her to get back up on her feet.
As she tried to regain her footing to stand, one of her disoriented arms slapped the mixed contents off the shelf beside her. Snacks and drinks fell on the ground. One of the cans of soda that fell cracked open, spilling a fizzling, troublesome liquid that puddled beside her nervous feet as she stood.
Veronica tried to proceed through the swirling haze, but her soda-soaked foot slipped. She crashed back down on the ground, taking another shelf down with her. This time, several gallon jugs of water joined her as she fell sideways onto the ground.
<strong>*Splash!*</strong>
"Ahhhhh!" Veronica yelped as her nude body was drenched by jugs that fell in front of her and split open, erupting frigid water all over her.
Her soaked shag hair closed around her face while waves of shivers coursed and tingled all over her tightened stomach and frigid nipples.
She frantically wiped the water off her chattering face. Amidst the mayhem, she heard Kerri giggling, but as she peeled the crimson curtain of wet hair that hid her eyes after she fell, she realized that the dizzying spin had subsided. Shock from the cold had surprisingly sobered her. As her vision and balance reoriented themselves, she noticed a fire exit. It had been hidden behind one of the shelves she had toppled over.
<em>Ok, now's my chance!</em>
Veronica turned her head towards her pile of discarded clothes. She felt a residual sense of vertigo, but she didn't care. She had an exit. The promising glint of her car key poked out from the pocket of her jeans.
Without words, she lunged for her clothes. Her hands clawed at her jeans and whatever else decided to tag along from her swipe. All that mattered was the key. She'd drive topless if she needed to. With her key and clump of denim and fabric in hand, she stood and scrambled as fast as she could toward the fire exit.
"Careful. I wouldn't go out that way." Kerri warned.
Veronica ignored her warning as she threw herself towards the metal door. Her wet arm slammed onto the red bar in the middle as it gave way with a scraping shriek.
"Yes!" Veronica yelled out.
Cold air from the outside immediately enveloped Veronica's wet body. She'd never been more grateful to be naked in the cold rain. She thought she'd escaped. But as her foot tried to step into the darkness, she found herself pitching forward.
Her stomach dropped as she fell face-first into the darkness.
"What the f-"
<strong>*SPLAT!*</strong>
Veronica's world went pitch black as she felt her head sink into an ooze. She was immersed in a sticky, muffled mire that reeked of soil and decay, yet felt like thick pudding. She felt her face shift through the heavy mass as she tried to breathe, but as she moved, she felt her boobs sink and join her in the muck. Soon, the rest of her splayed body followed as her form disappeared under the black surface.
<em>Which way is up?!</em>
She panicked as she felt nothing but thick ooze all around her. As her lungs started to throb from the immersion, she felt her hand breach the mucky surface. Her legs kicked hard until they touched a surface that enabled Veronica to propel herself through the thick substance.
<strong>*Gasp!*</strong>
Veronica's lungs burned as her muddy head emerged from the black ooze. She hastily wiped at her face. Light from the opened exit door illuminated the rain-soaked ditch that encircled her.
The ditch was about 10 feet wide and seemed more like a moat in the grass behind the gas station that sloped down into the woods below.
"Ew! Wh-what the fuck?" she whimpered as she looked around at the gooey, black mud that encased her.
Veronica waded through the hip-deep sludge. She wished the drizzling rain would help wash the mud away, but it just made it runnier as it soaked onto her plastered body. Rather than feeling a heavy layer of oozing pudding all over her body, the rain tapered the mud into a gooey, black paint that glistened under the limited light and showcased her taut, nude figure.
As her mud-caked hands tried to reach the sides of the ditch, she started to sob.
<em>The fucking scam, then this crazy bitch, and nowthis!</em>
She slammed one of her fists into the ooze, which responded with a vengeful splatter towards her face.
<em>I can't take this shit anymore!</em> Veronica whimpered while thick sludge slowly dripped over her eyes and toward her mouth.
As the tears painted trails along her muddy cheek, her fingers sank into the side of the ditch.
With a huffing heave, Veronica dragged her plastered body onto the side, her breasts jiggling plops of mud as she crawled. Her feet, now free from the swallowing ooze, sank into the firmer mud of the sides and enabled her to reach one hand above the ditch.
Veronica grasped a hand on the verge of the ditch. As she desperately clumped on rain-soaked grass, she took a deep inhale between her ragged whimpering and prepared to heave her entire body over.
"I warned you."
Before she could comprehend it, a boot crushed Veronica's hand as it held on to the lifeline of escape out of the mud.
"Aghhhhhhhhhhh! FUCK!" Veronica shrieked in pain.
It was Kerri, wearing a long poncho that emphasized her height. She towered above Veronica at the edge of the ditch.
At the same moment, Kerri's fist grabbed at the bowl of muddy red hair around Veronica's head and wrenched it up, bringing the screaming, muddy girl closer towards the looming woman.
"That collar was nice on you. Now, you have to wear a collar I like." Kerri growled as she slapped a thicker and heavier collar around Veronica's hoarse throat.
<strong>*Chk!*</strong>
Noooooooo!
Kerri released her grip on Veronica's hair and stepped off her hand. The mud-caked girl retracted her hand from the edge and continued wailing and cursing as she lay on the side of the ditch.
"Stop crying. If you don't, you'll learn what that collar does." Kerri said coldly.
"FUCK YOU!" Veronica shouted through her tears. "YOU CRAZY FUCKING-"
With her remaining energy, Veronica lunged out of the ditch and launched herself towards Kerri.
Right before her hands closed in on Kerri, she felt a jagged zap. Searing white pain erupted from her neck and seized every muscle in her body. Veronica screamed silently as her convulsing form collapsed on all fours onto the wet grass.
<em>Argh! This bitch is crazy! What does she want from me? What did I do to her?!</em>
"That's another way to learn," Kerri muttered to the twitching, muddy mass in front of her.
Veronica gasped once the searing pain stopped. She coughed and spat violently onto the grass below her as she tried to recover from the intense zap.
"Whatwhy are you" Veronica blubbered. "I don'thave any moneytake my car if you.."
Exhaustion took over as Veronica's arms and knees wobbled, forcing her to roll over on her back, spread out on the grass. The drizzling rain offered a relieving trickle over her muddy face until Kerri stepped closer.
"It's not about money," Kerri replied as she towered over Veronica with a large purse in hand.
The tall woman knelt above the twitching girl and unzipped her bag. The grass squished as she sank a knee into the ground beside Veronica's exhausted body and pressed her other foot on the muddy girl's leg.
Veronica looked warily above her as Kerri placed the bag down and grabbed her limp wrist. She tried to pull her hand away, but exhaustion only allowed her to twitch as the woman had her pinned to the ground.
"Please, no more" Veronica rasped.
A large paw shaped mitten slipped over her loose hand. They were dark and furry on the outside, with hot pink rubber paw pads. Though it seemed cartoonish, Kerri's efficient movement was foreboding as she buckled the leather strap around Veronica's wrist.
<em>Are those dog paws? What the fuck is she doing?</em>
"There," Kerri muttered as she secured the mitten tight around Veronica's hand. "Now for the next."
After Kerri released her grip on her hand, Veronica curled and wiggled her fingers in the paw. They were useless beneath the mitt. Unable to escape. Unable to peel off the shock collar if she had a chance.
<em>This lady is crazy! Is she literally trying to turn me into a dog?!?</em>
Veronica stared at Kerri, observing her as she turned and reached back into the large purse. A boot remained pressed heavily against her knee, yet her other leg could shift. Taking a deep breath, she clenched both hands into tight fists.
As she exhaled, Veronica swung her hands toward Kerri's head. Her left barely grazed the woman, but the mittened right connected with a clumsy blow towards Kerri's jaw. The startled woman stumbled over Veronica and collapsed onto the damp grass beside her.
Kerri swore as Veronica swiftly rose to her bare feet and slid along the grass as she tried to make a run for it. As she clumsily sprinted, she reached to unclasp the shock collar around her neck-
"Eggggyaahhh-shit!" Veronica howled as a zap of electricity coursed through her once more.
The searing sting crumpled her arms and locked her legs, causing her to fall face-first onto a shallow puddle of muddy water, splattering a fresh layer of wet mud all over her and the nearby grass.
Seconds later, the jolt stopped. Veronica moaned as she limply squished her hands in front of her and, in a push-up pose, lifted herself out of the watery mud.
"Bad dog!" Kerri uttered.
As Veronica tried to flail, she felt Kerri's boot press onto her back and mush her face and chest back into the mud. She wiggled and cried out, but as she did, mud flowed into her mouth and filled her nostrils. Desperate arms tried to push herself up once more, but as Veronica tried, the weight Kerri pushed onto her spine increased.
Soon she felt Kerri's hand close around her un-mitted hand. She tried to wrestle it away, but her face would find itself mushed deeper into the muck as she did. The clasp and tightening buckle around her wrist confirmed that she had once again failed.
Veronica gasped and coughed mud as her unrecognizable head was extracted from the puddle. Her mud-mottled hair was wrapped in Kerri's firm fist.
"If you hit me again or try to run, I'll zap you till you piss yourself and pass out," Kerri growled into her ear.
Veronica could only muster a weak whimper. Broken. She'd run away from home. Abandoned everything and everyone. Spent all the money she had. She thought she had nothing to lose but her life.
"Now. Sit up." Kerri demanded as she stepped off Veronica's back.
More tears flowed and mixed with the sludge that coated Veronica's face as she complied and lifted herself out of the mud puddle. She sat kneeling, her tears joined the misty rain as they drizzled onto the paws that rendered her hands useless.
Hours ago, she thought running out of gas and getting stuck in nowhere was the worst-case scenario. Now she was stripped naked, covered with mud, and collared. Turns out, she still had much more that she could lose.
"Hold still. Do anything, and I'll zap you," Kerri said.
What else is she going to do?
Veronica watched Kerri fumble through her bag. As she knelt there, she looked uphill at the gas station, about 30 feet away. The deceitful fire exit, still wide open, radiated light that barely illuminated the wilderness around them. Veronica eyed tiny flows of water that continued from the ditch she'd fallen in. It traced all around the gas station and ran down into the woods.
<em>Is that a house? Her house?</em> Veronica squinted as she spotted a distant building with faintly lit windows, downhill from the station.
Veronica turned back to Kerri, who stopped fumbling with the bag and approached her with one hand behind her back.
"I'm holding the remote behind me," Kerri threatened as her front hand unraveled a braided leather leash.
The silver clasp on the leash glinted as Kerri got closer. Veronica closed her eyes and hoped to try and fight back once more, but she flinched at the thought, feeling a phantom volt from her neck. She wanted to cry, but her eyes had gone sore, and she'd hope to reclaim what fragment of dignity she could find.
*Ka-chink!*
"Good dog," Kerri said, the grass squishing as she stepped away.
Veronica opened her eyes. She silently moaned as she looked down at the loose strand of leather that tethered her to Kerri's hand, hanging just above her plastered breasts.
She was mortified. In her situation, and of course, the uncertainty of Kerri's intentions. However, a much more unsettling development puzzled Veronica as she felt her cheeks grow warmer.
Veronica had felt a spark of arousal when she opened her eyes and saw herself leashed. A tiny ember had burned inside her and escaped through a moan from her lips. The heat was an immediate contrast to all the rain, mud, and pain that her naked body had been subjected to.
<em>Woah. Where the fuck did that come from?</em> Veronica felt her eyes widen at the odd sensation.
Weeks had passed since Veronica last orgasmed. She was pretty vanilla, all things considered. Sure, she tried camming out, but it was only for the money. Attention would have been nice, but nobody even watched. Despite her skimpy get-up, she was quite prudish. At least, she thought she was until she started feeling her pussy twitch when she was leashed.
"On your hands and knees," Kerri said, pulling on the leather strap, snapping Veronica back to reality.
Veronica swallowed her quiet moans as she lowered herself on all fours. The last thing she needed was for her captor to find out about her strange, and hopefully anomalous, reaction.
Her naked, muddy body trembled as she pressed her mitted palms and knees into the squishy grass. She tried her best to keep her back straight, keeping her heart-shaped ass level with her disheveled head.
"Let's move," Kerri commanded as she walked in front, tugging at the leash.
Veronica slowly pattered behind her. Her body shuddered as she awkwardly clambered on the wet grass like an animal. Drops of rainwater mixed with her muddy coating, tracing thick drops of ooze that trailed down the span of her body as she crawled.
<em>Ugh. This is fucking awful.</em> Veronica grunted as she moved and squished along the patches of wet grass and occasional mud puddles.
She looked up and tried to focus on the building that Kerri was leading her to. It had the outline of a cabin, with a typical door and a window. The light inside was a deep amber.
"Faster. Before the rain picks back up." Kerri tugged harder against the leash around her neck.
Veronica tried to pick up her pace, but the ground ahead of them resembled a field of churned mud rather than soaked grass as they progressed downhill.
Each movement became harder as Veronica's paws and knees kept sinking into shallow mud, sucking and squelching as they progressed closer towards the cabin. She desperately tried to keep pace, but Kerri's persistent tugging almost pulled her headfirst back into the mud.
Veronica tried to continue, but her arms were starting to wobble from exertion as she continued to heave through the field that had turned into a bog.
"Wait!" Veronica breathlessly called out to Kerri.
The imposing woman turned to face Veronica, who was breathing hard on all fours. The leash went slack as she stopped, and the two stood there in the rainy dark.
"I just just need a sec." Veronica panted.
Kerri replied with an impatient headshake.
"If you didn't smoke, you'd do better keeping up."
<em>Fuck. You.</em> Veronica scowled at Kerri.
Teeth clenched with rage as Veronica tried to dismiss the stupid remark. Everyone always had to get their fucking comment in.
<em>Don't. Do. It.</em> Veronica exhaled, compelling her balled up fists to relax as they shook.
Her last fix was hours ago. Usually, she staved off the inevitable irritability from craving with snacks or, frankly, anything she could chew on. Getting dosed, collared, and electrocuted certainly didn't help.
"I have an idea. I'll call you Lucky. Like your-" Kerri chuckled until she was interrupted.
"YOU FUCKING BITCH!" Veronica launched herself towards Kerri, pushing off the mud with her back legs while her two front paws aimed to grab at the tall woman's legs.
Kerri's electric response immediately forced Veronica face-first back to ground. She screamed as she splashed and rolled in the wet mud. She flopped onto her side and eventually rolled onto her back, coating another new layer of dripping muck all over her naked body. Her muscles continued to burn even after the searing shock stopped.
"Ohhhhhhh!" Veronica groaned as she lay on her back. Mud mixed with rainwater oozed into every crevice and curve of her body.
"We don't have all night," Kerri muttered as she pocketed the remote for the shock collar and reached into her bag.
After fishing out ropes, Kerri approached a weakened Veronica and knelt beside her twitching ankles. She hastily looped a rope around the muddy girl's ankle, knotting it tight, then mirroring it with the other, eventually securing both with an additional knot between Veronica's spread legs.
"No-nooo No more." Veronica painfully whimpered as she looked down and tried to wiggle her feet away, but by the time her legs could respond, Kerri had finished and was already tying a separate rope around the knot in the middle of her tied legs.
Kerri stood back up and watched as Veronica pathetically wiggled.
"How am I supposed to walk like this?"
"You're not." Kerri replied.
She lengthened the line for the leash around Veronica's neck, causing it to loosely fall along Veronica's mud-coated body as it trailed back to her hand. Then she lifted the rope that was tied between Veronica's ankles and pulled it tight
"Hey wait-" Veronica said until her head whipped backwards as her body lurched forward along the muck.
Veronica protested as she felt the entire backside of her body getting dragged through the wet mire.
"Stop!" Veronica yelled out ahead of her, watching in horror as Kerri continued walking and heaving her naked body through the muddy field.
Her pawed mitts tried to grab on the muddy ground to stop or slow the relentless dragging, but it was useless. Each motion just scooped more wet mud that trailed as her body carved a trough into the rain-soaked field.
"Please stop!" Veronica shouted as the dragging continued. "I can walk, I can- auurghgh!" Her words were interrupted by a loose glob of mud that splattered across her ooze-caked face.
Veronica desperately tried to wipe the mud off her face and chest, but each motion wound up slopping more wet mud that had accumulated from Kerri dragging her. She continued attempting to protest or do anything, but nothing stopped Kerri as Veronica became an unrecognizable shape, amassing heavy layers of mud all over her naked body as she was dragged on her back all the way to the bottom of the hill.
Finally, Veronica felt the squishing sliding stop. Her face was buried under a thick glob of mud, preventing her from seeing what was going on, but relief came as she felt the rope that had been used to pull her through the muck come loose and drop.
All she could hear was her own whimpering, the occasional plop of mud, and Kerri's labored breathing as she lay on her back. She tried to move, but the exhaustion combined with the layers of mud made each motion feel heavy.
Slick paws tried to brush off the blob that coated her face. The mass splattered beside her, but Veronica could barely open her eyes, feeling them sealed shut by the mixtures of mud she had fallen in and been dragged through.
"Mmmphhh-what what's going on?" Veronica warily asked after spitting tangy mud out of her mouth.
Kerri didn't say anything. Instead, Veronica heard her walking. First along the squelching mud, then across crunching gravel. Silence. Then she heard a door creak open.
"Finally," Kerri rasped.
The words chilled Veronica. Was this it? Is this how her life ends?
<em>Oh god, what else is this crazy-</em>
"Eeeep!" Veronica yelped and flinched as cold water poured over her eyes.
The icy water made Veronica chatter, but the cleansing feeling as she felt the mud loosen around her eyes and nose was a welcome relief. Soon she could blink and properly open her eyes.
Veronica squinted as the water became a pittering trickle, clearing the remaining mud from her eyes until they were momentarily blinded by amber light spilling out from an open cabin door in front of her.
After numerous blinks, Veronica's eyes adjusted, and she looked up at Kerri, who was standing between her and the open cabin door.
"Took us long enough. But, we're finally home," Kerri said with an eerie smile as she stood, backlit by the cabin light.
With caution, Veronica peered through the doorway into the cabin. To her surprise, the interior seemed normal.
Instead of dangly chains, meat hooks, and other cabin-in-the-woods horror accoutrements, the interior showcased an inviting scene. It had generic house furniture. A couch instead of a coffin, beige rather than bloody walls, and a warm light that mimicked suburbia more than a slasher.
<em>Huh. This is..something.</em> Veronica felt her brow raise under the mud on her forehead.
She felt a confusing whiplash. Why did Kerri drag and practically torture her the entire way, only to lead her into a seemingly cozy cabin?
Veronica turned her attention back to Kerri, who was still silently smiling as she stood there.
"This is where I'm going to sleep," Kerri said, breaking the silence.
"What about me?" Veronica asked.
"Silly dog. You'll get to sleep in there, too. Especially when you've been a good dog." Kerri chuckled as her head cocked to the side.
Veronica held her breath.
"You've been a bad dog, though. You need to be punished first." Kerri grinned.
Veronica whimpered. Her strained eyes watched as the needle on the fuel gauge wiggled beside the low fuel light and teetered closer and closer past the empty line. She'd been staring at it for the last fifteen miles, ever since the threatening orange glow had flickered on.
With only $55, a dying phone, an empty pack of cigarettes, and about 300 miles between her and a potential couch to crash on in Portland, Veronica had hoped to cross the state line into Oregon before her next fill-up.
She knew it wasn't likely, but that delusion sounded better than the lie that got her into this mess in the first place.
"No, no no!" Veronica groaned as the gas light started to flash.
Frigid dread washed over her as she stared out into the barren interstate ahead, seeking any exit signs amidst the infinite darkness of midnight.
Her high beams were on, but the dense wilderness of Northern California swallowed the light and only fueled Veronica's uncertainty.
The chewed fingernails on her right hand danced along her turn signal switch while her nervous lips hummed a pitiful tune, another soliloquy that pleaded with fate.
Maybe it could manifest an upcoming exit? Could something in her life go right for once?
She had hummed that same pleading bargain months ago. Back then, it was into her phone rather than her steering wheel. It was a text message. Words she had no reason to trust but was desperate enough to believe.
The message had been an offer from a "casting agency" to model.
"Just need you in a bikini for a music video. $1000 for each day of shooting!"
Veronica had hoped that it was her ticket out of the trailer park her family had called home sinceforever. The "agent" claimed that she had the "look". All she had to do was drive down to LA, and he would reimburse her entire trip.
Somehow, she'd wound up packing her bags and had driven across the country before she considered whether it was common for casting agents to scout for talent on adult cam sites.
"Oh, thank god!" she exclaimed with renewed hope as she drove down the desolate interstate.
Down the road, her headlights reflected on a hint of civilization.
<strong> *SHASTA CITY*</strong>
<strong> *EXIT IN 1 MILE*</strong>
Her eager blinker clicked in sync with the flashing gas light as she rolled down the exit ramp. The first station right off the exit was a promising oasis of bright lights.
As usual, her fortune quickly fizzled away as she drove closer and noticed two police cruisers, one parked and the other idling by the air pump.
Being a runaway wasn't a crime. She was 21 after all. Yet, having a stolen temporary license plate and a fake insurance card didn't exactly bolster her case for innocence. She wouldn't be charged with anything, but the threat of an unaffordable ticket or her car being impounded would send her straight back to square one. She'd rather die than go back home at this point.
<em>Maybe I could park at the pumpwait till they leave?</em> Veronica mused as her car coasted beside the station.
She prepared to turn the wheel to enter the station. But as she did, she noticed the deputy smoking a freshly lit cigar and having a laugh with the attendant beside the sliding glass doors.
<em>Damn it.</em> Veronica decided to pass the station, craving privacy and her own fix of nicotine.
Surely there was another option down the road?
The town seemed abandoned as she coasted in. A lone stoplight blinked yellow above a dead intersection. Dim storefronts, a dilapidated post office building, and a shuttered diner lined the main street.
"Cmonjust need gas," she said as she drove.
She hoped to find any sign of life or light, but all she got was a slow pitter-patter of raindrops that only reminded her of how unlucky she was.
Veronica cursed as the drizzle became a blanketing downpour that assaulted her car as it nervously turned toward the only direction that wasn't pitch black.
Squeaky wipers tried their best to hold off the rain, but the world remained blurred on the windshield. Just as her engine gave a worrying rumble, she noticed a faint, red, neon glow through the trees on her right. She didn't know what it was, but it was her only hope.
A cracked road appeared ahead on her right. It led into a dark wooded area, but led in the direction of those distant, ghostly lights.
Veronica hesitated, but stuck between a flashing gas light and the police, she had no other choice.
With a sweaty hand, she turned the wheel and navigated down the wooded road. She felt uneasy. The road went uphill toward that promising neon light, but the trees seemed to grow thicker as she continued.
She reached for the phone in the pocket of her skinny jeans. It was at 5% battery back in Sacramento. Now it was only at 1% and had no signal.
<em>All or nothing.</em> she exhaled as she rolled down the confining road.
The trees thinned further down the road as it curved uphill. As Veronica's car crested over the incline, the ghostly glow revealed a name through an opening between the pines ahead.
<strong> *KERRI'S GAS N SERVICE*</strong>
The flickering neon letters buzzed on the side of a dated building in the middle of the hill. It had two large shuttered service bays; between them was a normal door and a lit window. And most importantly, two gas pumps and a glowing "OPEN 24 HOURS" banner.
Veronica sighed as she drove up to the station and pulled into the first pump. She paused in her seat for a moment after shutting the car off, relieved, yet a nagging discomfort lingered, as if someone were watching her closely. The lights were on in the station, but she didn't see anybody, and there were no other cars parked.
"Gonna be ok, just here for gas, that's all," she reassured herself.
The heavy rain slowed to a misty drizzle, allowing her to step out without getting immediately soaked, but the haze that followed heightened the sense that something was off about the place. She opened her car door and took one last deep breath. A cigarette would have been her preferred choice of grounding, but she had run out long before the car needed gas. Unless anything made her jump, she was gonna be ok.
Chipped concrete crunched beneath her boot as she stepped out of the car. She stretched as she stood beside the silent vehicle. Her slender form needed it, and her spine thanked her, but the exposed skin from her stomach and arms shivered from the damp air. Her full breasts crested through the stretched fabric, while her nipples poked in response to the cool air.
Veronica modestly tried to pull her crop top down, but the top hem stopped right above the top barbell of her dangly navel piercing. She reached back into the passenger seat and grabbed a flannel shirt. As she buttoned the shirt on, she checked her face in the reflection of her car window.
Her eyes were sunken, and her shoulder-cut shag hair was still frizzy from the cheap dye job. The box said it was "Refined Ruby Red" but on her head, it looked more like "Hooker Lipstick Red." She did her best to tuck away the loose hairs and slowly unfurled a couple that stuck to her nostril ring.
Satisfied, she checked her back pocket and fished out the remaining cash she had. A couple of crumpled dollar bills, loose coins, and a rolled-up $50. It wasn't much, but it could fill her car up and buy her a pack that could sate her cravings.
<strong>*DING*</strong>
A loud electric bell welcomed her as she entered the gas station. She squinted. The white lights inside practically burned her vision.
The inside reeked of cleaning fluid. Misty silence from the outside was replaced with fluorescent buzzing. Once her eyes adjusted, she looked around.
The shelves were stocked with typical gas-station selections, but there were still no signs of people. No music. No ambient television. Just sterile buzzing.
"Hello? Sign says open," Veronica called out. Her words barely echoed as the small interior swallowed her voice.
Her wet boots squeaked on the linoleum. She approached the service counter, protected by a massive slab of plexiglass that was scratched and dinged. There was nobody on the other side, but the bottom had a metal drawer and a circle that appeared to be some kind of mic.
Veronica moved closer towards the counter and prepared to tap on the metal, but as her finger grazed the smooth steel, a movement caught in her peripheral vision.
Technically, there was no movement. Instead, she realized that someone had been standing in the corner of the booth that entire time. In a dim section of it, a tall figure stood. A young woman with a pale, indifferent face, narrowed by long black hair that hung straight around her shoulders.
"HOLY FUCK!" Veronica yelped as she jumped back and nearly crashed into the shelves behind her.
The woman didn't react. Rather, she just glided toward her usual place behind the counter.
"Sorry." the woman whispered, "I normally greet. I didn't hear you come in."
"It's fineI just" Veronica said breathlessly as her heart jackhammered in her chest. "Need gas$50 at thepump out there."
"Great. Cash or card?"
"Ccash." Veronica said with a long exhale.
"One moment. Let me get my till." the woman said as she glided out of view of the window.
<em>What the fuck! Who just stands there like that?</em>
Veronica shook her head as she reached for the lace choker around her neck. She inserted a finger under the soft fabric and slid it lower toward her chest. A small change, but it aided her as she recomposed herself.
"You said $50?" the woman reappeared behind the window, till in hand.
"Yes." Veronica approached the window and offered her $50 to the metal tray.
"One moment," the woman replied without looking. Her bony finger pecked at several buttons on the register.
Wary eyes scanned the booth behind the plexiglass. Veronica normally didn't believe in ghosts, but the attendant was making her reconsider. Nicotine withdrawal didn't help either, making her more jumpy than usual.
Minutes passed as the tall woman continued to wordlessly peck-type on the keyboard behind the glass.
"Soyou go to like a college nearby or something?" Veronica asked the quiet attendant. "No offence, just uh, seem kinda young to be running third shift."
"No. Born and raised here," the attendant said as she turned and looked at her face-to-face behind the glass.
Instinct made Veronica flinch, as if the tall woman would suddenly transform into some type of banshee. Now that she was nearer to the glass, she noticed characteristics on the attendant that seemed human. First was the name tag, Kerri. The second were tired eyes that mirrored those on her own face.
"Anything else?" Kerri asked with a surprisingly warmer tone as her hand retrieved the $50 bill from the metal tray between them.
"Um, yeahactually," Veronica stammered, feeling a mix of relief and confusion at the sudden shift. "Do you have any Lucky Strikes?"
Kerri met her gaze but didn't reply.
"Marlboro Reds would be fine too if you don't have any," Veronica added. Her earlier discomfort resurfaced as Kerri vacantly stared back.
"Young ladies shouldn't smoke. You know?"
<em>Ugh. Really?</em>
"I know. Thanks." Veronica shook her head, hoping to avoid a lecture she'd heard from everyone else.
"I'll just need ID. Let me check what I have," she replied as she stepped out of view again.
With a practiced motion, Veronica retrieved her ID from her pocket. As she waited for Kerri to return, she looked around the trinkets and doodads around the front counter.
A particular pegboard stand caught her eye. One side was lined with keychains and typical travel souvenirs, but the other was lined with various dog collars and leashes. Not just the typical throwaway kind either. Each row had different sizes, chain collars, leather collars, shock collars, and even large paw mitts.
Veronica picked one out. A black leather collar with an ornate patchwork of gray lace that mimicked the pattern on her own choker. She put the leather closer to her own chest, right above her ample cleavage showing atop her flannel, to see how it matched her rosy skin.
"Only dogs wear collars. You know?"
"HUH?!" Veronica yelped as she dropped the collar on the floor.
She turned to look at Kerri, who was now back in place and staring at her.
"Dude! You're gonna" Veronica sighed as she leaned down, picked the accessory off the floor, and placed it back on the pegboard. "Never mind."
Veronica did her best to force a laugh and redirect her own jumpy reaction.
"You uh, get a lot of pet owners here or something?" she asked.
"No. I do like dogs though." Kerri replied with a thin smile.
"Aw! Do you have any?"
"I did. She was cute. Loved toplay." Kerri's pupils dilated as she continued, "Real fun. But she got restless, escaped, and couldn't find her again."
"Oh damn, that sucks! I'm sorry."
"Don't be. I have my eyes on a new one."
"That's good at least!" Veronica said with a chipper tone.
"Indeed. Going to befirmer with the new one," Kerri continued. "She won't be able to get out very easily."
Veronica nodded in agreement, then gestured to the shelves behind Kerri.
"So, do you have any of the Luckys in stock?"
"Afraid not. Sorry. Pump is ready when you are though."
<em>Great. Well, at least I can fill up and get the hell out of this creepy place.</em>
"No worries then. Appreciate you checking!" Veronica tried to hide her disappointment as she made her way towards the door.
"Change will be ready once you finish pumping."
Nodding to reply as she left, Veronica made her way back outside, into the damp petrichor, and navigated towards her car. She paused, letting her eyes adjust. The searing white lights inside the station were significantly brighter than the moonless night of her misfortune.
Guided by the static glow of red neon, she made it back to her car. A couple of clicks and clatters followed as she started pumping the gas.
While Kerri still creeped her out, their last conversation offered her a sense of ease and confirmation that she wasn't a ghost.
Sure, she was undeniably peculiar and moved way too quietly. But, she was in fact, a person. Another woman too! Seemingly stuck in the situation Veronica had run away from back in Nowheresville.
<em>Almost there. Should be enough to gun it for Portland.</em> Veronica stared at the gas meter tick higher and higher.
Like clockwork, the pump clicked shut. The meter confirmed she was owed about $30 in change.
The door chime welcomed Veronica once more as she returned inside. Kerri stood in the same spot.
"Change is ready on the tray. Same one you placed cash in," Kerri said.
"Thanks again," Veronica replied as her hand scooped the small pile of bills and bundle of coins.
As her hand quickly shuffled the bills to count, a blare echoed through the woods. Police sirens, speeding toward an unknown direction.
The sudden noise caused Veronica to flinch and made her spill her change all over the floor. She cursed as the coins rolled all around and the stack of bills fluttered about.
Before she realized the suspicious absurdity of her reaction, the wailing sirens echoed one last time before they faded away in an unseen direction.
"You're very jumpy," Kerri noted.
"Thanks. It's been a long drive andI barely got sleep last night," Veronica complained as she collected her change from the floor.
"The police. Not a fan of them?"
"They're fine, justdon't wanna be on their radar," Veronica huffed as she collected the last quarter.
Veronica stood back up and met Kerri's gaze once more. She intended to thank her and leave, but the long smile on Kerri's face gave her an uneasy feeling again.
"Thanks again," she said as she stuffed the change in her pocket and turned to go.
"You liked that collar. Didn't you?" Kerri whispered.
The words chilled the back of Veronica's neck as stopped moving toward the door and turned back towards Kerri.
Kerri's posture was the same it had been the entire time, except now, her head was slightly tilted. The long smile was gone and replaced with an inquisitive expression.
"The grey one. You held it to your chest. You liked it?" Kerri asked.
"Yeah...looked cool but I was justfidgeting."
"It's a good collar. You should get it. Like a souvenir."
"Can't. I'm kindabroke." Veronica patted the change in her pocket. "This is all I got."
"Shame. It suited you." Kerri released a long exhale from her nose before she added, "The lace on it matches your eyes."
Veronica gave an uncomfortable chuckle before her feet finally agreed with her instincts and shuffled toward the door.
"Thanks," Veronica jibed as her hand pushed the door bar. "I'll come back for it when I have the-"
It didn't move.
She pushed it again with more force, but the door didn't shift. With a panicked motion, Veronica slammed her shoulder into the door. The frame shook slightly, but it stayed. Unmoving.
<em>Holy shit. Holy shit.</em>
With shaking hands and a chittering jaw, she turned to face Kerri. Still in the same position, with that goddamned neck still tilted to the side.
"Hey..uhm..what the <em>FUCK</em>is wrong with the door?" Veronica felt her eyes widening with terror.
She threw her shoulder into the door again, the impact stinging all over her arm, but the door remained in place.
"HEY!" Veronica's voice cracked as she shouted at Kerri.
"It's a safety feature. Magnetic lock." Kerri replied.
"Great! Can you unlock it?" Veronica sarcastically pleaded.
"Certainly. I have a proposition for you first," Kerri said as her head straightened.
"Proposition?" Veronica shook her head. "The fuck do you mean proposition?"
Veronica looked around at the other exits she could try. The window beside the door was thick glass. In the back corner, there was a door that led to the service bays, but it was shuttered with a steel gate.
"That collar you liked."
"DUDE! I don't want that fucking collar!" Veronica shook the door as she glared at Kerri. "Let me out!"
Desperate times called for desperate measures. Veronica didn't want to threaten her, but she needed to escape. Her eyes caught sight of a tire iron, positioned among the car supplies in the store. She moved to grab it, but at the moment her hand clutched the tool-
"This glass is bulletproof. The police would arrive in minutes if I called," Kerri quickly muttered.
Shaking white knuckles held tight around the tire iron, but as Veronica took in Kerri's threat, she felt her anger fizzle into despair.
Tears welled in Veronica's eyes as she realized her predicament. The tire iron dinged as it bounced along the floor as she dropped it.
"What...what the fuck do you want from me?" Veronica whispered with a broken voice.
"I have a proposition for you," Kerri replied coldly behind the glass.
The metal tray in front of the counter squeaked open, breaking the silence. It was halfway open and revealed the collar she had picked out.
"It's the collar you liked. I want you to try it on."
"You reallyyou did all this for a fucking collar?" Veronica whispered in confusion.
"Try it. And you're free to go." Kerri added, "I'll give you $500 cash if you do it."
Veronica stared back in disbelief.
"What's the catch?" Veronica asked with a raised but concerned brow. "Besides, how can I-"
The metal tray interrupted her as it squeaked open again. It revealed a roll of cash, a couple of $100 bills.
"Take the cash now. But I won't open the door until you try the collar on," Kerri continued.
Veronica stared at the enticing wad of money and looked back up at Kerri. <em>Surely</em> she'd never lie to her.
"That's it? Just try it on?" Veronica hesitated after a long pause.
"Yes. I want you to wear the collar. And nothing else."
"HUH?" Veronica's eyes widened. "WHAT?"
"You heard me."
Buzzing lights filled the silence between the two after the full proposition was dropped.
<em>What the fuck? Is she joking?</em> Veronica nervously stared back, hoping for a punchline. But. nothing. Instead, the door remained locked, and Kerri continued to stare.
"Wait..you mean likeNAKED?" Veronica chuckled with disbelief. "ARE YOU FUCKING CRAZY?"
"Yes. You'll be naked." Kerri replied coldly. "Once you do, the door will unlock, and you'll get back on your way."
Veronica stared at the tray in front of her. $500. It would have been more money than she'd ever had.
"WHY?" Veronica whined. "ISIS THIS SOME PRANK OR SOMETHING?"
"I told you. I like dogs. Have my eyes on a new one."
Veronica felt a sudden drop in her stomach as she finally put all the pieces together. She stood there in mortified silence as Kerri stared at her and waited.
<em>No no no Not this again</em>
A warm tear ran down Veronica's cheek. Kerri wasn't kidding. She thought she escaped getting exploited back in LA, only to wind up getting the same proposition, now for much, much less.
"Make your decision soon. Otherwise, I will call the police." Kerri demanded.
"WAIT!" Veronica pleaded. "II'llI'll do it." She felt another stream of tears run down her other cheek.
"Good. I'm waiting."
A bitter sob escaped Veronica's lips as she tried to put her words together.
"J-justI..just need" she choked back her tears as she continued.
<em>Why the fuck is this happening? Why? What did I do? What is SHE gonna do? Is she gonnanoI can't do that</em>
"Areareyougoing to do anything to me?" Veronica sobbed.
"I'm just curious. Just want to look."
"You're just looking no touching?"
Kerri paused before she replied.
"Yes. I will stay behind this glass."
<em>Okay. Nothing like what those fucking assholes in LA wanted me to do.</em>
Veronica took a deep breath and closed her eyes as she tried her best to compose herself. With pitiful arms, she used flannel sleeves to dry her eyes and cheeks. Being naked was fine. Better than walking into a scam modeling shoot that turned out to be a gang bang scene.
"Fine. Naked without touching just the collar," Veronica whispered as she kicked her boots off and willed herself to accept the proposition.
Her hands shook as she unbuttoned the flannel shirt, revealing her crop top. The shirt fell to the ground, and soon, her top slid off, leaving her in just a bra and low-rise skinny jeans.
"Keep your piercings on. I like them on you," Kerri muttered as she watched her undress.
Veronica closed her eyes as she rolled the jeans off her legs and peeled the socks off her feet. Standing there just in her bra and panties, she felt a shivering wave take over her body. Her hand could barely grasp the hooks on her bra as she moved to unhook them.
"Is this your first time? Being naked in front of anyone?"
Veronica responded with a simmering glare towards Kerri, but was hesitant to tell the truth. She had learned about what other girls in her town did to make money to escape their shitty lives as soon as they turned 18.
It was only six months ago when she finally tried it. She wasn't a prostitute, but she had a stint as a camgirl, to an audience of zero.
Being used probably felt like shit, but <em>trying</em> to get used to and not even getting any lookers was its own flavor of depressing. The kind that made random propositions seem sweet enough to throw your entire life away, especially when it came from her only viewer.
"Once you're actually naked, I want you to keep your hands at your sides," Kerri demanded.
The bra landed on the pile of clothes at her feet. Veronica kept one hand across her breasts while the other finally slid the panties down her legs.
Cool air prickled her pubic hairs as her pussy was revealed in front. Veronica was naked except for the piercing on her nose and navel, and the choker that remained around her neck.
"Hands at your sides."
<em>Just do it. $500 bucks for a peek. Just a peek hopefully?</em>
The nude girl reluctantly complied, which gained a smile from Kerri, who gestured toward the collar in the tray.
Veronica's hand shook as she grasped the collar-
"Why is it wet?" she asked.
"Sanitized it for you. You dropped it on the floor."
<em>Great. A captor who cares. Fair enough, I guess.</em>
Nervous hands slowly brought up the collar to her neck. As Veronica led it closer to her chest, a strong chemical smell hit her nose.
"Ugh, this cleaner reeks!" she whined.
"You're almost there. Put it on."
<em> I'm already naked. Hard part is done. Just clasp and wait, then Portland.</em>
Veronica took a big inhale and finally, clasped the leather collar right above her fabric choker.
<strong>*Chk!*</strong>
Veronica looked toward Kerri, hoping for validation as she completed her end of the bargain.
Instead, her vision swirled. Shelves and displays around her began to twist and whirl.
"Wh-whatthe-fuc-"
Saliva filled Veronica's mouth as nausea started to overwhelm her swirling senses.
Trembling hands reached for the collar around her neck, but as the dizzy girl tilted her head, the world seemingly turned upside down.
Without anything to orient herself, Veronica shrieked, but her terrified response was drowned out by the chaotic noise as she toppled over towards a shelf and spilled herself onto the floor amidst the assorted contents that fell with her.
"Good dog," Kerri said with a sinister grin.
Writhing on the floor, Veronica tried to regain her footing and stand, but the spiraling world around her caused her nude form to topple back down onto the sticky linoleum flooring.
"HELP!" Veronica screamed as she got back up and tried to crawl on all fours. "YOU LIED TO ME!"
The pitiful girl trailed saliva and tears as she squirmed helplessly on the floor.
"SOMEONE HELP!" Veronica continued to yell. "DON'T..KILL ME!"
"Don't worry. I'm not going to kill you," Kerri responded, still behind the window. "Besides, the more you panic, the worse it gets."
After a choking gasp, Veronica heaved. Nothing came out, but the constricting sensation redirected her panic and reminded her of the damned collar.
Still on all fours, she rose on her knees and leaned against a shelf as she tried to orient herself. She shut her wet eyes, ignoring the relentless swaying and wobbling, and attempted to focus and unfasten the dosed collar, wrapped around her neck.
<strong> *Chk!*</strong>
Relieved, Veronica tossed the collar aside. She wasn't sure if it would have made a difference, but right now, she was determined to find any way out. It was a mental win. A vital pick-me-up she could cling to that propelled her to get back up on her feet.
As she tried to regain her footing to stand, one of her disoriented arms slapped the mixed contents off the shelf beside her. Snacks and drinks fell on the ground. One of the cans of soda that fell cracked open, spilling a fizzling, troublesome liquid that puddled beside her nervous feet as she stood.
Veronica tried to proceed through the swirling haze, but her soda-soaked foot slipped. She crashed back down on the ground, taking another shelf down with her. This time, several gallon jugs of water joined her as she fell sideways onto the ground.
<strong>*Splash!*</strong>
"Ahhhhh!" Veronica yelped as her nude body was drenched by jugs that fell in front of her and split open, erupting frigid water all over her.
Her soaked shag hair closed around her face while waves of shivers coursed and tingled all over her tightened stomach and frigid nipples.
She frantically wiped the water off her chattering face. Amidst the mayhem, she heard Kerri giggling, but as she peeled the crimson curtain of wet hair that hid her eyes after she fell, she realized that the dizzying spin had subsided. Shock from the cold had surprisingly sobered her. As her vision and balance reoriented themselves, she noticed a fire exit. It had been hidden behind one of the shelves she had toppled over.
<em>Ok, now's my chance!</em>
Veronica turned her head towards her pile of discarded clothes. She felt a residual sense of vertigo, but she didn't care. She had an exit. The promising glint of her car key poked out from the pocket of her jeans.
Without words, she lunged for her clothes. Her hands clawed at her jeans and whatever else decided to tag along from her swipe. All that mattered was the key. She'd drive topless if she needed to. With her key and clump of denim and fabric in hand, she stood and scrambled as fast as she could toward the fire exit.
"Careful. I wouldn't go out that way." Kerri warned.
Veronica ignored her warning as she threw herself towards the metal door. Her wet arm slammed onto the red bar in the middle as it gave way with a scraping shriek.
"Yes!" Veronica yelled out.
Cold air from the outside immediately enveloped Veronica's wet body. She'd never been more grateful to be naked in the cold rain. She thought she'd escaped. But as her foot tried to step into the darkness, she found herself pitching forward.
Her stomach dropped as she fell face-first into the darkness.
"What the f-"
<strong>*SPLAT!*</strong>
Veronica's world went pitch black as she felt her head sink into an ooze. She was immersed in a sticky, muffled mire that reeked of soil and decay, yet felt like thick pudding. She felt her face shift through the heavy mass as she tried to breathe, but as she moved, she felt her boobs sink and join her in the muck. Soon, the rest of her splayed body followed as her form disappeared under the black surface.
<em>Which way is up?!</em>
She panicked as she felt nothing but thick ooze all around her. As her lungs started to throb from the immersion, she felt her hand breach the mucky surface. Her legs kicked hard until they touched a surface that enabled Veronica to propel herself through the thick substance.
<strong>*Gasp!*</strong>
Veronica's lungs burned as her muddy head emerged from the black ooze. She hastily wiped at her face. Light from the opened exit door illuminated the rain-soaked ditch that encircled her.
The ditch was about 10 feet wide and seemed more like a moat in the grass behind the gas station that sloped down into the woods below.
"Ew! Wh-what the fuck?" she whimpered as she looked around at the gooey, black mud that encased her.
Veronica waded through the hip-deep sludge. She wished the drizzling rain would help wash the mud away, but it just made it runnier as it soaked onto her plastered body. Rather than feeling a heavy layer of oozing pudding all over her body, the rain tapered the mud into a gooey, black paint that glistened under the limited light and showcased her taut, nude figure.
As her mud-caked hands tried to reach the sides of the ditch, she started to sob.
<em>The fucking scam, then this crazy bitch, and nowthis!</em>
She slammed one of her fists into the ooze, which responded with a vengeful splatter towards her face.
<em>I can't take this shit anymore!</em> Veronica whimpered while thick sludge slowly dripped over her eyes and toward her mouth.
As the tears painted trails along her muddy cheek, her fingers sank into the side of the ditch.
With a huffing heave, Veronica dragged her plastered body onto the side, her breasts jiggling plops of mud as she crawled. Her feet, now free from the swallowing ooze, sank into the firmer mud of the sides and enabled her to reach one hand above the ditch.
Veronica grasped a hand on the verge of the ditch. As she desperately clumped on rain-soaked grass, she took a deep inhale between her ragged whimpering and prepared to heave her entire body over.
"I warned you."
Before she could comprehend it, a boot crushed Veronica's hand as it held on to the lifeline of escape out of the mud.
"Aghhhhhhhhhhh! FUCK!" Veronica shrieked in pain.
It was Kerri, wearing a long poncho that emphasized her height. She towered above Veronica at the edge of the ditch.
At the same moment, Kerri's fist grabbed at the bowl of muddy red hair around Veronica's head and wrenched it up, bringing the screaming, muddy girl closer towards the looming woman.
"That collar was nice on you. Now, you have to wear a collar I like." Kerri growled as she slapped a thicker and heavier collar around Veronica's hoarse throat.
<strong>*Chk!*</strong>
Noooooooo!
Kerri released her grip on Veronica's hair and stepped off her hand. The mud-caked girl retracted her hand from the edge and continued wailing and cursing as she lay on the side of the ditch.
"Stop crying. If you don't, you'll learn what that collar does." Kerri said coldly.
"FUCK YOU!" Veronica shouted through her tears. "YOU CRAZY FUCKING-"
With her remaining energy, Veronica lunged out of the ditch and launched herself towards Kerri.
Right before her hands closed in on Kerri, she felt a jagged zap. Searing white pain erupted from her neck and seized every muscle in her body. Veronica screamed silently as her convulsing form collapsed on all fours onto the wet grass.
<em>Argh! This bitch is crazy! What does she want from me? What did I do to her?!</em>
"That's another way to learn," Kerri muttered to the twitching, muddy mass in front of her.
Veronica gasped once the searing pain stopped. She coughed and spat violently onto the grass below her as she tried to recover from the intense zap.
"Whatwhy are you" Veronica blubbered. "I don'thave any moneytake my car if you.."
Exhaustion took over as Veronica's arms and knees wobbled, forcing her to roll over on her back, spread out on the grass. The drizzling rain offered a relieving trickle over her muddy face until Kerri stepped closer.
"It's not about money," Kerri replied as she towered over Veronica with a large purse in hand.
The tall woman knelt above the twitching girl and unzipped her bag. The grass squished as she sank a knee into the ground beside Veronica's exhausted body and pressed her other foot on the muddy girl's leg.
Veronica looked warily above her as Kerri placed the bag down and grabbed her limp wrist. She tried to pull her hand away, but exhaustion only allowed her to twitch as the woman had her pinned to the ground.
"Please, no more" Veronica rasped.
A large paw shaped mitten slipped over her loose hand. They were dark and furry on the outside, with hot pink rubber paw pads. Though it seemed cartoonish, Kerri's efficient movement was foreboding as she buckled the leather strap around Veronica's wrist.
<em>Are those dog paws? What the fuck is she doing?</em>
"There," Kerri muttered as she secured the mitten tight around Veronica's hand. "Now for the next."
After Kerri released her grip on her hand, Veronica curled and wiggled her fingers in the paw. They were useless beneath the mitt. Unable to escape. Unable to peel off the shock collar if she had a chance.
<em>This lady is crazy! Is she literally trying to turn me into a dog?!?</em>
Veronica stared at Kerri, observing her as she turned and reached back into the large purse. A boot remained pressed heavily against her knee, yet her other leg could shift. Taking a deep breath, she clenched both hands into tight fists.
As she exhaled, Veronica swung her hands toward Kerri's head. Her left barely grazed the woman, but the mittened right connected with a clumsy blow towards Kerri's jaw. The startled woman stumbled over Veronica and collapsed onto the damp grass beside her.
Kerri swore as Veronica swiftly rose to her bare feet and slid along the grass as she tried to make a run for it. As she clumsily sprinted, she reached to unclasp the shock collar around her neck-
"Eggggyaahhh-shit!" Veronica howled as a zap of electricity coursed through her once more.
The searing sting crumpled her arms and locked her legs, causing her to fall face-first onto a shallow puddle of muddy water, splattering a fresh layer of wet mud all over her and the nearby grass.
Seconds later, the jolt stopped. Veronica moaned as she limply squished her hands in front of her and, in a push-up pose, lifted herself out of the watery mud.
"Bad dog!" Kerri uttered.
As Veronica tried to flail, she felt Kerri's boot press onto her back and mush her face and chest back into the mud. She wiggled and cried out, but as she did, mud flowed into her mouth and filled her nostrils. Desperate arms tried to push herself up once more, but as Veronica tried, the weight Kerri pushed onto her spine increased.
Soon she felt Kerri's hand close around her un-mitted hand. She tried to wrestle it away, but her face would find itself mushed deeper into the muck as she did. The clasp and tightening buckle around her wrist confirmed that she had once again failed.
Veronica gasped and coughed mud as her unrecognizable head was extracted from the puddle. Her mud-mottled hair was wrapped in Kerri's firm fist.
"If you hit me again or try to run, I'll zap you till you piss yourself and pass out," Kerri growled into her ear.
Veronica could only muster a weak whimper. Broken. She'd run away from home. Abandoned everything and everyone. Spent all the money she had. She thought she had nothing to lose but her life.
"Now. Sit up." Kerri demanded as she stepped off Veronica's back.
More tears flowed and mixed with the sludge that coated Veronica's face as she complied and lifted herself out of the mud puddle. She sat kneeling, her tears joined the misty rain as they drizzled onto the paws that rendered her hands useless.
Hours ago, she thought running out of gas and getting stuck in nowhere was the worst-case scenario. Now she was stripped naked, covered with mud, and collared. Turns out, she still had much more that she could lose.
"Hold still. Do anything, and I'll zap you," Kerri said.
What else is she going to do?
Veronica watched Kerri fumble through her bag. As she knelt there, she looked uphill at the gas station, about 30 feet away. The deceitful fire exit, still wide open, radiated light that barely illuminated the wilderness around them. Veronica eyed tiny flows of water that continued from the ditch she'd fallen in. It traced all around the gas station and ran down into the woods.
<em>Is that a house? Her house?</em> Veronica squinted as she spotted a distant building with faintly lit windows, downhill from the station.
Veronica turned back to Kerri, who stopped fumbling with the bag and approached her with one hand behind her back.
"I'm holding the remote behind me," Kerri threatened as her front hand unraveled a braided leather leash.
The silver clasp on the leash glinted as Kerri got closer. Veronica closed her eyes and hoped to try and fight back once more, but she flinched at the thought, feeling a phantom volt from her neck. She wanted to cry, but her eyes had gone sore, and she'd hope to reclaim what fragment of dignity she could find.
*Ka-chink!*
"Good dog," Kerri said, the grass squishing as she stepped away.
Veronica opened her eyes. She silently moaned as she looked down at the loose strand of leather that tethered her to Kerri's hand, hanging just above her plastered breasts.
She was mortified. In her situation, and of course, the uncertainty of Kerri's intentions. However, a much more unsettling development puzzled Veronica as she felt her cheeks grow warmer.
Veronica had felt a spark of arousal when she opened her eyes and saw herself leashed. A tiny ember had burned inside her and escaped through a moan from her lips. The heat was an immediate contrast to all the rain, mud, and pain that her naked body had been subjected to.
<em>Woah. Where the fuck did that come from?</em> Veronica felt her eyes widen at the odd sensation.
Weeks had passed since Veronica last orgasmed. She was pretty vanilla, all things considered. Sure, she tried camming out, but it was only for the money. Attention would have been nice, but nobody even watched. Despite her skimpy get-up, she was quite prudish. At least, she thought she was until she started feeling her pussy twitch when she was leashed.
"On your hands and knees," Kerri said, pulling on the leather strap, snapping Veronica back to reality.
Veronica swallowed her quiet moans as she lowered herself on all fours. The last thing she needed was for her captor to find out about her strange, and hopefully anomalous, reaction.
Her naked, muddy body trembled as she pressed her mitted palms and knees into the squishy grass. She tried her best to keep her back straight, keeping her heart-shaped ass level with her disheveled head.
"Let's move," Kerri commanded as she walked in front, tugging at the leash.
Veronica slowly pattered behind her. Her body shuddered as she awkwardly clambered on the wet grass like an animal. Drops of rainwater mixed with her muddy coating, tracing thick drops of ooze that trailed down the span of her body as she crawled.
<em>Ugh. This is fucking awful.</em> Veronica grunted as she moved and squished along the patches of wet grass and occasional mud puddles.
She looked up and tried to focus on the building that Kerri was leading her to. It had the outline of a cabin, with a typical door and a window. The light inside was a deep amber.
"Faster. Before the rain picks back up." Kerri tugged harder against the leash around her neck.
Veronica tried to pick up her pace, but the ground ahead of them resembled a field of churned mud rather than soaked grass as they progressed downhill.
Each movement became harder as Veronica's paws and knees kept sinking into shallow mud, sucking and squelching as they progressed closer towards the cabin. She desperately tried to keep pace, but Kerri's persistent tugging almost pulled her headfirst back into the mud.
Veronica tried to continue, but her arms were starting to wobble from exertion as she continued to heave through the field that had turned into a bog.
"Wait!" Veronica breathlessly called out to Kerri.
The imposing woman turned to face Veronica, who was breathing hard on all fours. The leash went slack as she stopped, and the two stood there in the rainy dark.
"I just just need a sec." Veronica panted.
Kerri replied with an impatient headshake.
"If you didn't smoke, you'd do better keeping up."
<em>Fuck. You.</em> Veronica scowled at Kerri.
Teeth clenched with rage as Veronica tried to dismiss the stupid remark. Everyone always had to get their fucking comment in.
<em>Don't. Do. It.</em> Veronica exhaled, compelling her balled up fists to relax as they shook.
Her last fix was hours ago. Usually, she staved off the inevitable irritability from craving with snacks or, frankly, anything she could chew on. Getting dosed, collared, and electrocuted certainly didn't help.
"I have an idea. I'll call you Lucky. Like your-" Kerri chuckled until she was interrupted.
"YOU FUCKING BITCH!" Veronica launched herself towards Kerri, pushing off the mud with her back legs while her two front paws aimed to grab at the tall woman's legs.
Kerri's electric response immediately forced Veronica face-first back to ground. She screamed as she splashed and rolled in the wet mud. She flopped onto her side and eventually rolled onto her back, coating another new layer of dripping muck all over her naked body. Her muscles continued to burn even after the searing shock stopped.
"Ohhhhhhh!" Veronica groaned as she lay on her back. Mud mixed with rainwater oozed into every crevice and curve of her body.
"We don't have all night," Kerri muttered as she pocketed the remote for the shock collar and reached into her bag.
After fishing out ropes, Kerri approached a weakened Veronica and knelt beside her twitching ankles. She hastily looped a rope around the muddy girl's ankle, knotting it tight, then mirroring it with the other, eventually securing both with an additional knot between Veronica's spread legs.
"No-nooo No more." Veronica painfully whimpered as she looked down and tried to wiggle her feet away, but by the time her legs could respond, Kerri had finished and was already tying a separate rope around the knot in the middle of her tied legs.
Kerri stood back up and watched as Veronica pathetically wiggled.
"How am I supposed to walk like this?"
"You're not." Kerri replied.
She lengthened the line for the leash around Veronica's neck, causing it to loosely fall along Veronica's mud-coated body as it trailed back to her hand. Then she lifted the rope that was tied between Veronica's ankles and pulled it tight
"Hey wait-" Veronica said until her head whipped backwards as her body lurched forward along the muck.
Veronica protested as she felt the entire backside of her body getting dragged through the wet mire.
"Stop!" Veronica yelled out ahead of her, watching in horror as Kerri continued walking and heaving her naked body through the muddy field.
Her pawed mitts tried to grab on the muddy ground to stop or slow the relentless dragging, but it was useless. Each motion just scooped more wet mud that trailed as her body carved a trough into the rain-soaked field.
"Please stop!" Veronica shouted as the dragging continued. "I can walk, I can- auurghgh!" Her words were interrupted by a loose glob of mud that splattered across her ooze-caked face.
Veronica desperately tried to wipe the mud off her face and chest, but each motion wound up slopping more wet mud that had accumulated from Kerri dragging her. She continued attempting to protest or do anything, but nothing stopped Kerri as Veronica became an unrecognizable shape, amassing heavy layers of mud all over her naked body as she was dragged on her back all the way to the bottom of the hill.
Finally, Veronica felt the squishing sliding stop. Her face was buried under a thick glob of mud, preventing her from seeing what was going on, but relief came as she felt the rope that had been used to pull her through the muck come loose and drop.
All she could hear was her own whimpering, the occasional plop of mud, and Kerri's labored breathing as she lay on her back. She tried to move, but the exhaustion combined with the layers of mud made each motion feel heavy.
Slick paws tried to brush off the blob that coated her face. The mass splattered beside her, but Veronica could barely open her eyes, feeling them sealed shut by the mixtures of mud she had fallen in and been dragged through.
"Mmmphhh-what what's going on?" Veronica warily asked after spitting tangy mud out of her mouth.
Kerri didn't say anything. Instead, Veronica heard her walking. First along the squelching mud, then across crunching gravel. Silence. Then she heard a door creak open.
"Finally," Kerri rasped.
The words chilled Veronica. Was this it? Is this how her life ends?
<em>Oh god, what else is this crazy-</em>
"Eeeep!" Veronica yelped and flinched as cold water poured over her eyes.
The icy water made Veronica chatter, but the cleansing feeling as she felt the mud loosen around her eyes and nose was a welcome relief. Soon she could blink and properly open her eyes.
Veronica squinted as the water became a pittering trickle, clearing the remaining mud from her eyes until they were momentarily blinded by amber light spilling out from an open cabin door in front of her.
After numerous blinks, Veronica's eyes adjusted, and she looked up at Kerri, who was standing between her and the open cabin door.
"Took us long enough. But, we're finally home," Kerri said with an eerie smile as she stood, backlit by the cabin light.
With caution, Veronica peered through the doorway into the cabin. To her surprise, the interior seemed normal.
Instead of dangly chains, meat hooks, and other cabin-in-the-woods horror accoutrements, the interior showcased an inviting scene. It had generic house furniture. A couch instead of a coffin, beige rather than bloody walls, and a warm light that mimicked suburbia more than a slasher.
<em>Huh. This is..something.</em> Veronica felt her brow raise under the mud on her forehead.
She felt a confusing whiplash. Why did Kerri drag and practically torture her the entire way, only to lead her into a seemingly cozy cabin?
Veronica turned her attention back to Kerri, who was still silently smiling as she stood there.
"This is where I'm going to sleep," Kerri said, breaking the silence.
"What about me?" Veronica asked.
"Silly dog. You'll get to sleep in there, too. Especially when you've been a good dog." Kerri chuckled as her head cocked to the side.
Veronica held her breath.
"You've been a bad dog, though. You need to be punished first." Kerri grinned.
Labeled female
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