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She was the first to awaken. The air was thick with the scent of sweat, mold, and dirt. Several times she had stirred, but drifted off to sleep again. This time she was determined to stay awake. Her eyelids fluttered. She lay still for several minutes wondering why her entire body felt leaden, the muscles shaky. For a moment the darkness and earth scents made her wonder if she had fallen asleep in the forest. She searched for a canopy of trees and flickering of stars in the sky. Nothing. Only darkness.
One deep breath, then another. One eyelid, then two. Another deep breath. Just when she tried to shift, to get the blood flowing in her limbs, she became aware of a heavy weight on her right side and someone's breath in her hair. The weight shifted and someone moaned softly. She froze, trying to remember where she had been. Her bedroom or someone else's? She certainly wouldn't have gone home with a stranger. What time was it? What day? The weight shifted again, a portion of it, possibly an arm, raised. She heard a scratching sound, like sandpaper, then detected the scent of a woodsy aftershave.
“Dagger?” she whispered.
“Huh? What the…” There was a thud and a painful, “Ow!” The weight shifted again. “Sara?”
“Where are we?” She called on her enhanced sight, the eyes of the hawk, and surveyed their surroundings. “I can't see anything.” And she couldn't, other than the heat radiating off of Dagger's body. She struggled to free herself from his weight.
“I think we're in the trunk of a car,” Dagger said. “It must be a shit can electric car because this trunk can barely fit the two of us.” He tried to free his left arm, but it was trapped under Sara's head. “What the hell happened? I don't remember a damn thing.”
“I don't either, and my head is killing me. Did we go out drinking?”
Dagger remained silent for several seconds, his mind trying to conjure up a timeline while tiny pricks of fear worked their way up his spine. He tasted something strange in his mouth. “I think we were drugged.” Dagger made another startling discovery…the lack of fabric against his skin or Sara's. “Uh, and I think someone took our clothes.”
“Naked?” Sara rubbed the fingers of her left hand against her thigh and felt skin. She wiggled her toes and realized even her shoes had been removed. Dagger was right. “How did this happen?” She groaned. The effort to talk made her head spin. “I don't think there's much oxygen in here.” Sara felt around the roof of the car trunk. “Aren't there safety latches in cars these days?” Dagger's weight pressed against her right side, trapping her arm, and something pulsated against her thigh. “Could you move your hand off my leg?”
“Uhhh, that's not my hand, but thanks for the compliment.”
“Ewwww.” Sara shoved hard. She heard another thud as Dagger's head slammed against the wall.
“Ow. Hey, there's only so much room in here.”
“Shouldn't you ask a girl to dinner first?”
“I'm a guy. Satin sheets, flesh pressed against flesh, and…” He inhaled long and deep, feeling that third hand getting harder. “Damn, you smell good.”
“Wait.” Sara's fingers scratched the fabric beneath her. “Satin sheets? Is there a satin pillow under my head?”
He felt his way around Sara's shoulder toward her neck and touched a satiny mound of fabric. Satin sheets, satin pillow, tight enclosure. “Damn. I think we're in a coffin.”
