Lisa stepped out of the cool shade of the motel room and out into the fierce Australian sun, she tipped her head back and closed her eyes as its superheated wash prickled against her flesh. She threw out her arms as if the very act of doing so would soak up even more of the warning heat. She remained like this for several moments before once more opening her eyes to the day as yet still in its infancy. The silence of the outback was broken by the sound of a car engine; she opened her eyes and bought her gaze towards a fast approaching cloud of tan coloured dust that shimmered against the heat. This could be interesting she thought and she smiled as she watched it get closer. The Shepherton motel was deep into the outback and only accessible through many miles of dusty track roads, but despite its far flung locality it still attracted a fair few people throughout the year. This was of course mostly due to the fact that it was one of the few oasis's of humanity in some four hundred square miles and so it acted like a beacon to its fair share of ill prepared tourists and born and bred Aussie's alike. The car clawed through the miles as the heat began to bake the metal, this summer had been so hot, and one of the hottest that Lisa could remember in quite sometime. The heat had a tendency to rattle quite a few people at the motel. There were those who had found themselves becoming ill tempered and aggressive as the sun beat down with more ferocity than ever...but not Lisa, the heat outside seemed to awaken a similar heat within her and she would often find herself caught in some deeply fuelled daydream as she watched the regulars try and go about their business. As the heat increased the layers of clothing had decreased and she had lost count of the number of times she had caught herself staring at someone...male or female...for just that little bit too long. All the while her mind had been rolling over and playing out fantasies that both deeply excited her and yet made her feel sullied that she would even think such things, let alone get some deep thrill from them but she quickly reconciled the feelings within herself and, like most people, existed quite happily with them. Lisa turned on her heels and began to make her way to the small reception building, pausing only to glance behind her shoulder as the car tyres skittered across the rough surface of the front of the motel that served as a perfunctory car park. She smiled and slipped inside, her body suddenly caressed by the comforting chill of the shade and the turbulent air as it was turned over by a fan as it sat on the pitted wooden desk. She walked behind the reception desk and began to idly toy with some papers, her eyes turned upwards through the window as she watched the car that had just pulled up, the cloud of baked dust slowly settling in its wake. The car seemed to heave in the shimmering sun, the drivers door opened and there as the sound of a heavy footstep scuffing the rough ground before the figure came into view, silhouetted almost by the dust as it fettered downwards. His hair was dark and short, he wore a pair of jet black Raybans. Lisa smiled, typical, she thought, And I bet he is the kind of person that wears them constantly as he thinks it makes him look like something. He stood at the side of the car, his eyes staring back the way they had just driven before shaking his head and slamming the door of the car hard. He turned towards the vehicle, even behind his shades Lisa could see the glare in his expression, almost underlying with a simmering rage as he looked back at the cars other occupant who was now stretching herself in the full glare of the sun. "Fucks sake Carrie' do you have to offer yourself to every piece of white trash in this fucking desert. Put some fucking clothes on, for Christ's sake...fucking whore." Carrie seemed to shrink against the tirade that battered against her. Perhaps there had been a point in time when she would have stood strong against such abuse, but as Lisa watched the paling figure of Carrie, it became clear that that time was long since past. Carrie began to walk round the car and closer to his side, as she approached him he shot his hand out, the palm of it slamming against her shoulder and sending her stumbling into the dirt. She tried to stifle a cry out as she clutched her knee into her chest, the rough floor having grazed her badly and staining her bronzed skin red with flecks of blood. She looked up at him, her eyes welling with tears as she fought back the pain, not so much the physical pain but the pain of how each and every time he struck out at her he seemed to relish it. He glared back down, no hint of feeling behind his shades. "Get the fuck up and stop whinging, I've had to put up with your mouth ever since we set out from Cooper Springs, I `aint interested in listening to any more of your bitching." He reached down and took a sharp hold of her top and roughly dragged her to her feet before shoving her towards the battered door of reception. In the cool vestibule of the shadowy reception Lisa regarded all of this with a fierce glare, for a moment she wasn't sure what disgusted her more, the man's actions or the very fact that Carrie seemed to take it and do nothing. Lisa couldn't even imagine herself in that position. But the disgust gave way quickly to sorrow and thoughts of what she would do to the son of a bitch who even tried to lift a finger to her. She tried her best to hide her expression from them as the door opened and Carrie meekly walked to the desk, in the background the man just rested his back against the doorframe, the sun glinting of his glasses as he switched his gaze from his broken girl and the endless miles of outback. Carrie tried her best attempt at a smile, as she did so Lisa easily picked up the sadness behind her eyes, the months of abuse and dehumanisation that she must have suffered at his hands. When she spoke, she spoke softly, almost apologetically. "Do you have a room for tonight?" Lisa smiled; she glanced across to the man who was still slouching in the open doorway. "Yes, I shall get you the keys. It's the room next to reception, 101. But if I might suggest that if you need to take a shower then its best to do it know, the generators aren't the most reliable out here and best to use the hot water while we have it." Lisa placed the keys in Carrie's open hand, she didn't release her grip immediately, and she lingered with her gaze washing across the battered woman before her. Carrie tried to pull away from her touch, feeling uncomfortable at being scrutinised in such a way. Lisa tried to smile as sweetly as she could, hoping that this simple gesture would be enough to convey her thoughts. There was a reason to Lisa giving out the room closest to reception, it gave her the chance to oversee anything that went on in the room, perhaps interject herself if things got out of hand. From the look in Carrie's eyes they got out of hand all too often and too easily. "Dammit Carrie! Are you going to be all day, I want a fucking shower...or are you trying to get off with her as well." He shot both Carrie and Lisa a dark look that festered beneath his shades. With an obedience that was instilled within her through the torment she endured, Carrie spun about and walked back towards the open door. The guys watched her pass him by, his lips contorted into a sneer. He turned and followed her from the reception. "Bitches are all the same." He hissed under his breath, but not quietly enough not to be heard by Lisa. Bastard! Lisa scowled at him as he walked by the reception window and towards the room she had given them. She had met some idiots in her time, the motel had attracted more than its fair share of abusive, drunken men whose Neanderthal outlook on women had sickened her to the stomach, but she seemed to reserve a special hatred of this specimen. She tried to rationalise it in her own mind, but was unsuccessful. It was then that her thoughts took her back to earlier in the morning when the train of thought in her head had led her down a path that had thrilled her and yet made her feel just a little uncomfortable with herself. There was something about having seen this man and his attitude towards his girlfriend that had gone some way to justifying her own thoughts and feelings, some part of her had been stimulated at the thought of metering out some level of revenge against him, but not just that she felt taken by an almost predatory instinct, heightened by the thought of levelling the field by treating him as he had treated Carrie. She smiled as her mind swam with a valley of contorted thoughts and ideas. Call it karma She grinned almost as cruelly as he had done as he stood in the doorway. The rest of the afternoon went off quietly, Lisa busied herself with the innumerable tasks she had in helping to run the motel flung far into the outback. On the odd occasion she would see Carrie come from the small room either heading towards the ice vending machine or to the bar, no doubt waiting on her wretched excuse for a man. The sun had begun to wane and a smooth chill had taken to the air when Lisa saw Carrie heading back towards the motel room, though this time she appeared in some small measure of discomfort, her hand clutching against her left arm, acting for all the world as though she had been struck with some force. Lisa felt her blood boil, enraged at the thought of what must have been happening throughout the day. She quickly made her way across the forecourt and shocked Carrie who was adrift in a world of her own until the second that Lisa pressed against her, her hands placed on her shoulders, her eyes wide and desperately ablaze as she tried to temper the emotions that were bubbling just below the surface. "I can see what he is doing to you." There was so much she wanted to say, but the look in Carrie's eyes spoke of such a deep rooted fear. "Please." She whimpered, "Just let me go back to him, if I am out long he will know I have been talking to someone and that will just enrage him." Lisa scowled for a moment, trying to understand what could have happened to make her so weak, but it softened to a smile quickly as she gazed into her eyes. "You don't have to put up with this hun!" "Please...I know you mean well but you don't know what he's like." "I've seen his kind come through here before, they are weak, not even a shadow of a real man." "I need to go." Carrie glanced nervously towards the motel room, her eyes widened the moment she though she saw the curtains twitch. "Please!" she pleaded. Lisa released her hold on her and symbolically stepped from in front of her, but her eyes never left her. "I won't let him get away with this, he is in the middle of nowhere, I will make sure he realises the kind of man he is." Carrie looked for a moment as though she was about to speak, but with a quick glance to the room she said nothing and hurried towards the room, pausing only to glance back once she reached the door. Lisa as still stood there, watching, her eyes never leaving her. Carrie attempted a weak smile before opening the door and disappearing inside. Lisa sighed and began to make her way back across the forecourt when suddenly there came the sound of shouting from the room. She couldn't make out any of the words but the tone was unmistakable, aggressive and filled with hate. There was a scream that echoed through the night. Lisa screamed inside, her own rage at this was beginning to boil over, she felt her body tremble as the adrenalin started to course through her. The sound of something smashing was unmistakeable, another scream and more shouting. Lisa looked down at her hand, it had instinctively balled into a fist, and she shot a glare back at the room. Perhaps the perfect excuse to interject herself, after all destruction of motel property wasn't something she could ignore. Lisa ran back across the front of the motel, pausing only to dip into reception and lean across the desk, her fingers splayed and searching for something, a smile crossing her face once they touched upon the object of her search. She bought her hand back and held tightly in her grasp was a knife, its blade thick and a little pitted with wear and tear but still capable of emanating menace should it be required. When she left reception the night air was struck with another cry out and she hastened her pace until she came within inches of the door, her hand scrabbling against the handle as she rapped upon the door. "Is everything OK in there?" she narrowed her eyes as her ears strained for signs from within the room. For a few moments it fell silent, then a faint whisper, his voice...she couldn't make out the words but the tone was threatening. The door opened slowly, Carrie stood in the doorway, using her body to black access as Lisa looked over her. She was clearly distraught, tears had been pooling in her eyes and her expression was etched in pain. A little way behind her was her boyfriend, he was looking at the television and flicking through the channels with the remote. "I slipped over coming from the bathroom, I caught against the sideboard and spilled a bowl to the floor, that's all." Beneath her words her tone spoke imploringly, desperately. "That's right!" her boyfriend interjected as he looked over his shoulder, "We oughta sue you for giving us a death trap of a room!" "The scream was just me falling, I'm lucky Carl was here...." Yeah right, real fucking lucky! Lisa glared across to Carl. "Carrie, close the fucking door, it's cold enough as it is in here." Carl twisted back round and began concentrating on the television. Carrie smiled and went to shut the door but Lisa quickly slipped her foot between it and the frame. Her eyes pierced through the air between them and she smiled, but it was a smile laced with something deeper. "I think I should check everything is ok, after all if it isn't cleared up properly then you could cut yourself, and I couldn't have that on my conscious." Lisa proceeded to push against the door, Carrie put up no resistance, perhaps she had read Lisa's thoughts, perhaps she ached for this to come to an end and saw within Lisa someone who could reach out for her. Carl sat up on the bed, his expression clearly aggravated that things had gone against his wishes. "Fucking bitches, is it in the gene pool that not one of you listens to what is told to you!" Lisa glared at him. "Well, sir, at least we aren't spawned from the shallow end of the gene pool." She heard a gasp from Carrie behind her, but she didn't turn to her as her eyes were locked against Carls as he rose to his feet, his face contorted against this incredulous woman before him. "I don't know who the fuck you think you are missy, but if you think I am going to put up with that kind of shit you are mistaken, badly mistaken." Lisa scowled. "Oh, don't worry, I know your not the sort to put up with it. I know you're the kind of man who would let his fists do the talking because his brain is to slow witted." Carl seemed taken aback at this. His mind trying to comprehend the sight of anyone, let alone a woman standing up to him. He had spent his life arguing his point with a closed fist and had never once allowed anyone to better him. Lisa's eyes drifted to the sight of his fists beginning to clench. "I see..." she sneered at him, "Is this your comeback? You going to try and beat the crap out of me as you have done Carrie?" "Fucking bitch. Don't you dare speak of what you ain't got any idea about!" "Your in the middle of nowhere, this isn't your backyard, you can't just think you lay the law down out here." "Really, and what you going to do? Call your senile old pop out here to `give me a hiding'!" Carl began to laugh mockingly. Lisa did nothing but smile along with him before slowly shaking her head. "You really think your all that don't you" Carl slowly made his way across the room, Carrie began to back away, she knew what was coming she had seen it all too often as he approached her; she recognised the look in his eyes. In one quick fluid motion his hand shot out and grabbed Lisa by the neck, crushing the breath on her lips as he closed in on her. "Don't think I will put up with your shit. As far as I'm concerned you bitches are good for only one thing!" Lisa tried to grin against the stifling clamp of his hand. Her eyes flashed as her hand slipped behind her back feeling for the blade of the knife, she smiled at him. The next thing he was aware of was a dull pressure pressing hard against his crotch, a presence that spoke deeply that he was stepping into uncharted territory. He glanced down, his eyes met the sight of a dull blade pressing hard against his crotch, Lisa's hand flexed a little, a silent warning that were she to twist the blade then he would be the one screaming. The feelings that flooded him were uncommon, he was unsure even a little fearful of what could happen, his grip on her throat began to relax and as it did so Lisa pulled away from his grip and moved across to Carrie. "See, they ain't so bad, you just have to know how to train them." She grinned. "Fucking bitch, if you think....." "Ah, ah, ah..." Lisa waved the blade towards him in a mocking manner, "Trust me you are no hard man..." her eyes flicked down towards his crotch, "Trust me, I know that for sure!" "Bitch!" "You don't learn do you...Carl!" Carrie began to feel something she hadn't for a while, to see this woman stand up so effectively against the man that had kept her subservient all this time was quite intoxicating, she began to grin. "He always had trouble following simple instructions." She spoke, the tone of her voice still weakened but the strength behind each word increasing her courage. Lisa smiled and glanced towards her, Carrie smiled as she saw the response. "You think you're a big man don't you Carl." Lisa's smile turned what could only be described as evil, her mind flooded with the dark fantasies that had plagued her for so long and now seeing a way in which to enact them, but more than that she felt spurred on by having Carrie at her side, that she would se Carl for what he was and join in with her perhaps. Truly that would be leave the sweetest taste in her mouth. Carl glared at Carrie, she knew him well enough to know what thoughts would be going through his mind and part of her screamed out to try and help Carl, to try and protect him from this woman now brandishing a knife, she wavered, she went to step forward. It wouldn't matter, she knew it in her heart, if she stepped between them and tried to stop this she would still be beaten and probably worse than before as Carl would feel that which he held most precious had been taken from him...power.... and he would need to assert himself once more. Carrie smiled and stopped in her tracks. Lisa grinned, she had seen this play out across Carrie's face, she knew that she had driven in hard to extract her from this bastard and if she had any hope of offering her any form of salvation from him then she would have to go further, harder, to show him for the worthless mess he was. Lisa's eyes were inflamed with a powerful lust and as they narrowed she took a step forward, the blade hovering threateningly in the air between them at all times. "So whose the `bitch' now Carl? Get on your knees and tell me who the fucking bitch is now!" something snapped in Lisa's head, some floodgate that had for so long remained steadfast against the darker side that languishes in all was now wrenched apart and she pushed harder against him until she was mere inches from him. "Look at you. You think that by subjecting someone to a life of terror that you can hold them back, is it going to hold you back? Are you going to cower or are you going to dig deep and find a pair of balls...you better hurry before I get the urge to cut the fuckers off!" Lisa mocked him with her eyes and twisted the knife in the air between them. "You really think you have it in you to terrorise me?" Carl's demeanour began to reassert itself. "Fucking stupid whore, I will show you what being terrorised is about." Carl began to push forward; despite the knife he shoved Lisa hard in the chest with his open palms. She staggered backward, trying to maintain her balance and only doing so when her back hit against the door. Carl grinned, his hand had already dropped to his belt and he was in the process of flicking his buckle open as he approached her, a menacing gleam in his eye. "Like I always said, bitches are good for just two things...but you don't look like much of a cook to me!" Lisa glared at him, the knife tightened in her hand. Carl watched her as he approached. "I think my `weapon' is more than a match for that!" he sneered as her began to tease his fingers down the zipper of his jeans. Lisa's face went from a scowl to a near insane grin, something had taken her attention. Carl was momentarily caught unawares and suddenly it occurred to him, with his attention honed on to Lisa he had paid no attention to Carrie as she slipped around him. He felt her presence close to his side, something he would ordinarily have insisted on, but right now it felt....wrong. He turned sharply to face her; his eyes were just in time to focus on the shape that came whistling through the air before cracking hard against his skull. Suddenly his head exploded into a rainbow of colour. "BITCH!" he screamed out as pain and anger flooded him. Carl staggered a step of two backwards, losing his place in the room as he flailed about. He walked straight back into Lisa and for a moment felt the cold touch of the steel against his throat and the heat of her breath as she pressed close to his ear and spoke in a hiss. "There's only one bitch in this room! And it's you, you dumb fucker!" Lisa took the knife away and drilled him hard into the back with her knee sending him spilling forward where Carrie caught him once again with face of the iron which she had picked up originally. Carl's head swam with the pain before he was freed from it, all bit it momentarily, by the swathe of unconsciousness that crashed over him. His last waking memory was the faint echo of Lisa's voice as she spoke. "Who's the bitch now......." ------ A soft focus whirlpool of colour swept over Carl's mind, images that seemed to carry little substance, he blinked against the deep swell that pulled against his consciousness like a tide withdrawing from a beach, with each wash felt more of himself lost to its hold, with each ebb and flow he tried to shake the malaise free of its insistent grip. The gentle wash of voices caught up in the tangle of his senses, but he couldn't make them out. His mind tried to piece back events, the first thing that struck him was the dull throb in his temples, and the second was the cause of it. This realisation sent a rage running through his veins and he roared out in aggravation. He wanted to stand but he couldn't...shit, what was going on...he opened his eyes, blinked twice as the stark daylight flooded him. It was then he realised. He couldn't move. He was still in the motel room, but was bent over the end of the bed, his face staring at the headboard set against the peeling wallpaper, his wrists were tightly bound with rough lengths of rope, these had been secured to the thickest iron poles either side of the headboard. He tried to pull against them, tried to work his way free but succeeded only in grinding the rope against his wrists, they had been to intricately tied. Fuck! His eyes widened, he tried to pull himself up but couldn't rise from the kneeling position he was in, he couldn't turn to see what has hampering him, but he could feel it. Laced around his ankles and securing him tightly in this position was yet more rope, he could tell by the way that he struggled with his wrists that this was the one length of rope that they had used to lash him to the bed. But more than that, before him lay his clothes all neatly folded and placed right in front of him to mock him as the realisation began to dawn. His eyes shone with growing anger, he tried in vain to tug at the bonds, but only growled in pain as the rope bit down on him. "Fucking bitches!" he cried out. "Show yourselves!" There came a giggling from behind him, the shadows moved and Lisa came into view and promptly dropped herself down on the bed, her expression one of almost sadistic glee. "Well, well, well. It seems our bitch is awake at last." Lisa turned towards Carrie who was hovering at the side just past Carl's peripheral vision. "You have one hell of a swing darling." Lisa winked. "You are going to be fucked when I get hold of you!" Carl continued to rant. Lisa's face turned into a venomous mask and she pulled herself to within an inch of his sweating brow. "You still don't get it do you! God, you are so bloody slow. You see, when I look down and see you on your knees and splayed out before us, it's you that looks like the bitch!" Carrie giggled, "like a bitch on heat!" The room chorused with laughter from the two women. "And trust me, it's you who is fixing to get fucked!" Lisa pulled back and smiled over towards Carrie. "You see, while you were out cold, your ex-girlfriend and I have been getting to know each other, quite well in fact." Lisa motioned for Carrie to come to her, this she did, slinking across the floor with a devilish grin on her face, she was stripped of all her clothes, this exposed the naked beauty of her body but also the patchwork of bruises that she had endured at her boyfriends hand, but Carl's eye was drawn to something else. His gaze narrowed as he fixed upon the `strap on' that wavered between her legs. Its length was glistening with moisture, slick and wet from its previous use. Lisa turned her grin back at Carl. "It seems that Carrie is far better at wielding a cock than you would ever be." She winked, "and it seems only fair that after she has delighted me with he sweet skills, that you really should experience just what you have been missing." Carl's mind worked over what she had said, it took a moment for the realisation to dawn on him. "You fucking whore. Don't you dare! If you touch me with that I will..." "You will WHAT!" Lisa spat with venomous anger towards him. "You are a sick fucked up asshole, that you even touched such a beautiful creature as Carrie with your hands makes me sick to the stomach. This is my motel, my part of the world. There's nothing you can do, nothing but scream like the bitch you are!" Lisa's gaze returned to Carrie's and immediately softened. "I think it's time babe." She grinned. Carrie winked, "I have been waiting for this for so long." She walked behind Carl who instantly started to struggle against his bonds. "Don't you dare touch me with that Carrie? I swear if you do I will...." His threats began to falter. "There's nothing you can do Carl. I am free of you and you can consider this a farewell fuck." She slid in close behind him and grip against his waist with her slim fingers. Lisa's gaze burned against Carl's, there was nowhere he could turn to escape her look. Behind him Carrie was beginning to manoeuvre the tip of strap on against his tight hole and before him lay this she devil, her fingers now dipping between her splayed thighs already moist from earlier. "Don't worry about lube Carl, I can tell you that its length is well coated." With that Lisa lifted her fingers from her glistening lips and raised them to her tongue. She glanced at Carrie who was grinning behind Carl. "I think we have teased our little whore enough. Give him what he wants darling." Lisa's smile was wicked and mirrored by Carrie's own. Carl tensed as he felt her fingers dig against his waist, the tip of the strap on pushing against him. His eyes lay wide;there was nothing he could do. The first sensation was a building pressure, he grimaced against its rising tide, spitting out useless threats of vengeance as Carrie applied more strength. "Damn this bitch is tight." Carrie giggled She was sweating with the effort as she pushed harder and harder. Carl screamed out, his body flooded with an intense fire as the slick length of plastic drilled into him, its moistened side finding no friction as Carrie drove her hips forward. Carl' fingers scrunched up the sheet on the bed as his eyes crushed shut and he cried out. Carrie reached deep into her reserves of strength and drove the length deep to the hilt so as her inner thighs momentarily rested against his buttocks. Lisa was now furiously sliding her fingers deep along the walls of her opening, her gaze fixed against this lurid sight, this unforgettable sight. Carrie pulled back a little before plunging harder against eliciting a deep groan of pain and humiliation from Carl. She began to pump into his ass, slowly at first and then her movements began to pick up speed, her fingers digging deep as her thighs slapped against his buttocks. Carl's cries went unheeded and before long tears welled in his eyes. He tried to avoid the gaze of Lisa as she began to reach the deeper strokes of her hand, her breathing becoming harder and faster as Carrie's motions behind her ex picked up their pace. Lisa gasped as she felt the first distant strings of orgasm flow through her shaking body. Carl whimpered as Carrie continued her violation, all through her expression was changing, with each thrust it was as though all the pent up memories of years of abuse were freeing themselves of her body, as though this act was cleansing her very soul. "How do you like this bitch!" she hissed. Carl's response was a mixture of sorrow and groans of pain. She continued to drive deep and hard into him, the strap on, once coated with Lisa's own juices were now smeared deep inside him. In their own way each had violated him. Carrie pumped vigorously, feeling the moulding of the strap on grind at her clit, feeing the welling of pleasure build up within her. She began to breath is short gasps as her strokes increased in pace, each quick thrust bring wave upon wave of pleasure through her body until they reached a crescendo that buzzed in her ears, her vision blurred with the intensity as her body was flooded with a shivering orgasm. Sweating profusely she pulled herself from the whimpering form of Carl. She locked eyes with Lisa and savoured this moment they had shared, this breaking free of their respective bonds. Carrie grinned, "That's the first orgasm he has ever given me." She began to giggle. "But what now?" Lisa smiled, and leant across to the bedside cabinet where she had placed the iron earlier. She handed it to Carrie, "I think you should have the honours sweetheart, it seems only right." Lisa proceeded to blow Carrie a kiss before looking down at the tear stained face of Carl. "Goodnight sweet prince." She hissed. A flash of pain flooded his head as the strike of the iron once again rendered him unconscious. -------- Carl brought his hand to his head, the pain still filed him and her could feel the rise on his forehead where he had been struck. His eyes blinked against the searing sunlight, trying hard to focus on the world around him, but everywhere he looked all he could see was the shimmering heat, nothing but the arid desolation of the outback... "Oh shit" He began to panic a little, he still felt sore from being so fiercely violated earlier, but now a new feeling held sway, panic, no in truth it was sheer terror. The outback was an endless expanse of near desert and he had no inkling of which way to turn, there wasn't even a road he could have followed in the vain hope it would bring him to sanctuary before the heat did for him. "Fuck you bitch!" he screamed out, his voice tempered by a shiver of fear and his stomach turning itself over in knots as the baking heat of the midday sun hammered against him. -------- "So what do you think?" Lisa smiled as Carrie sat opposite and softly sipped at a chilled juice. "I think it's a wonderful idea Lisa...I really do" she smiled, and her eyes glowed with something she had long since given up hope on, living life to the full. Secretly she was thankful to Carl, the vile, drunken bastard who had made her life a living hell had inadvertently bought her to her salvation when he pulled up to the motel five days ago. Five days! Had it really been that long, Carrie had lost track of time as each day was spent tending to the needs of the motel during the day and more invigoratingly, to her at least, tending to the `needs' of Lisa during the night. She smiled lengthily at Lisa and spoke, the uncertainty and fear in her voice had long gone, replaced now with spirit and a lust for life. Five days since Carrie had been wrenched from the hopelessness and bought back, five days since Carl was left deep in the heart of the outback, she wasn't aware that anyone had ever lasted longer than six and he had no shelter or water. Carrie took another long refreshing sip from her glass "Lisa. What do you say we get out of this heat?" she smiled. Lisa grinned back at her, "I was just thinking the very same thing." She stood and locked her fingers with Lisa's as they walked towards one of the rooms.