So it was with some relief that I opened my eyes and experienced complete and utter blindness. "I'm still asleep," I thought. "Otherwise I would be able to see something." But the pain seeping mercilessly through my body was impossible to dismiss so easily. I was trapped inside of the nightmare and this time, waking up offered no escape.

I was lying on my side with my arms tied painfully behind me. My legs were flexed slightly, presumably tied at the ankles, but I really couldn't feel them very well. My mouth was sealed shut with a sticky band that smelled like duct tape and a cloth covered my eyes. The air was close and warm and smelled vaguely familiar. The material beneath my cheek was stiff and prickly. I straightened my legs as far as I could, groaning at the pain that throbbed through me. My feet knocked against something and I knew where I was.

They had tied me up and tossed me in the trunk of my car. At first I panicked at the thought that they might come back. And then I panicked at the thought that they might not. Finally I just panicked. Tears trickled out of my eyes and were soaked up by the blindfold. I began to sob uncontrollably, drawing in stiff ragged breaths through my nose until it clogged from crying and I couldn't breath any more. I forced myself to calm down enough to clear my nose and tried to take deep, even breaths.

Then I heard a noise outside the car and stopped breathing entirely. No sound of a key in the lock, instead it sounded as if the trunk was simply ripped open and something heavy fell on me. There was a burning smell and the trunk lid slammed shut.

"Dammit, dammit, dammit!" A voice swore two inches from my ear. "Cutting it too close again, Vachon. Urs will never let you hear the end of it this time." I heard the sound of slapping, as if he were patting roughly at his clothing. "And I liked this shirt. Maybe Knight has the right idea, driving around with all that extra trunk space. The Triumph is sorely lacking in that area."

I must have made some kind of sound then, because he suddenly rolled off of me, as much as he could in that limited space and placed his hands on my face.

"Madre de Dios!" He exclaimed. "I thought I heard something, but I was somewhat preoccupied. Who are you? What are you doing here?"

I made a muffled sound behind the tape over my mouth.

"Oh, right, of course. Sorry." He peeled the tape away carefully and pulled off my blindfold.

"Oh God, oh God." I gasped breathlessly.

Ever so gently he gathered me against himself and held me carefully as a violent trembling seized my body and I whimpered helplessly. "Shhh, shhh, pobrecita," he murmured. "Who has done this to you, cara?"

"I ... I don't know who they were." I managed to force out between my tightly clenched jaws. "They were waiting for me in the parking lot. One of them had a knife. They made me take money out of the bank machine, and then...then one of them drove while the other ... the one with the knife ... he ... he stayed with me in the back-seat. Then we pulled over and they both...." I broke down again and the stranger growled menacingly as his hands found the cloth around my wrists. He snapped it effortlessly and reached down to do the same for my ankles. I seemed to hear him sniffing softly and I thought I saw a flash of gold, like an animal's eyes caught in a car's headlights.

"They cut you, cara?" He asked roughly.

"Y...yes. To get my clothes off. He wasn't very careful."

A rumbling sigh. "This is something of a problem. We won't be able to stay here like this for much longer. I am...in some discomfort and you wouldn't be safe."

I nodded vigorously. "They might be back any time. We've got to get out of here." I struggled to get past him and try to open the trunk myself.

"Ooomph." He exhaled as my knee poked him in the diaphragm. He caught me gently and pulled me back. "No no, querida, you don't understand. I have to stay in here. The Sun, you see, is my enemy." He brushed a hand against my cheek and I felt the ragged blistering and smelled the charred skin.

"Ohh," I whispered and touched his hand softly. "You are burned."

He cupped my cheek in his undamaged palm and chuckled quietly. "You suffer so much and still you can feel my pain as well. You mortals never cease to surprise me."

His words made no sense to me, but I knew we needed to find help, for both of us. "If you can't go, then I'll have to."

"There's no place to go, cara. This is truly the middle of nowhere."

"We'll take the car. I can drive."

"Without the keys?"

"Oh. He probably took them with him."

"Probably."

"What ... what are we going to do, then?" I felt myself begin to tremble again and he gave me a light, reassuring squeeze.

"Tell me, cara, have you ever hot-wired a car before?"

Somehow, with a great deal of uncomfortable shifting and unlikely feats of strength on his part, we were able to retrieve the tool box from the wheel well. Then I received the most unusual lesson of my life.

I've always felt a certain disappointment that I never got the chance to try out my newly acquired skill. Just as I was about to slip carefully out of the trunk, we heard someone approaching.

I recognized that laugh and I scurried back into the arms of the stranger with a whimper of terror. I felt a ripple of sound reverberate through his chest.

"It's them?" He rasped. I could only nod my head jerkily. With a sure, liquid motion, he slid me across his body so that I was pressed against the rear of the trunk while he crouched near the front. "Stay there." He whispered in that strange, harsh voice. "This will not take long." We heard the key scrape in the lock and with a feral snarl, he burst out of the trunk.

I heard hoarse screaming and the sounds an animal might make as he tore his prey to pieces. A moment of silence and I heard something being dragged under the car; then a liquid purring sound.

"Cara?" His voice came from below and I twitched violently. "You can come out now. Leave the trunk open. The keys are still in the lock."

Slowly I crept out of my erstwhile prison--my refuge, to stand trembling in the sunlight. The keys were indeed hanging from the lock and I slid them out. I stared at them wonderingly, astonished at the freedom they represented.

"Umm, cara?" Came the voice from under the car. "Here." A leather jacket was pushed out beside the tire. When I bent down to retrieve it, I caught a glimpse of what lay under the car.

A strange feeling of peace crept through me. "Thank you." I breathed.

"Don't mention it." He replied. We both understood.

"How do we get out of here?"

"Straight ahead, about four miles there's a dirt road. Turn right and that should get us to the highway."

"Is there someplace I should take you?"

"You need to get yourself to a hospital. Once it gets dark, I can take care of myself."

"All right." I agreed, and slipped into the front seat. Through the mirror, I saw a dark blur emerge from under the car and the trunk slammed shut.

Late that night as I lay in the hospital bed, the memories of what had happened began to crash violently through my dreams. I cried out wildly and tried to fight my way free, but as always, the nightmare was too strong for me.

"Shh, cara, it's all right." Came that soothing voice from out of the darkness, and his arms came around to hold me gently against him. "There's nothing to be afraid of any more. They won't hurt you ever again. I promise."

With a sigh I relaxed against his comforting solidity and I felt his cool lips brush softly against my own. "That's right, cara, sleep. There will be no more bad dreams."

My nightmares disappeared that night, never to return. And so did the leather jacket he had given to me.