"Thirsty?" Wes asks.

You are. The drugs he must have used to lace your drink have left you desperate for water. It turns your stomach just to think of asking Wesley for anything, but you've never been so thirsty in your life.

"Yes," you whisper, humiliated and afraid.

He lifts something in his hand and shakes it. It makes a sloshing sound. Squinting through the darkness, you recognize your own water bottle, and your skin crawls.

Wes unscrews the top from the water bottle and raises it as if to toast you, then lifts it to his lips. You hear his swallow. He makes a sound of satisfaction as he lowers the bottle again. "Ahh. Nothin' like a drink of cool water. That's a song, Kendall. Do you know it?"

You slowly shake your head. You're too afraid to ask him directly for a drink.

Reaching to unlatch the gate, Wes raises his voice in song.

"All day I've faced a barren waste without the taste of water

Cool water

Old Dan and I with throats burnt dry and souls that cry

For water

Cool, clear water..."

How can he be singing at a time like this? You can't tell if he's simply mocking you, or if he's in earnest. It's horrifying.

You aren't the only one who thinks it's horrifying, either. From somewhere near at hand comes a low moan of animal terror, the sound of the woman trapped in here with you crying.

For a moment, you pity her more than you pity yourself, and you wish you could see her, comfort her. But you're too afraid to call out to her with Wes so close at hand.

Wes pauses to swing the gate of the stall closed, continuing the song.

"Keep a-movin', Dan, don't you listen to 'im, Dan

He's a devil, not a man

And he spreads the burnin' sand with water..."

He crosses toward you in a few steps and kneels at your side. You look up at him in confusion and fear, unable to help yourself from shrinking back from him. He lifts the water bottle, and you know he's looking at you, although you cannot see his face in the darkness.

"Come on, now, Kendall. Where are your manners?" He shakes the bottle again, and the water sloshes hollowly inside. It's as if he knows how appealing that sound is...

What does he want from you? You look at the water bottle, swallowing, your throat parched, and remember the sight of him taking a drink from it.

Do you even want a drink? His lips touched the mouth of that bottle.

But you're desperate. "Please give me a drink, Wes," you say.

"That'll do, I suppose." Still kneeling, he slides a little closer to you and reaches out for you. You flinch away, but with your hands tied, you don't have anywhere to go. He takes hold of your hair and pulls you roughly toward him, holding you firmly by the back of the head as he lifts the water bottle to your lips. "Bottoms up."

You drink. It's harder than it seems; the water comes too fast, and you swallow some, but choke on the rest, spluttering.

He holds your head in place as you cough, his fingers still cruelly gripping you by the hair. "Now, you just stay here and take you a little rest," he says. "I won't be away long."

Wes releases you and stands. He begins to hum the strains of the song he had been singing before as he strides out of the stall and kicks the door shut. Then, he drops the latch into place. He doesn't look back; humming to himself, as if he does not have a care in the world, he leaves you.

You hear his footsteps cross the barn floor, and then you hear the creak of the barn doors closing, and the rattle of a chain on the outside of the door.

Then...silence.

You know he's going to come back eventually, and you know there's a very small chance of a happy ending to your story when he does.

What's your plan, Kendall?

Stay quiet and docile and just do what he says. You don't want to make him angry. [[Go to  Chapter 76.]]

When he gets back, you will wait for your moment, and then try to reason with him. [[Go to Chapter 75.]]