Excerpt: Carousel

She could feel the gun sliding across her cheek towards her temple. Hard and biting cold, nevertheless it was the fear that made her teeth chatter. Her eyes crept to her right and that singular glance made her gasp die into a sob.

“Don’t.”
She shut her eyes and bit her lip, tears leaking from the corner of her eyes, visibly trembling, her violent shudders rubbing her skin raw from where the rope tightly encircled her wrist.

“Shh...”

She felt a cold finger press against her left cheek, tracing her jaw, then inching down her neck, in a slow, almost leisurely manner, finally resting down at the base of her throat where her pulse madly pounded.

“No need to panic.”

Despite the crippling fear, she became aware of a looming presence behind her seat, just inches from her back. The finger in her throat was quickly replaced with a full hand surrounding her throat. She squeaked. The hand tightened.

“Uh-uh...”

Obeying his order, she tried to inhale deeply, the sound of clogged up snot and tears audible in the utter stillness of the room.

“Good girl.”