Jennifer: The Importance of Looking Over Your Shoulder




Jennifer had decided recently to be more careful when she went out on new jobs.
Of course, she had had some trouble on previous endeavors, However, even the
best of intentions can go by the wayside when one gets into the moment...

Jennifer had been referred to a new client through a mutual friend. It turned
out that this new client, Joan, was suspicious that her boyfriend Donald was
cheating on her with various women. After some conversations, Jennifer and Joan
decided on what they thought would be a prudent course of action.

However, at one of their last meetings, Joan swore that she saw Donald watching
them from some distance away. They had agreed to meet in a remote area of town,
so Jennifer doubted that Donald would be on to them. Regardless, she decided to
be careful and cancel any further meetings.

So it was that Jennifer was walking into her apartment one night after a long
day at work. She was wearing a sleeveless shirt, capri pants, and peep toe
heels. Suddenly, as she closed the door and walked towards the kitchen, Jennifer
felt someone behind her. Turning around quickly, she saw a large man dressed all
in black standing immediately behind her.

"Who...who...are you..." Jennifer asked, her voice shaking.

"Oh, I think you recognize me," the man said, grinning from ear to ear. Jennifer
suddently recognized the face from pictures - it was Donald, Joan's boyfriend. A
number of questions started to rush through her head.

"H-how did you find me?" asked Jennifer, trying to keep her eye on Donald. She
had left her stun gun in her car, and felt completely vulnerable.

"Oh, just your carelessness in allowing me to trail you. I saw that you and Joan
were meeting, and I know your reputation," he responded.

"Well, you have to leave, or I'm going to call the police," said Jennifer, as
she got out her IPhone from her purse. Jennifer pushed the #1 key for the police
department's speed dial, but as she was about to hit the "Send" button, she felt
Donald run squarely into her, knocking her off her feet.

"What, you don't trust me?!" Donald asked, with more than a bit of an edge to
his voice. "Now I'm going to make you feel like Joan made me feel, helpless!"

A wave of fear ran over Jennifer as she sat on the ground. What could she do?
She glanced quickly to the side, and saw her IPhone, which had been knocked from
her grasp when Donald hit her. The police department's emergency number was
still displayed; if she could hit the "Send" key, she could ask for help. She
reached over to grasp the phone, when....

Donald dove on top of her, pinning her to the ground. Her rather short
fingernails glanced off the IPhone, causing it to skitter away. Jennifer was in
a panic, and started grasping madly for the cell phone. "Stop it!" exclaimed
Donald , as he pulled her back. "You don't need that for anything."

Despite Donald's efforts, Jennifer started struggling forward for the cell
phone. She tried scrambling away, throwing her right arm out for the metal and
plastic surface of the IPhone. Her arm was stretched out and her fingers were
spread, but the cell phone was a couple of inches away. She strained forward,
grunting, groaning, as Donald held her back. 

Donald let out an evil laugh at her situation, saying "What, your reach betrays
your grasp, my dear?" He was winning the battle, and Jennifer couldn't do
anything about it. 

She was coming so close...all she needed to do was hit that damned "Send"
button, and the call would go through to the police. Then, they would hear what
was happening. Her fingers were spread out, stretching forward, aching to touch
that IPhone. Her fingers and hand shook with the effort, and she let out a
little cry as she strained forward. She had that cell phone pressed to her ears
so many times previously. Now, when she needed it most, she just needed to touch
it, to activate the touch screen...

However, despite her greatest efforts, despite the strain evident in her
fingers, hands, and arms, the cell phone was still too far away. The light
seemed to be shining off the IPHone illuminating the screen, but it was an
impossible dream. Donald picked her up, kicked the cell phone further away, and
carried her into the kitchen. Jennifer let out a little sigh as she saw her
precious IPhone skitter far out of reach.

Donald obviously had been in this situation before. Such was the realization
Jennifer came to as Donald finished wrapping the coarse rope and tape around her
torso, binding her to the pole in her kitchen. He had left her standing up,
making the situation even more uncomfortable. 

"Well dear, comfy? This should make you understand just a little how badly you
and Joan have made me feel with this distrust," Donald said, with a hint of
anger in his voice.

"What are you going to do to me now, you creep?!" exclaimed Jennifer,
fearfully. 

"Nothing for now," answered Donald. "I'm leaving you here to think about your
sins. I will be back though, with Joan, and I'll make you both suffer!" With
that, Donald walked out the door.

Jennifer tried pulling at her bonds, but it was no use. She tried rocking back
and forth, pulling and pushing against the strong ropes, feeling them digging
into her skin. She had some give in her arms, and could move her hands around,
but that was about it. What could she do?

Looking around, her gaze fell upon a pocket knife on a nearby table. The table
was low enough that she thought she could get to them with her foot. She
strained out with one leg...but the toe of her heel barely grazed the blue
plastic handle of the knife. 

Realizing she would need to grasp the knife with her toes, she slipped off her
heels, and tried again. Unfortunately, her big toe quivered a quarter inch away.
She let her leg go down again, and summoning her strength, she stretched out her
right leg again. Her big toe grazed the edge of the handle this time, and
feeling the plastic against her toes gave her hope. 

Trying one more time, she strained out with all her might, lunging her leg
forward. The veins in her foot stood out, and her toes turned a shade of red
with the effort, as she madly clenched and unclenched them, hoping to will
herself a bit closer. Her face was contorted, her head thrown slightly back, her
eyes narrowed.

It really was quite a scene. Jennifer was stretched out to her very limits, with
one foot on the ground to brace herself. Her right foot was straining out, her
toes alternating between clenching and pointing. The clear polish on her toes
shimmered a bit in the light, as her toes hovered just short of their goal. Her
eyes were narrowed in steely determination, and she could feel the strain from
her neck, down through her torso, to her legs and her feet.

"Can't...give...up...yet..." she groaned as she strained out.
"Must...reach...the...knife...."

Just as hope was fading...just as she thought she would never reach that knife
that taunted her from just outside her grasp...she let out a big cry as her toes
made contact with the knife, enough so that she could grasp them.

Carefully picking them up, Jennifer was able to bring the knife back to her
hands, and, with great effort, was able to saw through the ropes that bound her.
She called the police, and they were able to both help Jennifer and get to
Joan's house before Donald could cause any more danger.