A surprise visitor

For the first time in over three weeks, Derek saw the sun. It was blinding in its intensity and he had to squint his eyes to protect it from its punishing glare, but he was glad to see the sun.

When his eyes adjusted to the light, he took a good look at his surroundings. He had been right. He was being held captive out in the woods in the middle of nowhere.

Even if he managed to escape, which was unlikely unless he was kept alive until his wounds healed well enough for him to try to escape, he would most likely die of thirst and starvation out here.

“There is water in that bucket over there, as well as some soap. Use it to wash yourself very well.” His captor told him, still pointing the gun at him so that he would not make any funny moves, not that Derek was in the condition to do such a thing.

There was no question of wrestling the gun out of the man’s hands except he wanted to wind up dead, so Derek approached the bucket gingerly and began to take his bath, wincing when the soap to