Lisa felt something tugging on her arm. Then something began pulling on her other arm. The pulling started to focus itself around her wrists as Lisa slowly regained consciousness.
She realized that she had been pulled up by her wrists, which were now tied to a pair of poles sticking out of the ground, about five feet apart with the rope running from her wrists to a ring in each pole about three feet above her head. Her arms were suddenly pulled taught as her legs were forced part and tied to the lower part of the poles.
She began to taste the gag in her mouth as each rope was checked and all potential slack removed, leaving each limb straining under tension.
“Ladies and gentlemen, this here woman hasn't paid her toll. We can't have people getting ideas, now, so it looks like we're going to have to take the toll from somebody.”
The man who was speaking had circled around behind Lisa. She realized now that she was tied to the two poles that flanked the entrance to the saloon's porch, with a large crowd standing silently in the street, watching her. She felt a tug on her clothes, followed by a ripping sound and her shirt falling off of her. The rest of her garments were cut away, leaving her completely topless.
Lisa tried desperately to struggle, but the tight rope didn't give her an inch. Just as she first wondered what would happen to her, she felt the painful lash of a small bull whip lain across her back. The shock left her unable to breath for a moment before another strike pulled her out of it.
“Don't worry, Miss, I'm real good at not leaving any scars.” The whip hit her again, forcing out a muffled scream. “I can make it hurt as much as it needs to without breaking your skin. After all, you've still got the rest of your toll to pay.”
Lisa wasn't able to count the lashes. All she knew was that her whole body felt beaten and weak. Soon she could no longer even strain her muscles, as fruitless as that had been in the first place, and simple hung her head and take a single, shallow breath between each lash.
Once a few seconds had gone by without the expected attack, her tension snapped and she half-lost consciousness. |