Anna cried out in her sleep and clawed at the bedsheets locked in the nightmare again. It came every night now like clockwork and the over-the-counter sleep aids did nothing to stop it.

She was in a basement in the dark behind some large piece of furniture. Dust balls and spider eggs covered the floor of her hiding place and she shuddered at the thought of insects on her skin... in her hair.

Where was her gun? Where was her backup?

The man was coming down the stairs now, his footsteps heavy and loud, not bothering to sneak up on her. The overhead fluorescent tubes flared with a sickening yellow light and Anna ducked down further trying to make herself as small as possible. He called her name... how did he know her name?

The bookcase she had sheltered behind was suddenly tossed aside and she looked up but the overhead lights directly above made him nothing more than a silhouette.

He was huge, towering over her and he said her name again. She tried to scramble away and this made him angry. He rained down blows upon her head causing her vision to dim and then the world went black.

She regained consciousness and knew very little time had passed. She was still in the basement but she was bent painfully over a chair. Her pants were down and the pain in her head was now rivaled by the pain... down there. He was in her. His thing...was in her and he was panting and pushing it deeper and deeper. Anna tried to scream and pull free, but he clamped one hand over her mouth and pushed mercilessly down on her back with the other. His breathing was faster now and he thrust in and out harder and with more urgency. To her horror, she realized her struggles were helping him... he enjoyed hurting her.

She bit down on his palm then as hard as she could and now he screamed. She turned in time to see him ball his fist and swing.

Anna sat bolt upright in bed, gasping for breath. She was tangled in the sheets and covered in sweat. She spent some time getting her breathing under control and then began extricating herself from the bed. When she was free, she padded to the bathroom and flicked on the light. The tap water was lukewarm and she stood with her finger under the flow until it cooled then filled her glass and drank deeply.

The woman in the mirror looked back at her miserably. Her skin was the pale sickly white of a cadaver broken only by the railway map of blue veins beneath. Tears streaked her small freckled face and she wiped them away hastily with the back of her hand. She smoothed her ragged red crewcut and filled the glass again, taking a small sip. Then, on a sudden impulse, she dumped the rest of it over her head.

The reflection in the mirror looked comically shocked and then began to laugh. Anna heard the laugh and realized it was a bad laugh... a sick laugh... perhaps even a crazy laugh. She tried but couldn't stop it so she gave in and let the laughter win, cackling maniacally as she re-packed her duffle.

The chopper was leaving in less than three hours anyway.