The truck bounced along the country road and as the men smoked their cigarettes, Ellen's glance returned again and again to the smaller man in dreadful fascination. A long narrow welt-like scar curled across one of his thin cheeks, and his long black unkempt hair shone greasily in the moonlight. The smoke grew thicker and thicker over her face until she thought she would choke. Then Billy jokingly forced the strong smelling cigarette to her mouth and made her puff on it, and she broke into a fit of coughing. An interminable length of time seemed to pass, and she began to feel nauseous as he forced it again and again to her lips.

"We're doing just fine back here," he yelled to the front loudly. Then he sank back onto her and sighed, grinding his hardness against her legs and chuckling softly. He laughed again and blew into her ear, sending waves of goose-bumps over her flesh, and the terrified young girl cringed in revulsion.

She stiffened and twisted her face to the side, straining to see out the back of the truck as though somewhere out there in the rapidly disappearing scenery she might find something, anything that would magically save her. But the empty fields flew uselessly by, and not a single car appeared on the long strip of highway. There was only the round disc of the moon shining brightly in the starless summer sky to give her small comfort.

"Roll her over," Vito said after a moment in a grudging voice, lighting a second cigarette. "I want to see the front." There was an irritated demanding quality to his words that sent new shivers of fear down Ellen's spine.

"Relax, Vito," Billy said confidently. "It's all there. I already checked it out for you."

"Looks like you're doing more than checking it out to me. C'mon, roll her over. I want to see what she's got for tits!"

"Shut up, man. You're botherin' me."

"All I got is the head." Vito's vicious tone now had a knife-like edge to it.