Ellen smiled to herself, noting her cheerful change of mood, and popped open the last can of beer. God! She was getting a little loaded herself, but she enjoyed the giddy feeling and reasoned happily that she deserved her own private little fling after all she had been through during the past few months. As she lay back feeling the cool sand cup firmly around her buttocks, she thought she heard a voice break through the roar of surf. She sat up, cocking her head to catch the direction the voice had come from. If someone was out in the ocean she would be helpless to save them. She had taken junior lifesaving in high school, but she would be completely incapable of pulling a struggling body from the undertow which had been particularly strong this evening.

Ellen stood up and methodically put on her jeans and sandals. She could hear the voice, no they were voices now, coming from a sand dune behind her. One voice was obviously a girl's, and the girl sounded as though she were being hurt! Low muffled groans resounded through the rush of foaming water, and Ellen moved up the beach a few paces towards where she thought the sound was coming from. Now she made out clearly a man's low voice accompanied by what sounded like protesting whimpers from the girl.

There was another moan but it was longer this time and had a quivering almost pleading tone to it. The groan was followed by a harsh laugh from the man, and then the hard slap of flesh, as though the girl were being beaten.

Ellen turned from behind the sand dune and started to move away down the beach towards the party.