To lose hope

Stacy remained in the semi-darkness inside that black van; hours passed during which she could only weep in frustration at having “failed” the forest. Finally, she felt the van brake sharply, causing her to slam against the wall.

The doors opened immediately; one of the men in black grabbed her by the foot, and with a dull thud, she landed on the ground, where she was helped to her feet. She was in an enclosed space—a simple private parking garage—and saw similar vans as they walked along.

He remained silent, sniffling, while the men walked on, ignoring the fact that they were carrying a naked woman. They took her to an elevator and pressed the button for level 0.

After nearly a minute of silence, the doors opened and light struck Stacy’s eyes; the men shoved her, causing her to fall onto the metal floor, which reflected her naked body.

She was immediately dragged to a chair and forced to sit; finally, she saw that she was facing a desk where a man was seated. He appeared taller than her, dressed in an immaculate tuxedo, a smile playing on his face.

“Look who we have here—the guardian of the forest!” he said with a laugh, clearly delighted by the girl.

He immediately glanced at the two men, who nodded; they quickly untied her and removed her gag. Stacy was free; for a moment, she looked at the man with a serious expression before giving in and slumping back into the chair, unconcerned about her exposed body, even though she felt a twinge of embarrassment.

“I’ve known for a long time about your conflicts with my company.” He simply clasped his hands together on the table.

“That’s why I decided to bring you here personally—so we could discuss why you’re doing this,” he said, pointing at her with a smile.

“You’re going to destroy the forest!” Stacy shouted, on the verge of tears.

The man simply laughed, as if he’d heard a joke.

“Do you know that trying to scare us off only increases the demand for timber?”

Stacy fell silent, which only made the man’s smile widen.

“Do you also know that when you defecate or bathe in the river, you pollute it?”

Silence.

“That’s why I stopped you; there is an order to things, and you were disrupting it,” he finished, never looking away or losing that smile.

Stacy let her tears fall; she realized she was being left with no options—that, in just a few words, they had destroyed her way of life.

“Now, you’ll be my pet,” the man announced, rising from his seat with a leash in hand.

Stacy froze, and the bodyguards grabbed her by the shoulders—a reminder that she had nowhere to go. She simply closed her eyes as the collar was fastened around her neck; when she opened them, she saw the red leash hanging down.

The man sat back down, savoring the sight of the forest guardian—once proud, now degraded into a mere pet for his amusement. He tugged the leash; Stacy stepped down from the chair and dropped to all fours, moving toward her owner.

“From now on, you’re my bitch—Lauren’s bitch,” the man (now Lauren) announced triumphantly.

“I’ll provide everything you need, and nothing will happen to you as long as you stay by my side.” He gazed into the woman’s glassy eyes.

Stacy simply nodded, utterly defeated and humiliated—reduced to a lowly animal, just like the ones she used to protect in the forest.

Truly ironic.