299 Days: The Restoration

Chapter 317 Prisoner Herself

It had been twenty-four hours since she was arrested. Nancy Ringman was remembering what happened.

It all started when Otter said to her back at Clover Park, “Nancy, I bet your arms are getting tired, right?”

She nodded. Her arms had been out at her sides for a few minutes and were starting to hurt. She was pleasantly surprised that Otter cared about her comfort. Maybe he wasn’t a teabagger; maybe he had been sent by Linda to rescue her.

“Go ahead and slowly put your arms behind your back, Nancy,” Otter said. “And for everyone’s safety, one of these guys is going to put something on your wrists.”

Nancy nodded slowly, still looking down at the ground. She realized that if they were handcuffing her, they probably hadn’t been sent by Linda. Now she was starting to get really scared, but Otter seemed so nice. Her expectation that all teabaggers were mean assholes was wrong and she felt like she could trust him, even if he was arresting her.

She started to put her arms behind her back, but she couldn’t because they were so sore. Her knees were hurting, too, she noticed. She struggled to get her hands back. They were wobbling.

“Tell you what, Nancy,” Otter said. “One of these guys is going to help you move your arms. First your left one, then your right one, okay?”

Nancy nodded. What a relief. She felt so helpless, not being able to move her arms. She was starting to realize that, on top of all of this, she was still half-drunk from the wine.

Someone came up behind her and gently moved her left arm behind her back and then her right arm. She felt a thin plastic strap go on her wrist. The man tightened it, but not so tight that it hurt.

“Okay, Nancy,” Otter said, “Now I need you to stand up.”

She nodded but started to cry. “I can’t,” she said softly. She was humiliated that she couldn’t even stand up, but she knew she’d be more humiliated if she tried and fell down.

“Okay,” Otter said, “we’ll help you.”

A man came up behind her and each one gently lifted one of her arms until she was standing.

“Can you walk?” Otter asked.

Nancy, now looking up at Otter, nodded. She looked in his eyes. He didn’t look like the monster she expected.

Seeing that she was having a hard time walking, one of the soldiers said, “I’ll have the truck brought over here.” He got on the radio and soon she heard the sound of an approaching truck.

“Now, Nancy,” Otter said, “I’ve been good to you, haven’t I?”

Still looking at him, she nodded.

“Nancy,” he said sincerely, “I need you to tell me if anyone else is here.”

She stared at him.

“Nancy,” he said very seriously, “I really need to know if anyone else is here, okay?”

That made sense to Nancy.

“I’m pretty sure I’m the only one.”

“Pretty sure?” he asked.

“Yes, I don’t know of anyone else who is here.”

“Okay, Nancy,” Otter said, “I believe you.” He actually did, but he wasn’t going to completely rely on it.

The truck came up to them and Otter motioned for her to get inside.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“To jail, Nancy,” he said. “You did some horrible things.”