As he drew closer, Gaara saw that the men clustered around her were only three. One had seized Esther’s arms from behind and clamped a hand over her mouth. Her legs kicked frantically, but she was outnumbered and outmatched; her frantic strikes meant little. Another man seemed to take perverse pleasure in a small folding knife, using the tip to score a shallow cut along her throat. They laughed, jeering and shouting obscene, filthy remarks about her body as they closed in.

Gaara did not ...