When it rained it poured. Not just the weather, but her whole life had come crashing down around her and she was having a hell of a time just trying to stay sane. She sighed and tried to keep the tears from falling with a big swig of her drink.
The rain slammed against the small window near her booth, the sound the only thing tying her to this world it seemed. The bar was closing, and even the regulars, the sorry old bastards who sat in the corner, were leaving, and that definitely meant it was time to go home. Of course, she realized, now she was one of those sorry bastards so it didn’t matter anymore.
There, that was it, it didn’t matter anymore. Nothing did. Hearing herself say that only made it worse however, and suddenly the last place she wanted to be was home, her empty basement suite with nothing but the lingering memories to watch as she cried herself to sleep.
But she got up and walked into the rain anyway, the door slamming shut in the wind. The sky was ruthless, and only the street lights prevented total darkness and even then they were failing. The rain slammed into her, and the bruises she sustained the night before throbbed in protest.
Whatever, she thought bitterly, I’m almost home anyway.
Suddenly she felt strong hands grab her as she was dragged into a nearby alleyway, the sound of her scream consumed by the rain.
Slammed up against the wall, the bricks cold and rough against her skin, she saw the rain dripping down the knife held against her throat, and two men roughly grabbing at her clothing, tearing it to shreds.
She tried one more time to scream and her head was slammed against the wall as a result, knocking any more thought from her head. Her vision hazy, she felt the men grab her and turn her around, pulling her legs towards them and holding her in place.
She closed her eyes tightly and bit her lip hard, bracing herself for the inevitable.
It was the roar that snapped her back to her senses, like a tiger or a lion, but far more powerful. It was the roar of a true predator.
Terrified for a new reason now, she heard the men scream, their voices crying in such anguish that even the rain seemed too terrified to make a noise.
The sounds, the screams, it was all too much as she fell to the ground, holding her body tightly, suddenly finding herself wishing she could just wake up from this nightmare.
She was so scared, so scared.
Slowly she opened her eyes, and sobbed as she saw the two men, or at least what was left of them. God, what was this? What was going on?
The source of the roar looked her up and down, his features like stone, and the rain once again showed its fear, too afraid to touch him. He calmly walked forward, his eyes gleaming, coming closer and closer. She tried to stand, tried to run, but his gaze held her in place, until he picked her up and held her in his arms, slowly running his fingers through her drenched hair.
She slowly felt the fear leave her, and leaned into the man, suddenly too weak to even support herself. She even allowed herself the faintest glimmer of hope, that maybe; just maybe, things would be alright after all.
Her strength was leaving her, faster now, and she collapsed into him, suddenly feeling very nauseous. He supported her weight with ease as her fear returned ten fold, and she started to panic, to fight against him. He was doing something to her, she could feel it. She tried to yell, tried to scream, but could only struggle vainly as he held her in his arms and stroked her hair, until she didn’t even feel the rain anymore.
It was alright. Didn’t she tell herself earlier that it didn’t matter anymore? And besides, her eyes had been dead long before tonight.
No comments:
Post a Comment