Before I can zip up my jeans, something big smashes through the stall door. The whole stall lurches over and the door slams into my shoulder, shooting white-hot pain down my spine.
“Thought you could hide from us?”
My vision blurs from the sharp ache. I hear a loud intake of breath and smell the exhale. I gag on the rancid stench. “Look at what we have here,” the voice hums low.
I paw at my eyes, wiping away the sting of tears.
“Whathaveyou found?” Another voice laughs.
Four men crowd in around the bathroom stall, each one holding some sort of weapon at his side. A bat. A knife. A wrench. A crowbar.They’re human. They wouldn’t use those weapons against another human, would they?
I reach for my knife, but my vest pocket is empty.
The one holding the bat has black, soulless eyes that slide slowly up and down my frame, eventually settling on my face. His sneer twists into a vibrant smile. “What’s your name, beautiful?”
I yank up my zipper and button my pants. All of the men smile, telling me exactly what they are collectively thinking.
My eyes glance behind them, toward the door. The silence around us is suddenly all too consuming, suffocating. There’s no one to help me. There’s no one to hear me scream.
Bat-guy chuckles. The sound is cruel, wicked. “You could try to run, if you like.” The man with the wrench raises it up, leaning it against his chin.
“You couldstaytoo. We’ll be real good to you. Take care of you and all,” the one with the crowbar says, dangling his tool from his fingers. “You are a real pretty little thing. Besides, it’s very dangerous out there without a fewchaperones.”
I step back, grabbing onto the walls of the stall.
A flash of pain crashes out of nowhere. I blink once and I’m on the floor, being pinned down by two sets of knees. I don’t even know what happened.
Wait, I don’t know what’s going on.
A shriek rips from my throat and the men laugh. “Squeal, darling. Go ahead. There ain’t nobody here left to hear it. Unlesstheycome to get you.”
My throat burns from the screams. One of them grabs me by the hair, twisting it into his fist, and drags me across the floor. I kick out my legs until the wrench slams into my thigh and the pain paralyzes me.
“Scream all you want,” Bat-guy whispers, bending down with his putrid breath to my ear. “I’ve always liked it when girls scream.” His tongue flitters out like a snake, dragging it along my jaw.
I try to yank my face away, try to scream again, but the pain and terror are too overwhelming. All I could do is bite back a sob.
The hand tightens in my hair and jerks up hard. “Let’s bring her home, boys.”
My boots scrape and my hands claw along the floor, trying to fight. My screams echo, bouncing off the walls. I know if Asshole is still here, he’d be able to hear me, but he’s not coming. This time he’s not helping me.
He probably took his faceplate and left me here.
Another thought flashes at me. If Asshole is gone, there’s no one to help me get to Claire. I imagine her lying in the dark somewhere strange, coughing and crying for me.
I blast my boots out, kicking at whatever I can. My arms flail out, clawing whatever’s near.
From up above, a swing of the bat and my body crumples back to the floor. I feel the cold gritty tiles scrape across my skin as my eyelids slowly close and everything goes dark and numb.
“You should be thankful we ain’t taking what we want right here and leaving you for the real monsters.”
They’re the last words I hear.
