Just as I make it to the end of the alleyway, I’m hit from behind; my head snaps back as two arms wrap around my upper chest, preventing me from using my hands to catch my fall.
I land on my side, scraping my skin on the concrete. I scream as I feel my bones ache and skin on my arm tear.
I roll a couple of times from the momentum before I come to a stop on my stomach.
I try to breathe, but the weight of the guy who landed on top of me from the fall is making it hard. I scream out a cry of help when I’m yanked to stand by my hair. Once on my shaky feet, I’m spun around. One of the guys grabs my arms and yanks them behind my back. He places his arm in the crease of my elbows to hold them in place behind my back. The other comes to stand in front of me.
I try to shove the guy off me who has my arms, but his vise-like grip just pulls them farther back. And I cry out from the soreness in my body.
The guy in front of me slaps his hand over my mouth, pushing my head into the chest of the guy who is holding me in place. The thought alone of his hand on my mouth makes me want to puke, forget the fact that they both smell like cigarettes and bourbon. I try to get a good look at him, but my eyes sting with unshed tears and he’s wearing a black mask.
My chest rises and falls quickly as my heart continues to pound so hard I fear it may explode. The man in front of me raises the knife and I tense. Holding my breath, I close my eyes as the tears spill over my cheeks and I say a little prayer.
“Let’s see what she has to offer,” the man in front of me says in excitement as if he’s about to open a present on Christmas morning. The man holding me chuckles, and I let out a muffled sob due to the man’s hand over my mouth.
I feel cold steel on my exposed shoulder and another sob wracks my body. I can’t stop shaking as the knife runs down my shoulder and across my chest. I try to shake my head, to free my mouth from his hand, but he just digs his fingers into my cheeks causing more pain.
God, please help me.
He places the knife between my breasts above where my corset starts. I stop breathing as I prepare for him to stab me. But instead of piercing my skin, he pushes it downward. More tears run down my face at the sound of my corset tearing. I feel the night breeze on my exposed chest seconds before he removes his hand away from my mouth. I suck in air and then the man behind me releases my arms and shoves me forward and I lose my balance, falling down.
I lie on the uneven, rocky concrete, topless and shaking to death as tears fall from my eyes as they laugh behind me. And I realize they’re not gonna kill me. Yet. They’re gonna play with me as if I’m a toy. And I have no way of fighting them off. My body is already shutting down on me. I’m desperate to survive. So I scream. I fill my lungs with everything I have and my chest hurts as if they just stabbed me. Then I let it all out.
It’s cut off when what feels like a steel toe boot lands in my ribs, and I’m knocked to my back. Air. Gasping for air, I try to suck in but nothing. I need air. I try to breathe in again. Nothing. I roll back over and make my way up to my hands and knees. Frantically, I push up onto my knees as I hunch over, both hands now wrapped around my bare stomach. I’m shaking so hard my teeth are chattering.
Please, Lord. Help me.
I’m finally able to suck in a breath, but my lungs burn so bad I tremble as I try to take another one.
As I sit hunched over on the concrete, I watch through tear filled eyes as their black boots move for them to stand in front of me.
The one still holding the knife possessively grabs my chin so hard I’ll be surprised if I don’t have a bruise. If I live through this. He forces me to look up at them, and they are nothing but blurry blobs through my tears. Before I can even take another breath, he slaps me across my face with his free hand. The sting I feel is as if a hundred bees just stung me. I place my hands flat on the ground and spit several times, as the blood fills my mouth. The cold air that hits my face makes it burn.
And just as if I’m back in one of those dreams, that you can’t seem to escape, my body starts to shut down. My arms go limp, my eyes grow heavy, and my mind turns foggy.
I fall to the concrete, face first and lie there spread out in front of them. My shorts ripped and my corset is gone. My lungs burning and my face stinging. My chest aches and my head throbs. I just want the pain to go away. I have given up the fight; it’s not as if I was winning anyway. I close my eyes and welcome the coolness from the concrete to my aching body. The only part that feels warm is my right thigh and that’s only because of the blood that runs down it from when they tackled me to the ground while I was running. I shake uncontrollably as I just lie there.
I whimper when my limp arm is lifted from the ground and I’m hauled to my feet. When my legs give out, the man supports me as he shoves my back into a brick wall.
He wraps his hand around my throat and I arch my back as he steals my breath. He lowers his head to mine. I cringe when he licks the tears off my face. “Tastes so good,” he mutters. “Gonna give up on us already?” he questions as his free hand slaps my outer thigh where it’s cut. “Come on, Taylor.” How does he know my name? “The best part is the fight. Watching you struggle.” He breathes on my face through the hole in his black mask. And I swallow down the bile that rises in my throat. I refuse to give them any more satisfaction.
He loosens his hold on my neck, but still holds me in place by it. “Go to hell,” I rasp. There was no venom in my voice as I had hoped. It sounded more like acceptance. I am going to die in this alleyway. Topless. God, I hope no one tells my brother that part.
He smiles. A cold and nasty smile as he runs his tongue over his nasty, crooked teeth.
“I wanna know if you’re worth the risk …” He pushes his body into mine, and I feel his hardness against my stomach. My body shudders as I cry out. “A risk of losing everything.” He goes to lick my face again, but I turn my head. His hand tightens around my neck, cutting off my air. I try to kick him, but he just presses his body further into mine to prevent any movement.
“I know we said you could go first … but I changed my mind,” he growls as he looks over his shoulder. He lets go of me all of a sudden and I drop to my knees as I take in a deep breath. The force from the drop shoots pain up my legs.
“… Where did you go?” he demands.
I look up through tears and notice the other guy is no longer with us. And I feel the first bit of relief. Maybe he got bored with me. Maybe he prefers blondes. Either way, I’m thankful I’m down to one.
The man grabs me and yanks me to my feet. He pulls my back to his front and wraps his arm around my waist, pinning my arms to my side. “Don’t worry,” He whispers in my ear his voice a growl. “He’ll return. And when he does, we’ll start the fun stuff.”
I moan in pain as he tightens his arm around my stomach, pressing on my ribs where one of them kicked me. I try to breathe in and out, but it’s hard. I try to scream out but there’s nothing there. He chuckles in my ear, and I shudder.
He doesn’t speak again as he watches the alleyway. The only noise is the wind, and there’s very little light. I close my heavy eyes. I’m so tired; my body just wants to sleep.
