Chapter 1 The Night

Angela

"I'm ok. There's no one behind. I'm safe. I'm safe. I'm safe..." I murmur to myself as I keep on walking scared out of my mind.

I'd heard footsteps coming from behind me. Now and then, it would get quiet. It's only when I took a corner just close to the campus that I was sure that I was being followed. It sounded like multiple people were coming from behind me. I was so scared because I had a feeling they were coming after me. I couldn't even make myself look back at them. My only goal was to get to campus as fast and safely as possible.

It was unusual for me to be out at this time of night. But I had a study group that I had to attend. I didn't have a taxi fare, so I took a bus that had dropped me off about two blocks away from campus. My boyfriend hasn't been answering his phone because usually he's the one who meets me halfway to campus, so now I have to walk alone.

There was no one at all on the streets except for me. There was no sound except for the sound of footsteps coming from my feet and the sound of footsteps from whoever was coming from behind me. The street lights were also not working; there was only one that was on, and that took a mile before the other one was on again.

I guess it was a saving grace that both my parents are dead, and it wouldn't take a genius to know that there would be nobody to miss me if I were to die like this. I don't have friends, and my boyfriend wouldn't be bothered to be caught with me. So yes, I'm taking it as a positive.

As I'm chanting to myself, the street all of a sudden becomes dry and quiet. The footsteps that I thought I was hearing are no more, and that makes me look back to see what is going on. Nothing appears to be going on, and that makes my heart race more as fear grips it with its cold hands and starts pulling at the strings, a voice in my head telling me to run.

As soon as I hear the voice in my head telling me to run, I don't waste time; I run like somebody is chasing me. And somebody is chasing me, the footsteps are back again, and they seem to be running faster than I am. I know I won't make it, I know that they will catch me because I'm not fast enough.

I don't know if the thing that makes me trip is that maybe I didn't tie my shoelaces, or I tripped on something. As soon as I'm down, though, all the fight in me evaporates. I know there would be no use for me to stand up and run because they're surrounding me. It's like they were testing to see how far my short feet could take me. Because, as much as I'm not far from campus, I am still pretty far.

Without prompting, I turn onto my back so that I see the shadows above me. My suspicions were right, there are five of them. I can't see much except for their silhouettes, which I guess in a way makes this better. I don't want to see my perpetrators' faces when they do whatever it is they're going to do to me. I hope they kill me after they're done with me; that's my first thought as I look around them.

I've seen what rape victims look like, and I've had to look at one of them deep in the eyes every time I look in the mirror. I know they're going to rape me, I can see it in their eyes. I just don't know what I did this time to earn the lash I'm about to get.

Without a word, one of them picks me up and throws me over his shoulder. It would probably be a good idea if I scream because maybe someone will hear me. But when you're used to bad things happening in your life, death becomes a friend that lulls you to sleep at night. And besides, I already know that if I scream, there will be no one to hear me.

With my eyes closed, I listen to the footsteps that are surrounding me. I hear the sound of tires on tar stop next to us, then I'm roughly thrown into the booth. They don't bother themselves with tying my hands or feet or even my eyes. It makes me wonder if they're stupid or if they know that I won't run. I've watched a lot of movies to know that I can open it from inside, I guess they're not immature because they seem to have removed the latch.

I don't know how long we travel before we reach our destination, and as roughly as I was thrown into the booth, I'm also taken out again. It's dark, so I can't see where we are. I guess it doesn't help that I'm not actually familiar with the neighborhood, although I've lived in it for about two years now. My feet are not steady under me as I'm pulled roughly towards the building in front of us, which is a warehouse.

Inside the warehouse, the light is switched on, which makes it easier for me to notice that besides the five who kidnapped me, there are two more guys in here. They're busy laughing about something or the other, not bothering to notice that there are other people in the room.

My breath catches in my throat as I look at one of the guys. I guess I now know why he hasn't been answering my calls. Instead of lashing out like I should, I stare at him and wonder to myself how I missed the signs that he was not a good person. But then again, I've never really met anybody who had a good heart. So it doesn't surprise me that even the boy I call a boyfriend is out to get me, too.

"Ah, Angela. So good of you to join us." He says patronizingly. "I'm sorry I didn't pick up your calls, as you can see I've been a bit...busy." He carries on speaking. I continue to watch him silently and wait for him to finish speaking. When he sees that I'm not going to answer him, he carries on speaking, " Aren't you curious about what you're doing here?"

"I know you're dying to tell me." He laughs at my words and shakes his head disapprovingly.

"That smart mouth of yours. I thought that you and I could have fun tonight." He lies to me.

"Are your friends also going to join us then?" I ask with fake bravery in my voice.

I already know the answer to that question. And I already know what fun he's talking about. I just hope they kill me when they're done.