A Thousand Words

Chapter One: The Stranger

O L I V I A

The city was alive with the sounds of cars honking and people travelling to and from wherever they needed to be. It was late but the heart of the city never slept. People spoke on their phones as they walked and cats occasionally knocked over trash cans down deep alleys, spooking themselves in the process and racing to the nearest hiding spot until the coast was clear and they could start rummaging through the mess they'd made in search of food. A recent rain had left the banisters of the surrounding buildings dripping excess water as well in a rhythmic drip...drip...drip... All of these sounds were made quieter by distance as Olivia Booker walked through a quieter part of town her book bag over her shoulder with its comforting contents within.

It had been a successful day at the library, browsing through a few selections she'd never read before. She'd spent nearly five hours in the musty old building after leaving the school, waiting for her brother Thomas to come and get her as he did every Tuesday night. The old librarian Mr. Watkins had offered to let her stay a little longer until her brother arrived, but Olivia had assured both him, and herself, that she would be fine to walk the two blocks to the car garage Thomas worked at. She had made the walk before with Thomas and Padget, and with her loyal border collie with her now, she knew it wouldn't be too difficult to find their way through the empty streets.

As they walked, Olivia thought about the books she'd picked up at the library. It was so rare for her to find a good selection of braille texts, but Mr. Watkins had brought her everything he could find and promised to order more. She'd checked out two when she'd left, one about a swashbuckling knight who fought dragons and monsters and the other a truth-based story about a girl and her family's attempt to stay alive during WWII as they secretly housed Jews to protect them from the Nazis. The books had seemed so different in theme that she could hardly resist from checking them both out. As a result, her bag weighed down heavily on her shoulder, beating lightly against her hip as she walked down the sidewalk. A small smile tugged at her lips at the thought of getting home and curling up with one of these books in her bed, reading until sleep took her over.

Padget stopped abruptly, snapping Olivia out of her thoughts. She sensed that something was wrong immediately, even before she heard the growl resonating through her canine companion. "What is it Padget...?" Olivia whispered softly, her eyes shifting from side to side even though she saw nothing. The growl got more aggressive, but the young woman heard the sound that had set her dog on edge. Footsteps were gradually approaching them, not even trying to hide their direction. Instantly, dread crept into Olivia's mind and she took a cautious step back, Padget's leash falling into her hand as she held her book bag tight with the other hand.

Everything happened so fast. Padget jerked forward, tearing her leash from Olivia's hand as she threw herself at the man who had apparently presented himself as a threat. The young woman took another alarmed step back as she listened to the man curse and fight against the dog before a heavy thud and a sharp chorus of whimpers broke the moment.

"Padget!" Without warning, the man was upon her. He grabbed her by the arm and roughly turned her around, forcing her away from the path she'd been walking. In the shuffle, her bag slipped off her shoulder and pooled around her feet, tripping her. With his tight grip on her arm, the man simply pulled her steady before shoving her into the brick wall of one of the surrounding buildings before letting her go.

"Give me the money and no one gets hurt!" the man threatened lowly, making Olivia flinch hard, backing herself into the wall as much as she possibly could manage. The grips on the brick bit at the skin of her arms but that was the least of her worries. "Scream for help or try to run and we're gonna have a problem... understand?" Somewhere to her left she heard the smooth, click of an army knife being unfolded, and her heart stopped.