Wrestling the Kraken

Eight Years Ago...1963

Bridgett

Bridgett walked with her arms crossed, looking down at the ground, not fully knowing where she was going. She knew she couldn't stay at home any longer, after the cop had brought her back. So many times she had thought of running away, and now she was finally doing it. It was liberating. She felt pressure in her chest release and her head had felt like the clouds in the sky had parted. It was also terrifying. Her body shook without her meaning to, and she held herself tighter, without much relief.

She had seen some homeless people under the Forsythe bridge before. Seemed like a place to start. The address Ava gave her turned out to be a woman's shelter way across town. Realizing how long it took earlier just to get to the Riverwalk, the bridge, she decided, would be where she could spend the night.

Walking through town, she felt herself get sucked into the background. Not someone walking through the city, but a shadow passing by. After a few hours, she stepped into an alley to rest for a minute. She had only whatever she could carry in the backpack Ava gave her. Two sets of clothes, some snacks, her toothbrush, and some of her mom's jewelry she thought she could use for extra cash.

Pulling out a candy bar, she sat down on the ground and watched the cars and people walking by. It was getting late. She thought she would be at the bridge by now, but it was taking her longer than she had expected to get there on foot. Driving there was only about thirty minutes, but she soon realized she couldn't take the same path walking. She was nearly hit two times trying to tread on the shoulder of the road. Barricades and ditches had prevented her from keeping any distance. She had to find a new route, with the stolen map- her first theft. She hadn't set out to be a criminal, but expected she may need to delve into the grey areas from time to time, if she was going to make it on her own.

Pulling out her map, she checked how much farther she had left to go. The corner of her eyes caught a shadow moving to her right. She held still. It moved again.

"Hey." The shadow spoke. "You lost little girl."

Bridgett swallowed the bite of candy and closed up her map. Trying to hurry and put it away, the shadow rushed over and grabbed her arm.

"Hey, what's your hurry? I ain't gonna bite...much." He said.

She pulled her gaze away from his hand and looked up into his face. He was close. Too close. His smile creeped her out and made her skin crawl. She tried to back away, but she was up against the wall and he still gripped her hand.

"Shh-h-h. It's only going to hurt a bit." He said.

Bridgett turned her head and went to scream, but it landed muffled in his palm, leaving her with a taste of salted sweat in her mouth. Her whole body bucked, trying desperately to get away. He placed a knee on her legs, still holding her mouth. He let go of her wrist and tried to unzip his pants. Realizing what was about to happen, she fought harder. With one hand now free she was able to push and claw at him. He swiped her hand away and kept going at his pants, trying to move fast. Angered, he grabbed her head with both hands and slammed it back against the wall.

The pain radiated through her head. Momentarily focused on the pain, Bridgett sensed fingers where they shouldn't be. Alarmed, she felt a rush of air at exposed skin, then pain. She screamed with all her might into his musty palm. Seeing someone walk by the alley, she needed a way to grab their attention. Too many moments were passing by and the pain was too much to bare. As one thrust brought another surge of pain, she took out her anger on a bite into a chunk of flesh she managed to get a hold of. He lifted his hand briefly and she took the opening to scream. It was cut short by a hand on her throat and the pain down below continued. All her focus was on trying to breathe, as the hand pressed harder into her neck. She tried to claw, but was too weak.