His Queen

7. Life and Death

Aliya's POV

"Bye Esther, goodnight!" I called out one last time before I stepped out of the cafe and closed the door behind me. Pulling my light jacket closer to me, I hung my bag so it was crossed over my shoulder. Glancing up I noticed the dark clouds that loomed over the tall buildings of downtown, notifying me that it was about to rain.

Just as I thought of the rain, an earth-shattering thunder broke through the sky, brightening the streets for a few flickering seconds.

Strange, I thought. The sun was out during the day without any signs of the upcoming rainy weather.

Picking up the steps to avoid getting wet, I started walking towards my home, a route all too familiar by now. It wasn't too late yet and there were still a few cars rushing past me.

I was halfway home when I heard footsteps behind me, but I chose to ignore them as I thought it might be just another pedestrian or a homeless person. Clutching the strap of my bag, I started to walk even faster, too afraid to even turn back and look who was behind me.

As I picked up the pace, the footsteps seemed to match mine, sounding much closer now. My heart was racing against my chest at this point, now aware of the potential danger I might currently be in.

A glass building appeared next to me, giving me the chance to look at my reflection and of who was following me. I saw a figure a foot taller than me trailing behind me, about 4 meters away now.

My body was now fully alert, I was practically running at this point.

The thought of getting home and being under the covers sounded too inviting at the moment, it had been a busy day at the cafe again. I was too exhausted to even walk, but I forced my legs to take me to the safety of my home.

Cursing myself for not being prepared for this, I realized I didn't have anything to protect me.

Just one more block, I thought.

Right when I was about to turn onto my street, I felt an arm make its way around my waist and a hand quickly covered my mouth, forcing my scream to hang in mind air.

My instincts kicked in, using my elbow to push the person off me, I tried my hardest to break free from the hold. A hold that was too strong for me to break out of.

Yet, my body continued to fight as I kicked and tried to squirm away from the stranger. I bit onto his disgusting hand that covered my mouth and he let out a yelp.

The sound and the rough touch of this person was enough to inform me that it was a man.

I continued to free myself, giving up was not an option.

I didn't know what this man had planned for me but I was too afraid to even find out. The last time somebody tried to take advantage of me, Damien was there to save me.

This time, I was all alone. I had to fight my own battles.

The thought that nobody was going to save me this time made me even more scared for my life.

What did he even want?

Was he a robber who wanted money?

Or something else?

Despite my efforts, the filthy man started carrying me backwards. My legs now in the air, I tried to kick my foot at his knee. It only made him wobble a few steps but he didn't loosen up his grip on me.

"Shh, quiet. You're quite a fighter, aren't you?" He whispered smugly against my ear.

I still couldn't get a look at him, but I didn't even want to know what my captor looked like.