"Not this crap again," I muttered to myself. I was just locking the doors to the restaurant that I was working at, when I see them. They all looked ruffled, with their beards and ripped, saggy jeans. The streetlights gave their faces a menacing shadow, pulling down their facial features into frowns.
"Hey, lady! How 'bout staying with me tonight?" one of them called. They all sniggered, and one threw an empty beer bottle against the concrete. My heart jumped in my chest at the sound of the smashing and shattering glass, watching the shards fly everywhere but on his skin.
I desperately tried to pull the jammed key out of the door before their drunken arms could catch me. I twisted my wrist and hastily pulled on the lock. I got a tight feeling in my throat, one where I felt like sobbing and punching a wall. My skin started to prickle with sweat, and I could feel their glares scorch a hole in the back of my neck.
"I'd like a piece of that ass!" another yelled. My breathing hitched as I yanked on the door, twisting the keys to get them loose from the creaky, decrepit door. I suddenly felt a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach as I realized that they were close enough to touch me.
I pulled one more time and the keys came loose, throwing me backwards into the chest of a drunken pervert. The breath was knocked from my lungs and I stood in slight shock for a few seconds before I remembered where I was.
My scream pierced the quiet, unknowing night air as the man clasped his arms around my torso. I started to freak out, realizing that my arms were trapped under his heavy limbs. I could hear my own voice crying into the empty streets for help, but to no avail. I started wriggling and writhing beneath his grip and got one of my arms loose.
My brain, as smart as it was, decided that it would be a good idea to bite his hand. Only that I couldn't really reach his hand, and I ended up looking like a dog trying to grab food on a plate that was out of my reach.
My face burned as I heard the men around me laughing and pushing each other. The amount of anger I had pushed me enough to kick my bearer with the bottom of my sneaker in the groin, and he doubled over with an 'oof'. He clutched his crotch with one hand and my arm with the other. I grabbed my other arm and pulled my left wrist out from his grasp.
"You bitch! She's probably a slut anyway," one of them jeered. My eyes brimmed with hot tears that stung my nose, and I turned and ran. Tears slipped out of my eyes as I distanced myself from my attacker. Quiet gasps escaped my open mouth, my body racking with broken sobs.
For the longest time, all I could hear was the sound of my shoes banging against the concrete. I struggle to breathe now, and I'm reminded yet again of how utterly out of shape I am.
Looking back over my shoulder, I see them far behind me. They were helping up their buddy clumsily and punching each other. It made me think why people like that even existed, why they are out walking the streets at night in search of their next victim.
"I'm totally quitting tomorrow," I panted under my breath and I slowed to a halt. My body was having none of this.
