- "Alban?" The young girl whispered, her voice low and shaky as she struggled to catch her breath.
- "Alban?! Alban?!" She repeated, her face glued to the small cellphone as she desperately awaited for a reply.
Silence.
She shivered, hands digging into her jacket as if it was gonna help her feel warmer. Her left hand was almost completely numb apart from the pain from her bleeding nails. She recalled crawling inside this building using the window, hitting her knee as well in the process.
- "Hello?"
She dropped her phone, the loud noise of plastic hitting the ground ringing in her ear as she quickly snapped her head to look behind her.
- "Shhh, i'm not gonna hurt you."
The tall figure of a man approached her, slowly and carefully. His voice was as gentle as if he was trying to catch a lost puppy, his eyes fixated on her every move.
The girl took a few steps back, attempting to discreetly wave her fingers left and right inside her coat, hoping they would unfreeze enough for at least a small punch. 'No awail' she thought, dissapointed and afraid, forced to hold back an yelp after only receiving the sensation of burning from her fingertips.
- "Do you speak english?
He inquired, getting closer by the second. She considered making a run for it, but the risk of being grabbed or even worse if he had a weapon on him was way too high. She had nowhere to run.
- "Please listen to me. I'm not here to hurt you. Can you nod if you understand me?"
She obeyed, backing herself against the cold wall.
- "Alright. We need to leave this building. It will be raided very soon, and odds are you can't-"
- "You don't know that!" She hissed, followed by a loud cough. "I've been through worse! It's my job. Don't fucking get near me."
He did not move.
- "How old are you? You look like a teenager. I'm not assuming you can't survive on your own." He paused, carefully choosing his next words. "But i know you can't take down 40 armed men. Do you want to die here?"
She didn't reply.
His hand hesitantly reached out towards her thin frame, only to be met with sharp nails digging deeply into his arm.
- "Fuck off. Fuck off. Fuck off. I hate you. Leave me alone. You're a fucking weirdo." She repeated, her pale cheeks covered with tears as her face got even redder than it had been before thanks to the cold.
Without an ounce of hesitation, he took off his jacket and handed it to her. She jerked forward, trying to crawl away for a brief moment before finally giving in to the warmth, tightly holding the piece of cloth to her chest. Even in her exhausted mind, she still feared falling asleep. Fighting the urge was like swimming in a cold sea until you can barely keep your head above water. You're scared, yet drowning seems more and more tempting as you begin to realize that no one will find you.
In this case, she drowned.
She did not dream before she woke again. It was all empty; a state of slightly conscious fever. When her eyelids began to move, light blinded her view completely. She tried to shield her face, her eyes watered as she realized she couldn't move her arms.
'Restraints? Because of course...' she thought, resisting the urge to scream as the situation sunk in even more. She tried again, the tight leather digging into her stomach, her shoulders cracking in the process. The rest of her bones would soon follow the more she pushed forward, biting into her brown prison of fuck you until her teeth completely gave out. Defeated and out of breath, she fell back down onto the bed.
- "Are you feeling alright?"
She did not hear the door open, that was for sure. Perhaps it was because she had been too focused on trying to free herself, or perhaps he had been there all along. Either way, she did not feel like talking.
- "...Call me Bay, by the way. I figured you might want to know. Either way, this is not my house. Don't worry - You're not being kidnapped."
"Call me Julie. And you sure talk a lot of shit for being an old creep that took me away from-"
Bay laughed, somewhat happy to see her willing to communicate, even if it just insults.
- "I'm twenty two. Not that old, i'll have you know. But anyways, would you like me to let you sleep more?"
- "I'd like you to let me go home"
Do you fear the world?
Are you willing to hear my story?
It was the next morning when the door opened once more. I was already awake since two hours and five minutes ago, staying completely still in hopes that he would remove my restrains. They were hurting my body, if he didn't have them removed i might have lost my mind.
- "Do you think you can walk?"
My eyes lit up at his question. I was sure he had seen it too by the small smile forming on his lips. Patronizing. I hope he breaks his face.
We didn't speak anymore. We didn't need to. He sat next to me on the bed, gently grabbing and placing me in a sitting position on the edge of the bed. He was gentle, as if i was a porcelain doll he found inside his grandmother's attic after she had long passed away. As if i would fall apart if he made any wrong move...
His hands reached my back, swiftly loosening the leathery buckles. The more he loosened them, the more relief i felt. I held back the urge to cry the moment i could move my arms and legs again. Bay picked up the jacket as he headed towards the door, which closed with a quiet 'click'
I smiled, sitting on the edge of the bed, swinging my legs back and fourth in perfect sync. My arms still hurt, but it was barely noticeable as i ran my fingers through my tangled hair.
Placing all my strength onto the edge of the bed, i attempted to get up. 'My feet feel like jello' i thought as i nearly slipped, just barely grabbing onto the bed once more.
- "I can help you walk."
Bay announced. Oh, how badly i wanted to tell him to stop closing and opening that stupid door.
- "No thank you. I don't want your filthy hands on me."
- "That is fine. Here, i brought you lunch."
He placed the table on the bed, right in front of me, saying no more before disappearing behind that god forsaken door again.
The plate was made of ceramic, with a slightly curved border. It had a smooth, round bottom, and was shaped like a shallow bowl. It was flat on top, with a small lip around the edge. It held raw salad bits, two pieces of grilled chicken breasts, several bits of croutons, a few olives and two slices of bread with strawberry jam.
'How thoughtful of you'
