The Warmest Winter

°•°Chapter 11°•°

The grip of the man's hand around my wrist was tight. He pulled me closer, wrapping an arm swiftly around my body, pressing the blade steadily on my neck.

"Make one fucking noise and I'll cut your throat open. Understood?" His voice rumbled into my ear.

Pure terror shook me, automatically nodding, afraid that if my mouth opened, I'd scream.

"Good, now come with me," He pressed the blade deeper onto my neck but, not enough to penetrate the skin. "Unless you wanna be gutted like a pig in the streets."

"I'll come with you! Just don't.."
My voice broke as a stream of tears spilled down my cheeks. "Just don't hurt me!" I begged.

Two other men ran out of the darkness towards us. One was held a camera and an umbrella over himself, the other held a flash light and a notepad.

"Haha! It's just a prank," The man released me and burst out laughing. "Oh God, that was fucking hilarious." His friend chimed in with laughter. His camera was focused on my face as I stood trembling, my arms cradling myself in the pouring rain.

"Hang on, let me explain," The flashlight man began. His cap sat loosely over his large dreadlocks. He had a noticeable gap between his front teeth and a religious tattoo on his neck.

"So we're vloggers. Since Halloween is in like, three days, we decided to film some pranks for our channel." He explained as if it was a normal occurrence.

"Don't worry. You're not the only person we've scared the shit out of." The guy with the knife assured me.
"I must say, if this were real.. you'd be dead. You put up absolutely no fuss." I shot a glare at him, trying to focus on his face but the alcohol had made me tipsy enough.

The man holding the camera switched off his camera and stepped towards me. He was extremely short and underweight, almost child like.
"Are you alright though?" He placed a cold hand on my shoulder. "Didn't scare you too much, did it?" He gave me a lopsided grin, the smell of weed on his breath making my stomach churne.

I shoved his body away from mine, fury bubbling in me.
"Fuck you!" I yelled as I walked off in what I hoped was the direction of the nearest bus stop.

By the time I had reached a bus stop, I was soaked through and delirious. Nothing was clear, not even my thoughts. I curled into a ball on the bench and took my jacket off, spreading it over my legs. As my head rested on the arm rest, I couldn't help but let my eyes drift shut. The barely audible rain lulled me to sleep.

I woke up, my throat dry and head aching. These sheets didn't feel like my own, nor did the walls surrounding me. I sat up fast, searching around the room for familiarity. Soft sunlight poured in through the sheer curtains, the room neat and clean. A familiar jacket was sprawled over the back of a chair. There was a door next to the bed which I assumed lead to a bathroom. My eyes darted to the framed photo on the bedside table.

"Frankie?" The name rolled off my tongue as I looked at the photo. The sound of a tap being turned on and then off in the room over from mine startled me. Just then, the door opened and Frankie stepped out, shaking his hands dry.

"Collie. You're finally awake. I thought you were in a coma with the way you were so unresponsive." He chuckled dryly.
"Why am I here? Where was I? How'd you find me?" I questioned frantically.

"Calm down, calm down." Frankie took a seat on the bed, looking intently into my eyes.
"I got worried. You weren't responding to my messages so I went to look for you.. and happened to seach even across town. I saw you asleep on a bench, so I called a taxi and brought you back here since Leila wouldn't answer the door. Does that answer your questions?" He finished with a small smile.