asset [h.s.]

six // runaway baby

Alicia

I let out a small, tired groan as I adjust my position under my warm bed covers. I stir slightly after hearing what sounds like a small creak, but the soft breeze from the crack in the window I left open soon lulls me back to sleep, letting me drift off back into my peaceful, dreamy state.

Only a few second later, I'm jolted awake again when I hear the sound of my door bursting open, a sudden bright light illuminating my whole room. I jump up almost immediately, a wave of fear washing over my entire body and making my heart beat what feels like 100 times faster than normal. My wide and almost blinded eyes glance over to the doorway, and when I find two black figures stood there, I let out a bloodcurdling scream.

From that point on, it's like the whole world switches to fast forward. It only takes seconds for one of the figures to run over me and grab me as I'm climbing out of bed, roughly shoving me back onto it so quickly all the breath is knocked out of my lungs. Once I'm back on the bed, a heavy weight presses against my chest as the figure climbs onto me, making me let out another scream so loud that I could probably have torn my throat muscle. I continue to scream as the man straddles me, using one hand to pin me to the mattress and the other to reach behind his back for something.

My senses are suddenly overwhelmed by an unbelievably strong scent, my screams becoming muffled when I feel something like a rag being roughly pressed against my mouth and my nose, as if to suffocate me. So instead of screaming, I use all the other strength I have in my body to thrash around on the bed, kicking my legs and punching any parts of this man's body I can, as often and also as hard as I can.

With one strong kick that causes pain to shoot through my whole leg, I manage to push the figure off me a little, but just as I'm trying to scrabble up, I'm pushed back down by my shoulders which causes a whimper to fall from my lips. I feel hot tears roll down my cheeks as I try to jerk my face away and gasp for air, but the rag is pressed so tight against me that I can't even breathe.

After kicking and punching for what seems like forever, I feel two cold hands roughly grip hold of my wrists, and even though I try my best to fight back, I find that they are pinned back to the mattress with ease and my body suddenly stops resisting.

What the hell is happening?

As I'm being pushed down and can practically feel my heart rate decreasing inside my chest, my drowsy eyes catch sight of the other figure stood behind my attacker, and another strangled scream escapes my lips beneath the fabric of the cloth.

It's him.

The man from the cafe earlier. The man that both Claudia and Poppy told me was hot and I couldn't resist turning around and looking at him. The man that kept his gaze on me for far too long until it freaked me out and I had to leave. The man I was so afraid of on the way home that I struggled to even drive properly. The man I finally convinced myself was probably just an innocent man who was grabbing some food after a long day at work.

The man I told myself I didn't need to be scared of.

But it turns out he is the man I was right to be afraid of all along.

I can't do anything but stare right into his eyes from where I am on the bed, my gaze completely frozen on him like the rest my body. "It's y-you...." I manage to choke out between sobs but then the other figure presses the rag down even harder onto my mouth, cutting off my air supply even more.