Beautiful Scars

Seeing Stars

Ally Baston hurried down the street. She drew her coat in around her and ducked her head as if the smaller she could make herself, the more invisible she would be. She wished she was not wearing such a bright jacket. She must stand out like a fire truck.

Ugh, she thought to herself. I'm not really in any danger, am I? Of course not, it's just my imagination getting ahead of me. But she only half convinced herself. That man from the ATM sure looked creepy. Ally could have sworn she caught him staring at her. There was almost something familiar about him… she was too alert about the night to bother to wonder why.

The night air reached out to envelope her in a chill and the brisk wind clawed at her exposed skin. The darkness pressed down from all sides. Her breath was short. Her chest; rapidly rising and falling as if she had run a mile. Ally quickened her pace. She could hear faraway screeches and sirens that were the normal soundtrack to the city, but around her the air was silent. As she neared the first side street branching off, her fear only grew. Who knew what could be lurking down there? She gave it as wide a berth as she could without going too far into the street. As she did, she cast a quick glance down it and noted with worry that it was in fact, an alleyway, also known as the most perfect place to trap unsuspecting girls.

She heaved a sigh of relief as she passed the entrance without any trouble. She looked up ahead and realized that there was one more alleyway entrance standing in the way of her hotel. Oh, why couldn't she have asked Emily to give her a ride? She knew why. Her cousin was due in three weeks. She needed a good night's rest, not to be picking up her scaredy cat niece who was two blocks away and perfectly capable of walking. Ally gritted her teeth. She could do this.

As she neared the second alleyway, she had the strange feeling that someone was following her. For a moment, she was determined to only stare straight ahead, but soon the temptation to know became too much. Her friends always told her curiosity was her fatal flaw. She dared a glance over her shoulder. With a sickening lurch of her stomach, Ally recognized the strange man from the ATM. He was about twenty five feet behind her and gaining.

Because her head was turned, Ally did not notice the black range rover that slid forward from its previous position and pulled into the alleyway, coming to a stop and cutting her off from the next patch of sidewalk. Because she was so focused on the man behind her, she did not notice the man who stepped out of the car in front of her. She picked up her pace and by the time she turned her head around it was too late to stop herself from going headlong into the man in front of the range rover. She tried to step back, but his arms wrapped around her and held her fast. Fear coded adrenaline coursed through her and she lashed out, but the man snagged her fist before she could make contact. She tried to scream but another arm came from behind her and clamped her mouth shut. It was a second man who had stepped out of the car.

"Now, now, princess,” drawled the man holding her from the front. Ally could smell the alcohol on his breath. "Play with me tonight," he said, the words slurring together.

The second man cackled from behind her, his voice right in her ear. "Yeah, let's have some fun." All thoughts of the man from the ATM were completely driven from her mind as the two men began dragging her deeper into the alley. Her mind was only focused on one thought: escape. Panic and desperation rose inside her as she tried to fend off the men.

It was a useless attempt. The men forced her into the shadows of the alley. The man from behind finally let go of her mouth as the first man pinned her against the wall. He ripped off her jacket and she heard strings tear. His hands held her wrists on either side of her head. She tried to scream, but it came out more like a shrill sob. Immediately, the man raised his arm and Ally caught a glint of silver before he whacked her across the face. Pain burst like a balloon inside of her. She tasted something metallic in her mouth. The man grinded his hips into hers and her breath caught in her throat. Ally had never felt fear like this in her entire life. An image swam before her vision: her mangled body thrown into a sewer and a distraught Emily being told the news.

In a final act of defiance, Ally threw her head forward, the only part of her body not constrained, and it connected with the man's head. With a grunt of pain, he drew back, giving Ally enough room to do exactly what she was always taught to do in a situation like this. She kneed him in the balls.

The man took a step back in unexpected pain. It was a small success. Ally knew it could never provide enough time for her to escape. Her legs gave way and she slid down the wall. As the man looked back at her, his face was one of drunken fury. She knew he was about to come at her again. This time, with much more aggression. However, for the first time that night, Ally did not feel scared. She felt surprised. Ally recognized the man that stood above her. She had just seen him on the television. Was it really only an hour ago? And that furious look on his face only made her feel more familiar with him. She had seen a similar gleam in his eyes when One Direction was announced the winner of the award. With a dark mop of hair and tattooed body, Ally found herself looking at Trey Marx, one of the members of the British boy band, Corrupted Decency.

All too soon, the astonishment faded and was again replaced with the monstrous beast of fear.

Fear is a powerful thing. It takes over a person's body, eating them from the inside out. It can be the worst type of pain, way beyond any physical pain there is. It can make people do crazy things. It makes people fess up to crimes. It makes people jump in front of bullets to save their loved ones. It makes people flee as fast as lightning with any rational thought driven from their mind.

But for Ally, fear made her entire body weak. She felt numb. She didn't try to fight or cry out because of the fear that he would hit her again. But even worse than that, was her fear for what was about to happen. Trey grabbed her waist and pulled her to him. He squeezed her tight, his nails digging into her skin. Ally barely registered the warm moisture on her hips to be blood. She whimpered in pain, but that only encouraged him even more. His left arm wrapped around her until he was holding her solidly while his right hand moved up her body, groping her chest. He moaned.

Ally's stomach turned and she tried to pull away. He let her go and for a second, she was free, staggering away from him. Suddenly, his arm came up so fast, she never saw it coming. He backhanded her, sending her sprawling to the ground. She landed hard on the gravel, but it was a blessing to be out of his arms. Ally tried to get her bearings from her position on the ground. She looked around, but the other man who was with Trey was deep in the shadows, too dark for her to make out.

Waiting his turn, she thought with a shudder. How come the only coherent thought that could penetrate her fear was one that brought more with it?

She looked up at Trey who dropped down to kneel before her. All at once, she saw Trey for what he was. He was a member of a world famous band. He had so many fans who looked up to him. People had posters of him in their rooms. They watched his interviews and danced to his songs and yet, here he was, preparing to commit one of the most disgusting crimes there was. Some of Ally’s fear gave way, turning into rage and disgust.

She screamed.