Gotham Gazette // J.V

Chapter 5

Katerina's POV: (When she first wakes up on the bus)

""Yoohoo? Wakey, Wakey sleeping beauty. I've got some exciting news! Although you did miss most of the excitement but I'm sure i'll make up for it." Who in the actual hell thought it was a good idea to rip off my headphones and disturb my nap!

"What the hell I was trying to sl- oh..." I had raised my fist to punch whichever annoying cheerleader had the nerve to disturb me but I immediately stopped after locking eyes with the one person that had constantly been playing in my mind, and not in a good way.

"Nice to see ya again gorgeous! You slept through my grand entrance which is kinda a bummer but you got up in time for the grande finale!" The maniac in front of me announced. Had I really slept through him getting on the bus? He looked ever so proud of himself in a sick and twisted way but I saw a little gap between him and the chair and took my chance.

I was not going to let that psycho do anything to me like he did those other people. I jumped out of my chair and made a sprint for the front of the bus but before I got even close his hand tightly gripped onto my wrist and jerked me back into the seat causing me to hit my side on the metal bar.

"You can't leave yeeeetttt I haven't even told you the best part!" My blood ran cold and my eyes widened at all the possible things this lunatic could come up with.

"P-please just-" I didn't even finish my feeble attempt to reason with him.

"Let you go? Darling we've already been through the begging and the crying but you missed it." He interrupted me and I felt my self shrink back slightly. Had I really not heard the begging and crying of my classmates?

"B-but" I tried to beg once again but his warm hand had pressed itself against my mouth and onto my tear stained cheeks.

"Shhh, it's my turn to talk." He shushed me with a grin. "Now before you woke up I gave your peers a little proposal. I asked them whether they would let you live or die and if you die they may live... You'll never guess what they chose!" His face was mere centimetres from my face and I could feel his breath on my trembling face. "They. Let. You. Die" With every word he leaned even closer until his lips were almost touching my nose and his almost forest-like green eyes pierced through my soul.

The minute the words left his grinning lips my eyes shifted from his and onto my peers, frantically trying to find someone that wouldn't avoid my gaze. That wasn't true surely, I wasn't the most popular person in school but I was an acquaintance of many.

"I don't understand." I choked out, not believing that my friends would sacrifice my life like that... He took a seat next to me and flung an arm over my shoulders and I immediately flinched and tensed, knowing that this could be the end of my life. Like this isn't just me over exaggerating a cold this is legitimately me going to die!

"Well lucky for you I seem to be full of surprises today so SURPRISE! You're going to live!" The criminal yelled in my ear and I immediately flinched and cowered away, I cannot stand loud noises. "Your buddies here, well that's a different story but you, you lucky girl will be coming home with me!" His voice was still loud but he had lowered the pitch to some-what resemble a gameshow host. At this point I lost it, my eyes widened to the size of saucers and I pulled my knees to my chest.

"No, no, no, no, no, no. This isn't happening Katerina it's just another dream. The therapist said this would happen, it isn't real." I mumbled in reassurance to myself. I had gone to a therapist after the incident and she had told me that nightmares are extremely common and that I should slowly start to grow out of them. I pinched and pinched and pinched my arms in a desperate attempt to wake myself up but I felt it ever time, bringing tears to my eyes. I continued to pinch myself until my arm was red and broke down into sobs. This can't possibly be real, I wasn't going with him. I didn't want to die I just wanted to go home and watch TV shows with my dad.