chicago, illinois
//strangers in the night
it was freezing cold out, millie stumbled drunkenly through the dark alleyway, her trembling hands shoved in the deep pockets of her loose leather jacket. she breathed in and out slowly, watching her breaths turn to thick fog in the frigid air before her.
'left foot, right foot. left,' she thought to herself as she carefully placed one foot after the other, her combat boots clicking against the hard, cracked and dirty concrete.
natalia's hushed voice echoed faintly in her head, reminding her what to do when the world was spinning around her like this; when her state of mind was altered and her guard down.
"take in your surroundings. look at what's around you. smell, listen..."
the voice trailed off as millie glanced up and stopped walking. she turned her head to the side, observing the brick walls that were built up all around her, doing just as the voice told her to. cracked windows, ladders, and fire escapes occupied the bare spaces, with old busted furnaces and dumpsters set up on the ground, crowded against the cracked pipe-covered walls.
she took a deep breath, smelling the varied scents of the city. cigarette smoke, old food, and homeless people. do homeless people have a scent? millie decided that yes, they do.
next, break down the sounds of the city.
she listened hard, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, feeling her mascara covered eyelashes rest on her cheeks and smudging under her glassy eyes. she could hear cars honking, and sirens wailing somewhere in the distance. but you get used to that, growing up in the most crime infested city of america.
she heard another noise, this one wasn't distant like the others. it was close to her, a quieted scuffling across the metal sewers and concrete.
a rat? no, it was too big.
she suddenly became aware that her breathing was no longer the only breathing in the small space around her, and she began walking again, lowering her head as the realization dawned on her. this time, her steps were faster. her whole body stiffened as she heard two loud footsteps, clunking heavily against the ground, a similar sound to hers. she didn't even get a chance to fully turn around, because two strong arms quickly wrapped themselves around her thin, still body.
one arm draped around her waist, it's hand holding a cold, hard gun pressing into millie's hip bone, and one arm around her upper chest, it's hand gripping her shoulder.
she didn't have her pepper spray with her, but even if she did, she wouldn't be able to grab it. the grip on her was too tight. she felt slow, hot breaths down the back of her neck, snaking under the thick collar of her jacket and sending chills down her spine, "what do you want?" she whispered, closing her eyes tightly, she was scared, which wasn't normal for her.
"what do i want?" the low voice growled, and she could almost feel his lips against the back of her ear. yes, it was a he. millie didn't think it was possible, but he made his grip around her chest tighter, squeezing his wrist against her collarbones. the hand holding the gun brought itself up, and she felt the cold metal of the weapon begin dragging against her jawline, stopping just below her chin and pressing into her neck.
her body weakened some, as her palms began shaking and despite the cold winter air, hot beads of sweat started rolling down her forehead, almost freezing on her stone cold skin as they slid down her cheek. his chest was pressed so hard into her back, that she could feel the metal details of his jacket stabbing into her skin. all of the buttons and zippers.
