The Cunning

2

The following day was a haze of housework and self-care, until half-eight when Madison headed to the bus stop due to a sudden torrential downpour. The number seven pulled up to the curb with a loud hiss, the fumes warming her legs as she waited to let passengers off. There was only one seat available when she got on. She made her way down the aisle, past the bored faces of evening travellers, stopping at the steps. The man sitting in the middle at the back caught her attention.

The Marlborough guy looked younger in the white lighting of the bus. Stubble shadowed his jawline, his dark green eyes observed her through untamed curls springing down from beneath his hood. His presence made her feel vulnerable, not just because he had been hanging around in an alley with a crowbar in the early hours of the morning. It was the way he unapologetically stared, or maybe it was the way he occupied space, with his broad shoulders, spread legs and big hands. He held a different iPhone today. Madison knew a drug dealer when she saw one.
She turned away, taking the seat next to an older man who smelled of pork scratchings and had a wheezing cough only long-time smokers possessed. There was a sense of relief that he was just a drug dealer, it explained away their encounter last night as a mere coincidence. She looked over her shoulder, a quick glance - because he was staring right at her.

*

"Hello?" An impatient voice seeped into Madison's daydream. She blinked, the disgruntled customer coming into focus. There was half an hour to go on her last night shift and she was twitchy and nervous and exhausted. The feeling of hands gripping her shoulders came and went like ghosts. It wasn't what happened that bothered her - if he was a drug dealer, then his reasons for being out that night were unrelated to her - it was her lack of reaction.

"Sorry, it's been a long night," she mumbled. The man was more annoyed than sympathetic, grunting in response and handing over the money for his cigarettes and vodka. Madison tipped her head back when he left, wishing she had called in sick and caught up on sleep instead.
The shop remained empty until she finished, bringing the horror of her night shifts to a close and marking the start of a three-day weekend.

"Did you want me to drop you home?" Peter asked, as he routinely did, coming out onto the shop floor. He cleared his throat with a phlegmy cough. Madison grimaced.

"No, thanks," she said, before adding, "I was actually wondering if I could take out a five-pound advance on my wages?"

Peter's brows twitched up a fraction. "What for?"

Madison was so tired she didn't think before responding, "A taxi."

Peter's mouth spread into a grin big enough to swallow the rest of his ruddy round face. "Don't be silly," he said, dismissing her request. "I'll drop you off. It's on my way." Madison began to protest, but Peter batted her rejections away. He wasn't going to take no for an answer, no matter what feeble excuses she gave him. Instead, she found her lips admitting defeat and thanking him politely. She tried to convince herself that Peter was probably just trying to be helpful, and at least she knew him. Yet her chest tightened as they left the shop together.

They engaged in small talk on the journey. Peter asked all the questions, and Madison replied as vaguely as possible, never one to divulge many facts about her personal life. He asked what she did in her spare time, who she lived with, and so on. He was a little too prying for her liking, but she was grateful he was keeping his hands to himself. When they reached the top of her road, Madison's muscles let out a breath of relief.

"Here's fine," she said, interrupting his question about what school she went to. To her surprise, Peter didn't argue or offer to drive her directly to her front door. "Thanks. I'll see you next week." She opened the passenger door and climbed out.

"Oh, no worries," he replied. The second the door closed, he sped off. The absence of his tail lights plunged Madison into the blackness of the night, leaving her to make the walk alone.

She felt almost silly for thinking the worst of him. He had been inquisitive but not inappropriate and it was nice of him to offer her a lift. By the way he sped off, he was probably just as tired as she was and eager to get to bed himself.

It wasn't a long road, with ten houses on each side, but it seemed longer now and a small part of her wished she had let him take her closer. The street lights went off at one in the morning as part of an energy-saving initiative on Madison's estate. There were no sounds, no cars, no animals, no wind, or the rustle of trees from the woods behind the neighbourhood. Every shadow was shaped like a person and Madison clung to her bag strap as she hurried along. The screech of a fox's mating call cut through the silence and she nearly dropped to her knees in fright before realising what it was. Her cheeks burned for no one.

"Get a grip," she hissed to herself, but she moved faster still, almost able to make out the solid black mass of hedge in her front garden.

She managed to get the key in the lock before someone slammed her against the door, knocking the breath from her lungs. They pressed a cloth to her nose and mouth as a leathery snake constricted around her neck. She desperately clawed at the arm choking her out but the hold only tightened.

The last thing Madison registered was how the penetrating scent she was gasping in reminded her of a hospital before her legs were swept out from under her. Gravel embedded into her knees, pain shot up through the centre of her femur, sinking its claws deep into the marrow. Still, she struggled, twisting and pulling, flailing her limbs with all the strength she could muster. She was at a severe disadvantage on the ground, taking blind swipes with her elbows.
Her movements quickly became heavy, her limbs moving through honey as the fuzz from the edge of her vision clouded over. The gold letterbox on the front door faded out.

*

So, thoughts? Do you think Marlborough guy is good or bad? For those of you that have already read the story, no spoilers! Should Madison be scared of him or does the fact that he let her go make him seem more of a knight in shining armor? Don't forget to vote and feel free to spam the comments with any and all thoughts!