I don’t even look at them when I walk to the door and go outside, but I know they spotted me. I hear them talking as the door closes, and I increase my pace to get away from the restaurant as fast as possible.
Tucking my hands in my coat, I hurry across the street. Behind me is the sound of footsteps. It keeps speeding up, faster and faster, and the noise makes my heart go haywire. They’re following me.
“Hey girl, where are you going?” one of them yells.
I ignore them and keep on walking. Just keep walking, don’t pay any attention. Maybe they’ll go away. Maybe I can outrun them.
But their footsteps come closer, and I can hear there are more with each step I take. They’re laughing, and when I turn my head I see it’s all of them.
Shit. They’re coming after me.
Fuck, what do I do?
I start running, but they do too.
“Come here!” one of them yells.
And then they catch up to me.
One of them grabs my wrist, and I scream.
A tug of war begins between them, my purse, and my coat. Zipping open my purse, I take out the pepper spray my dad told me to carry with me, just in case. But I’m not quick enough, and they snatch it from my hand before I can use it.
They’re jerking my coat open, and I fight to keep it on. I clench my arms together and struggle to hold onto my stuff.
Just one large pull is all it takes for them to jerk away my purse. It lands on the asphalt ground and the contents come spilling out. I look around to see if there’s anyone around, but the streets are empty.
Nobody can help me.
I’m all alone, trying to fight monsters in the darkness.
A guy shoves the others away and grabs me by the arms so tight I shriek. His breath stinks of alcohol, and the way he smiles makes me want to puke.
“C’mon, little pussycat,” he says, and he rips my coat open, tearing apart the buttons. “What are you hiding under there?”
No, no, no! This can’t happen. Not like this. I don’t want it to be like this.
I scream as loud as I can, so loud my lungs burn.
He puts his hand on my mouth and whispers, “You’re a feisty one, aren’t you?”
I open my mouth and bite down on his finger hard enough to make him bleed.
“Fuck!” he screams, and he jerks away his hand.
I can still taste his nasty blood in my mouth. The filth sends bile up my throat.
And then his hand comes down upon my face.
My glasses are flung off and land somewhere on the ground.
The pain of the mark he left on me is hot, burning hot, and it stings on my skin. I can’t believe this is happening.
Tears run down my face, and I plead, “Please, don’t. Please, let me go.”
They all start laughing, and the one I bit is licking his lips. “Not after what you just did.”
I scream as loud as I can once the guy starts unbuckling his belt as the other ones restrain me.
Closing my eyes, I pray for safety. I need to be away. Away from here. Away from my mind. I can’t see this. I don’t want to be here. I just can’t.
And as I zone out of this world, I hear a familiar voice screaming his lungs out.
“Get your fucking hands off her!”
My eyes flash open at the sound of his voice. When I see his white-hot face as he storms over to us I think I’m dreaming.
It feels so unreal. Is he really here?
Is he here to save me? Please tell me he is.
“Get the fuck away from her! Right. Now!” he screams as he approaches.
The guy I bit stops fiddling with his trousers and turns around only to be smacked right in the face by Hunter.
He lands a powerful strike on his jaw, and the man staggers and falls down backward on the ground.
“You fucking son of a bitch!” Hunter yells. “Don’t you fucking dare lay a hand on her again.” He spits on the ground, and before I realize it the guys let me go and go for Hunter.
They jump on him like a rabid pack of hyenas, pounding in on him without restraint.
Hunter tries to fight them off, throwing punches as much as he can. One of them is hit in the stomach and starts puking just because of his hit. Another one is kicked in the nuts and staggers away. But someone else hits Hunter with his elbow, straight in the nose.
“No!” I scream, as I grab my coat and try to pull everything together.
Hunter fights his way through the group of guys, screaming flurries of swearwords at them.
“I’ll kill you! You dickhead!” the one lying on the floor comes to and starts pounding in on Hunter, too.
“Stop it!” I scream, tears streaming down my face. “Stop it, stop it!”
But they won’t.
They keep fighting each other. Blood is scattered all over the ground and smeared all over their faces. Including Hunter’s.
“You motherfucker. Think you can stop us?” the guy yells as he strikes Hunter. “We take what we want, when we want it. You don’t get to fucking intervene!”