Staying Silent, Part 1 – April
The bed was hard, but somehow she knew she shouldn't be complaining at the feel. It's softer than concrete, she thought vaguely, wondering where that thought had come from. Her mind was wading slowly towards consciousness, the darkness around her as thick as honey. Her eyes were stinging, and she guessed that there was a light on – she reacted by keeping them squeezed tight.
"You looking at something, girlie?"
The voice caused goosebumps to jump up along her arms. She relaxed, just a little, when she realised no-one had spoken – it was a memory.
What happened? she asked herself. She twitched one finger, then the rest of them in turn; the movement helped pull her awake. She usually woke up much faster than this in the morning. So was something wrong?
"What did you see?" he hissed, the knife pressing against her throat, hard enough to draw blood.
She forced each limb to move, wincing mentally at the pain in her shoulders. She tried to lift a hand to her throat, but her arms felt leaden. What did I see? What's going on? she thought furiously, struggling to sit up even though she couldn't yet control her body.
"Nothing! I swear, I didn't see anything! Please..."
Wait. That was her voice. Begging. What the hell had happened?
Kate McGregor could count the number of times she'd begged for something on one hand. The feeling of a knife pressed against her throat returned. She kept her eyes closed, not wanting to face the world – whatever was happening in it – until she had worked out what the hell was going on. She concentrated.
Think logically... what day is it? What's the last thing you remember?
Yesterday... last night... or maybe it was still last night. She could still be in danger. She'd been at home. Alone. She was bored. Nothing on TV. Shore leave.
Events started fitting into place. She'd gone to the video store. Ezy-DVD, about fifteen minutes walk from her apartment. Not for the movie so much as for the exercise. It had been late... maybe nine o'clock. She had been so bored... restless.
Then what? she asked silently, her eyes flickering from side to side underneath the closed lids. Light was filtering through the thin skin, her retina seared by the redness. She was nearly awake, but tried to fight consciousness for a little longer, desperate to find out where she was, and why.
"You little bitch..."
The blade sunk deeper into her throat, and she let out a pathetic whimper.
"I promise, I promise I won't tell... I swear it," she choked out.
She was dead. The thought hit her hard, and she gulped. Suddenly; great pain. She sucked in a deep breath, and the feeling intensified.
Back to sleep would be good now... she thought. Her eyes flew open before she could stop them, and she immediately recoiled at the hideous fluorescent lights. She blinked several times, fear building when she didn't immediately recognise her surroundings.
"You sure you'll remember to stay silent? You won't forget?"
"I promise, I won't tell anyone, ever... I didn't see anything..."
A lie. The memories came into focus, background information making itself apparent. She'd never even made it to the video store. She'd seen someone walking past... with blood on his knuckles. Of course, she (curious moron!) had to check it out.
She'd seen two guys beating up a third. She had been about to go out and help, when one of them had drawn a knife and stabbed the victim in the gut, at the same time slicing upwards. Killing him. Not even her Navy training could defend her against that sort of ruthless attack.
Something grabbed her from behind, pushed her against the wall. Her feet slipped in the fresh blood, as the bloody knife rested against her throat, and the man holding it opened his mouth to hiss –
Kate wrenched her eyes open, willing to face the harsh hospital lights in order to escape the nightmare, her breathing settling.
She was in hospital. Alive. Even if there was still that intense pain in her mouth. She tried to call out.
"Hello?" Except that's not what it sounded like. She moved her tongue, ignoring the scream-worthy agony, and all that came out was a muffled, "He-bo?"
She was fully awake, finally, but there was still something seriously, awfully, wrong.