Oh God! Help! Get off me! The blood was pounding in her ears and red dots appeared in front of her eyes as the edges of her vision became dull and bleared.
Please Help! What do you want?! let go! She was mentally pleading, as the garrotte around her neck was so tight it stopped her from screaming out loud.
Her hands clawed at her neck trying to dislodge the ever tightening cord, the pressure increasing with every second. She internally screamed as the hand that was grabbing her breast moved down to her trousers and started trying to work at the zip.
No! Please not that, no! She knew what was happening, she tried to kick but the lack of oxygen caused the kick to look more like a reflex jerk. This was not going to happen, this couldn't, oh god...........
With her last bit of strength she tried to get him off but the movement cause the cord to press even harder against her airway and she felt herself fall into unconsciousness.
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The room swam into focus before her, it's was late in the afternoon now and the light that had almost blinded her during...earlier, had given way to a soft orange glow that filled the room. At any other time it would have been beautiful but right now it made her want to cry.
She stayed semi-curled on the floor for a long time, not quite crying. Anyone who looked into the small woman's face would've seen that her eyes reflected emptiness, one that spoke not of anger or sadness but of violation and shock.
It was only when she eventually moved that the tears came. One look at the mess of semen and blood on her thighs was all it took, then to look around and see her flat, her space, her home, where she was meant to be safe, "A man's home is his castle". The tear fell harder.
She slowly got up and pulled off her trousers and underwear, arranging her top so it covered her again. Despite everything she knew, everything that she had been taught she headed almost unconsciously to the bathroom and to a scolding hot shower, the only evidence that was preserved was on a towel with now lay abandoned on the floor.
It wasn't until she heard the phone ring, that she dragged herself out of the shower, the hot water long since depleted and the only light now in the flat coming from a small fish tank sitting on the breakfast bar.
The answer phone had picked up and she only caught the tail end of the message.
"See you tomorrow, Frankie"
The thought of her team and their reactions were too much to bear and the tears started again and didn't stop until Frankie no longer had any energy left for it. Surprisingly she slipped into a dreamless sleep.
TBC