Chapter One:

Maya Hart was on her way home from classes. It was nine pm and the sun had already set. Streetlights were illuminating the path home, but even so, it was dark. She could barely make out anything within four feet of herself.

Her blonde hair, pulled back in a ponytail at the moment, swished from side to side with each step.

She had her backpack strapped to her shoulders and the few books that wouldn't fit in said backpack she held in her arms.

On this early October night, it was chilly and she pulled her jacket tighter to body for warmth.

Goosebumps surfaced everywhere, even parts covered by clothing. She had a funny feeling she was being watched, but brushed it off as a scenario her mind imagined because of the horror-film worthy setting.

The one where the college girl walks to her dorm alone is killed off by the murderer in the movie. That one.

Maya quickened her pace, wanting nothing more than to take a long, warm bubble bath. She was looking forward to reading the brand new mystery novel she had just purchased the day earlier.

All of a sudden, a hand appeared from behind and yanked her against the hand's attached body.

A cool sharp object was pressed against the ivory flesh of her throat and Maya let out a strangled cry in shock.

"Give me all of your money!" The person, now identified as a man, demanded.

Maya's voice quivered as she answered, "I was just coming from classes. I don't have any money."

The man reeked of booze and cigarettes and something else that Maya couldn't place. He licked the shell of Maya's ear, "Maybe something else then?"

She tried to get away, and she almost did too. She elbowed him as hard as she could and took off in a run, but he quickly caught up to her. The man bulldozed Maya to the ground, landing on top of her with a hard thud. Her head bounced against the pavement with a force.

Maya screamed, trying to wake one of the residents in the houses nearby. The man shushed her and covered her mouth with his hand to keep her quiet.

With a great strength, he held her arms above her head with one hand and the other worked on pulling her shorts down. Then her underwear.

She pleaded for him to stop, begged him to. Told him she had money in her apartment if he'd just go with her. Anything to try and make him stop.

Soon, she was left vulnerable to him. Maya blacked out as soon as he had finished violating her.

When she came to, every single part of her body hurt, especially her inner thighs and her face.

There was a ringing in her ears and her vision was blurry, but she couldn't see out of the left eye entirely.

Maya slowly stood up and painstakingly walked back to pick up her backup and books. Then she staggered to the police station, which was not far from her apartment. Probably a five-minute walk past where she lived, but instead would take her an extra half an hour.

Tears streamed down her face as she made her way to the station with a slow pace.

When she careened past the double doors she had seen so many times from the outside, the officers on duty were in for a shock.

As soon as she advanced inside of the station, she succumbed to the pain; it was just too much to bear instantly.

They called for an ambulance and it was when they were speaking to her that Maya noticed it was like cotton was stuffed in her ears, which made hearing the officer extremely difficult.

At the hospital, the nurses gave Maya a good dosage of morphine for the pain. She was a little tired and a lot loopy.

When they asked if there was anyone they could call, she immediately recited the Matthews' home phone number from memory.

When the Matthews arrived with Riley in tow and Auggie sleepily rubbing his eyes.

After all, it was now three in the morning.

Cory Matthew had asked for Maya Hart. When they walked in, Cory walked out and asked if they were sure that was her. The nurse on duty assured him that it was indeed their very own Maya.

Maya was crying again and when she spoke, it came out slurred and unintelligible.

"Maya?" Riley looked at her best friend and sister with worriment and concern.

"Don't worry about me, Riley. I'm…"

But the girl could not bring herself to say the words fine or okay. Instead, she broke down crying again.

The police came back later, asking for a statement. The male officer suggested that the Matthews leave the room for this, albeit Maya insisting they stay kept them there for her.

She began to relay the horrific tale of what happened. "I was walking home from class. I just wanted to get home. Something felt funny, but I just thought it was because it was dark and I was alone.

"Then, out of nowhere, this man grabbed me. He had a knife to my throat. He demanded that I give him all of my money, but I don't carry money when I go to class, for this very reason. Then he said, 'Maybe something else then.' He licked my ear and I elbowed him to get away.

"But when he caught up to me, I had just angered him and he shoved me to the ground. I hit my head on the concrete. He held my hands above my head and pulled my undergarments off and then he… he…" Maya sobbed as she relived the nightmare again. "I pleaded the whole time for him to stop. Every time I screamed or made a noise, he punched me in the face. Eventually everything went black and then I woke up on the pavement and walked to the police station."

Maya was still sobbing; most of her story was racked with breaks between deep breaths and the hiccups she had developed.

When the police asked for a description. She managed to distinguish that the man was white, between mid 30's or 40's, with brownish hair (it was dark out and poorly lit so it could have been lighter, Maya mentioned), and he was wearing a black hoodie and light coloured khakis. Maya also noted that he was wearing loafers for shoes. She also remembered that he had a tattoo of a particular large dragon or something of the sort.

The female officer smiled sympathetically and told her she did a good job at the description.

Maya shrugged, sniffling. "I have a photographic memory, if it weren't for it being so dark, I'd know every last detail for sure."

After the officers left, Riley wrapped her arms around her and Maya flinched away from the touch. It was clear she was damaged in more ways than one.

On that fateful October night, Maya Hart had been shattered.


Author's Note: Hi, so this is my second attempt at posting this. I don't know though, it was posting a totally different document (a really old Austin and Ally one that I had on my account) and I tried replacing the chapter multiple times and it still didn't show up correctly. So here's attempt number two ha ha. Finger's crossed that something like that doesn't happen again.

Also, I want to be clear that I want constructive criticism; if something doesn't sound right tell me, just be nice about it. This also includes mistakes such as spelling or grammar. Thank you and I hope you enjoy the story!