Chapter 2-

Chapter 2-

Forgive me for the addresses. I have no knowledge of New York City. I live in Lockport, NY… Which is near Niagara Falls, and haven't been to New York City… Ever. And unlike the AC/DC song, I would feel 'Unsafe in New York City'.

"Open this door, bitch!" Joe yelled.

Caroline cringed. Together, Annie and Caroline moved all the furniture over to the door, including the bed. Then, the two of them climbed into the closet and huddled together.

"Annie! I'm so scared." Caroline whispered, hugging her friend tighter.

"So am I, Caroline." Annie said, hugging Caroline just as tight.

Just then, something fell off of the top shelf of the closet. The pair looked at it. It was a dopey 'Caroline' telephone that her parents had sent her. She only brought it out when her parents came to visit her. She crept out of the closet and searched for a jack. She gratefully found one and plugged it in. She took the phone and listened in. A moment later the guys started pounding on the door again.

"Call someone and die, bitch!" One of them yelled.

Caroline didn't want to risk it. The guys finally picked the lock and shoved all the junk out of the way. They heaved two large bundles into the room, and they made loud, meaty thunks as it hit the plush carpet. Joe walked to the doorway.

"We're going to have our fun later." He said, laughing, and slamming the door behind him.

The bundles unrolled themselves to reveal that they were Charlie and Richard.

Richard and Charlie didn't see Caroline and Annie. They didn't even know they were there. Charlie was shaking badly and holding tight to Richard. Caroline and Annie crept out of the closet and sat next to the other pair.

"Richie. Charlie." Annie said.

"Caroline!" Richard said.

"Annie." Charlie said.

Charlie let go of Richard and hugged Annie, who wasn't going to disagree. This left Richard, who opened his arms for Caroline, who immediately sunk into them.

"I'm so stupid." Caroline said.

"How are you of all people stupid?" Annie asked, reaching over and patting Caroline softly.

"I let myself fall for this. I kept believing that Joe and I… were for real. I should never have kept it going for this long." Caroline said.

Richard stroked her hair. "It'll be okay." Salty strolled up to Richard and began to rub on his arm.

"Awww… Salty likes you!" Caroline said, smiling half-heartedly.

"Oh, sure! Be nice when you need to be protected!"

***********************

They heard louder noises coming from downstairs.

Cheering. They all thought.

"We gotta get out of here." Charlie said.

"Great. You've pinpointed it. Now we've gotta find out how.

"One of us should climb out and tiptoe across the ledge to the apartment next door."

This brought back memories for Richard, and he cringed.

"Afraid of heights?" Annie asked.

"No. Bad experience. I'll tell you some other time."

"I'll do it. I'm terrified, and I want out of this apartment." Caroline said, kissing Richard for luck. She stepped out of the window and crept along the edge. Annie did the same, kissing Charlie as well. They lost their balance a few times, but they eventually made it to their destination. The apartment next door was empty, but they saw a phone in there and climbed into the window. Caroline quickly dialed 911.

"Help me. I live in the Royal Apartments on 5th street, apartment 7b. There are guys waiting to rape me and my friends, please hurry." She hung up and went to the front door. She opened it and cautiously peered outside into the hallway. She walked out of the apartment and was halfway to the elevator when one of the guys came out of her apartment. They saw her and they yanked her and Annie back up the stairs and into the little prison.

"What did you do?" Joe asked, grabbing her tousled hair and pulling her up.

"N-nothing." She said, receiving a sharp slap.

"Nothing, huh? We'll have to punish you anyway. Who is this guy? Richard?" He asked. Richard stood up. Joe pulled out a pistol and shot at Richard twice before the cops shot him down. Caroline watched Richard slump to the floor. "NO!" She cried, running over to him and softly kissing him.

"I love you, Richard!" He heard as he succumbed to the darkness sheathing him.

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Whaddya think? Drop me a line, review…

Oh yeah. Here's a quote to live by:

"It is better to live on one's feet than to die on one's knees."

-Emiliano Zapata