Michael didn't know what to think. He didn't know where Sara was or whom she was with. Was this a sick joke? Her revenge? Somehow he couldn't believe that Sara would be this cruel. Her muffled screams gripped at his heart through the phone pressed to his ear and his breathing quickened. He spun around, searching the campus for any sign that this wasn't real as he walked back to his dorm from the library.

Michael flipped his silver phone closed and stared at it in his hand for a second. What had just happened? He had absolutely no idea where Sara was or how she had called him. He had heard her scream but then her voice was gone, silenced into mumbling tears. Michael's head snapped up as he broke into a sprint towards his dorm.

He panted heavily as his heart raced in his chest. His feet fell to the pavement like rocks with each step, his eyes constantly darting around the campus for any sign of Sara. He stopped as two paths crossed on the campus, leading off into four different directions. He spun around looking behind him, his expression full of panic and frustration.

He ran a trembling hand across his head, his fingers tangling in his lengthening spikes. His hair had grown somewhat since he shaved his head last Summer. Now it was January, almost February and he welcomed the extra coverage in the cold night. Condensation hung in the air as he exhaled hard, his mouth open and his lungs stinging from the coldness he breathed.

Michael spun back around when he heard a short giggle. Hoping it was Sara and this was all a joke to scare him, his eyes flickered from side to side until they rested on a couple. They looked young and stumbled from the front garden of a party hand in hand. The guy tried to lift the girl with a dirty grin on his face but she pushed against his shoulders with a laugh and he dropped her to her feet.

Michael started towards them, his stride wide and hurried. As he got closer he recognised the girl as Sara's friend. They had never spoken before but he had seen them together at the library. The guy hugged the girl protectively as Michael approached, their smiles dropping from their faces.

"Michael?" she looked puzzled. "What are you doing here?" Michael looked behind them, hoping to see Sara emerge from the party at any time safe and smiling. She didn't. "Are you ok?" She asked again, pulling herself free from her boyfriend's arms.

"Did Sara come with you?" he searched their blank faces for an answer to his question.

"Yeah she went to get a drink with some guy," he friend said, waving a hand over her shoulder lazily.

"Where's is she now?" he asked her in a flurry, staring straight into her eyes. Her boyfriend turned behind them, his eyelids heavy and half open. He started into the space between them and the house puzzled.

"Sara was…" he started. Michael growled and pushed through them, knocking her friend backwards one way and her boyfriend the other. "Hey!" he shouted in protest and shot a glance at his girlfriend who had just realised the seriousness of the situation. Immediately she sobered up.

"Come on," she commanded, grabbing her boyfriend's arm and dragging him back to the party behind Michael.

Michael burst through the open door into the room. No one batted an eyelid and continued worshipping the band. "Sara!" he called but a heavy guitar solo drowned his voice out. His long jacket flew behind him as he rushed through the crowded hallway, excusing his pushed and prods as he made his way into the kitchen.

It was almost empty, of people and beer. Sara was nowhere to be seen and he didn't waste time looking any more. He ran back out into the hallway and stopped dead in the crowd. People looked at him with disgust and a few people called him a freak as he stood on tiptoes to see over them. He searched the room for Sara's familiar red hair but he was disappointed.

To his right Michael heard two guy laughing. They were probably his age and it was probably their dorm. "You just slip it into her drink and she'll never remember a thing," one said as he caught the end of their conversation. The other laughed and it was sadistic. Michael spun around and grabbed the guy by the shirt, throwing him into the side of the banister with all his weight behind it.

"Where did you get them?" he spat into the guys face. The guy held up his hands in defence, turning his face from Michael and squeezing his cowardly eyes shut with fear.

"I, uh…," he stammered as the other guy he was talking to turned and ran out through the kitchen. Michael pulled his tiny body from the wooden framework and slammed it back into it harder. The guy let out a groan and his face contorted with pain as his back hit the wood. "Adam!" he screeched flinching.

"That's the name of the guy Sara was with," her friend told Michael as she finally caught up to him panting. Michael's head snapped back to the trembling man in his hands, his eyes almost black with hellish fury.

The guy pinched his eyes shut again and twitched, waiting for Michael's massive paw to strike him. "They went upstairs," he choked out, pointing a shaky finger towards the ceiling. Michael dropped him to a heap on the floor and raced for the stairs, bounding up them in four steps. Sara's friend and her boyfriend trailed behind him slower, the affects of their drinking slowing them down.

Michael kicked open a door and it bounced off the wall behind as it hit it. "Sara?" he called into the darkness but there was no response. He turned and darted across the hall, pushing open the next door. Again he was met with an empty room, the only furniture a neatly made bed and a ticking clock. The ticking ate away at Michael as he stumbled into the hall and looked both directions. There were several doors and he was running out of time.

A low cry caught Michael's attention and he turned hard, catching the wall as he tripped along the corridor. The carpet muffled his heavy boots as his panicked body headed for the end door on shaky legs. There was a sign on the handle saying "Do not Disturb" which Michael ignored and sent flying across the room when he kicked open the door.

Adam let go of Sara's hands startled and spun around. A huge shadow loomed in the doorway and he only glanced at it quickly before turning back to Sara as her free hands beat hard against his body. Michael lunged for Adam, grabbed him by the shoulder and spun him to face him. His face was pale and his mouth hung open in horror and alarm. He had no time to react or say a word before Michael's clenched fist hit his face, sending him flying back into the wall where he fell to the floor in a vacillating mess.

Sara's cries grew louder once her mouth was released and she still pounded into the air. Her friend and her boyfriend fell into the room after the commotion and set their eyes on Sara. Her top was yanked upwards and her jeans were half way down her legs, exposing her milky skin. Thankfully her modesty was still hidden beneath her underwear that had been so far untouched.

"You bastard!" the boyfriend roared, yanking Adam to his feet and from the room. Blood poured down his face from a broken nose and a purple bruise had already begun to show under the swelling under his eye. Sara's friend stood staring at her, her hand covering her mouth in shock as she shook with dread.

Michael was already by her side, leaning over her body as she yelled for help and beat her weak fist against him. "Sara!" he called to her, wiping a strong hand across her forehead, brushing her messy hair from her face. Her eyes remained closed and her face was streaming with tears. Michael grabbed her hands with the other and stopped them flailing, holding them to his heart. "Sara, it's Michael," he said softly, his lips inches from her face.

Sara was scared to open her eyes. She was afraid that if she did, and he wasn't there, the nightmare would continue. Her crying began to cease and she peeled an eye open. Michael was hovering above her, one hand stroking hers while the other wiped tears from her delicate cheeks. Her gaze met his loving stare and he squeezed her hand tightly. "I'm here," he told her cupping her cheek in his hand.

Sara's eyes welled with more tears but she could not speak. Her head hurt and she felt so disorientated she had no idea where she was. All she knew was Michael was here and she would be safe. Sara reached up with a hand and lay a hand on Michael cheek. His breath caught in his throat at the contact, contact he had missed so much. His eyes darted from hers, unable to focus for a second and when they met hers again, Sara pulled his lips to hers.

She couldn't tell him how much she wanted him to rescue her so she would show him. Their lips lingered together for a long while before Michael pulled away and looked into Sara's eyes again. He saw relief and she lost consciousness as they fluttered closed. Michael let her hands fall gently to her sides as he redressed her tenderly.

Taking off his jacket he wrapped her in it and heaved her dead weight into his arms. Her head lolled against his shoulder and he tucked it protectively under his chin as he held her. "Is she going to be ok?" her friend asked worriedly, fiddling with Sara's cell phone she had found as he walked past her out of the room. Michael simply nodded and carried her from the house.

All eyes fell on him as he slowly made his way down the narrow stairs case, his muscles rippling under his clothes as they strained to hold Sara's body in his arms. The night air took his breath as he stepped out in just his t-shirt, the hair on his arms standing on end as he walked across campus with Sara in his secure embrace.