I can hear screaming and lots of it.
It sounds like Kate.
Why's Kate here?
Wait…. where is here?
I slowly start to take in my surroundings.
I'm home…..but…I'm lying in the middle of the great room and the lights are out.
That's weird the lights should be on, and what am I doing on the floor? This is so weird.
Slowly I start push myself up from where I'm lying on the cold floor.
AHHHH! MY HEAD! I slump back down to the floor regretting even trying to get to my feet.
What the fuck happened to me and why does my head feel like I just got hit by a truck?
And why the hell is Kate still screaming?
"OK Steel lets try this on more time."
Slowly and very carefully I start to push myself off of the floor again and managed to get off of the floor this time. How ever as soon as I'm up I whish I wasn't. My whole body is swaying as I try to gain back my equilibrium. My head is now really pounding away at me.
"Heels off Steel" my subconscious suddenly, pipes into my head "No heels equals better balance"
Slowly I slip off one then the other heel making, as my subconscious said, my balance a lot more stable then what it was.
With my heels off I slowly start to shuffle towards the stairs. Even the smallest shuffle is sending massive pain waves through out my head and body, but I need to reach Kate. She's still screaming but its becoming less and less. Slowly I try to increase my snail-paced shuffle to something a bit faster, anything faster.
I'm about to pass by the security office when I trip over something very large and solid.
My body hits the floor with a hard smack. Lighting explodes in my head as it makes contact with the floor and white streaks of lightning bluer out my vision. For a moment I'm blinded by white and my body is paralyzed with pain from my head. The throbbing in my head even kicks up by a notch.
What the fuck was that?!
Slowly I turn myself around too look what I tripped over.
In the little light coming though the apartments floor to ceiling windows I can see what looks roughly like a person slumped down on the floor.
I can't make out who it is. As fast as my aching head will allows me to, I crawl over on all fours
"Gail!" I call out, my voice a hoarse whisper, as I start to recognize her familiar body shape.
What is she doing on the floor?
"Gail?" I say to her as I slowly turn her around.
A gasp of pure shock escapes my mouth. Gail's beautiful face is covered in blood and with what I can only guess are bruises. As I look more closely at her bloodied face I can make out a faint cut, running across her beautiful face. The cut seems to start at her left temple and only comes to a stop at the right corner of her mouth. Blood has smeared all over her face, down her white shirt and has started to pool onto the cold floor. Her face, almost drained of all color, is now only waxy white. She so cold.
"Gail!" I call out in a sob, tears starting to roll down my face.
Slowly I start to shake her, my head protested against this by shooting bolts of pain through out my whole body but I need to wake her up. Hopelessly trying to wake her up, I shake her harder but a small moan escaping from her lips is the only reaction I can get out of her.
"Gail, please wake up!" I call out over large sobs.
Suddenly Kate's screaming fills up the apartment.
This isn't like the screaming I heard when I woke up. This is something all on its own. Something that makes the hair on the back of my neck and arms stand up.
Adrenalin is now spiking through my body.
Slowly I look down at Gail who is still slumped down unconscious on the floor.
What the fuck am I suppose to do!?
Do I leave Gail here and go to Kate?
Or do I help Gail and leave Kate?
This is so fucking frustrating!
"Just take a breath and calm the fuck down Steel!"
She's right. I just need one big breath to clear out my head.
With that I take in what has to be the biggest breath I have ever taken.
I can feel my body relaxing a bit and my head starts to clear out a bit.
Kate's screaming isn't stopping and its only getting worse.
Her screaming finally makes up my mind for me. I have to help her.
"I'll be right back Gail." I whisper to her even though I know she can't hear me.
Again I slowly start to push myself up off the floor. Once I'm up it only takes me a few seconds to gain my balance again but my head is still pounding away at me.
Slowly I take the few steps I need before I'm standing at the base of the stairs.
I take the stairs painstakingly one at a time.
"Why in hell are there so many stairs!" I hear my subconscious curse under her breath.
Once I finally reach the top of the stairs Kate screaming comes to sudden stop. The apartment becomes deathly quit.
"Kate?!" I call out in shock.
"Kate, is everything ok?" I call out again when she doesn't reply.
Slowly I start to make my way towards her room.
The atmosphere with in the hallway suddenly becomes charged with an unease feeling of fear. Halfway down the hallway I pass Christians office. Leila's gun suddenly pops into my head.
"Just to be save." My subconscious calls out.
As quietly as I can I slip into his office. In the dark room I reach out my left hand to flick on the light switch but nothing happens. I try again but nothing happens again. The power must have been cut to the penthouse.
Softly cursing under my breath I slowly and very clumsily start to move towards Christians desk only bumping into a few things here and there.
As I reach Christians desk the phone catches' my eye. I grab the phone only to realize that there is no dial tone. This is starting to get really weird now. How can both the phone lines and the electricity be out, and at the same time? Some thing is not adding up. I try to think what I might be missing but my head is only starting to ach again. Try as I might my brain is just being one large ball of aching mush that's not willing to give me the information I need.
Returning my attention back to the desk, I slowly shuffle over to the desks drawers.
"Please let it still be there" I say as I slowly open up the desk drawer where I last found her gun. To my relief it's still there. I pull the gun out off the drawer. The weight of the gun in my hands sends my adrenalin levels jumping up a notch.
It's been so long since I held a gun let a lone used one. But Ray taught me well enough. I hope I can still remember every thing he taught me.
Slowly with the gun in my hand I make my way back into the hallway.
I make my way to guess bedroom door, towards Kate. Its open faintly enough for me to make out that's she's on the bed.
I slowly push the door open and slip inside.
Kate is sprawled out on the bed.
"Kate!" I call out in a sob as I look at my best friend.
The towel that she had rapped around her body is now nowhere to be seen. Her arms are tied up with what I can only make out as a pair of her underwear. Her legs are spread wide, revealing everything. Her face just like Gail's is drained of color and waxy white.
"Oh Kate!" I cry out. Somehow without knowing, I've managed to crawl onto the bed and pulled Kate into my lap. Cradling her like a small child.
I can feel my body start to shake with sobs.
How and what in hell just happened in my home?
Who had done this to her?
"Pretty thing isn't she." Comes a horrible snickering voice from behind me.
I feel my whole body freeze up again just like before. Willing myself I slowly turn my head only enough to see Jack standing in the bathroom doorway.
Then it hit me. Every thing came flooding back to me.
It was Jack who knocked me out in the great room. He also probably attacked Gail and now he…..
The full realization of the situation hit me in the face. Jake Hyde had raped Kate.
He had raped my best friend and in my own home to!
Clutching Kate closer to me, I slowly turn towards Jack, taking him in. His face is full of red scratches that could only have come from Kate. Some are even bleeding.
"Feisty little thing isn't she?" Jack snickered as he moved out of the doorway towards me.
"Get out of my house you fucking scumbag!" I shout, pointing the gun at his vile face.
"Careful there princesses don't want to blow up that pretty little face of yours."
Jack replies calmly. He doesn't even look threatened by the gun I'm pointing at his face.
"I'm warning you Hyde. Get out or I swear to God I will shoot!" I yell out.
"No you wont." He replies with a smirk plastered on his face.
Is he challenging me?
Does he really think I wont shoot him?
Well he is wrong. I take my aim just a little bit right from his body. This should scare him enough. I pull the trigger.
I hear a bloodcurdling scream coming from Jack.
I look at him and saw that I actually shot him in his leg.
I actually shot someone.
I just shot someone. Holly shit.
I can feel my body going to shock.
"You fucking cock teasing bitch!" Jack screams at me.
Jack waists no time and lurches towards me.
I try to shoot at him again but I can't get my brain to cooperate with my body.
I can't do anything to stop him except to run. As I turn to jump off the bed, Jack grabs hold of my hair and yanks down hard. Once I'm down he troughs his whole body on top of mine. I start to scream at the top of my lungs.
"Know one can hear you!" Jack yells into my face. "JUTS SHUT THE FUCK UP!"
"SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP!"
I try to buck and push him off but he's just to heavy and with every push I give he pushes me back even harder against the floor.
I can feel his hand moving down my body. Bile rises in my thought
"I will fuck you one day! And that day is soon!" Jack shouts into ear, satisfaction in his voice. His hand has now made is under my skirt tentatively pulling at my underwear.
In anguish I try to get Jack off me. Nothing happens so all I can do is to scream louder and harder then I ever have.
"SHUT UP!"
Jack pushes me down even harder onto the floor as he reaches for something in his back pocket. When he brings his hand back into my view I see he's holding syringe.
"This should do it." A diabolical smile spread over his face.
Once again I try to get away from him but I can't. It's a hopeless cause.
I feel the needle penetrating my arm. The pain is unbearable and I scream again.
Every thing is going dark again.
My body is getting heavier and heavier.
Slowly I can feel myself slipping away into darkness.
Darkness soon devours my mind and soon I become unaware of everything and every one around me.