A/N: SURPRISE!
Warning, this chapter contains graphic material that may be unsuitable for minors. Reader discretion is advised.
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It's been what, 5 or 6 years since they found me? I don't really keep track of the time anymore. The town is relatively small but the people are nice and there's work to be done, so I'm not gonna complain.
The townsfolk that found me under the tree said I was in pretty rough shape, dehydrated and all that jazz. To be honest, I don't really remember much about that –other than being woken up by an overzealous dog- or at least that's what I tell the shrink. My adoptive family encouraged me to see a shrink but I still don't see how it was beneficial. Just put on a smile, say things are fine and leave out the important details, which pretty much meant leaving out everything. But now their concerns had shifted from the past to the present. As they put it, I had been hitting the bottle pretty hard but I just say that I'm a connoisseur of alcohol… It sounds more pleasant. Besides, if I want to slowly destroy my liver, I can. It is my money after all.
I wouldn't say that it's bad that the bartenders know me by name. Besides, it's a small area so we all kinda know each other. But the fact that the bartenders know my schedule and drinks of choice, well now that's a different story.
Okay, so maybe I had a bit too much to drink. I usually try to stay away from the land of blackouts but I could feel myself getting dangerously close to the border. Fortunately, the bartenders knew to cut me off and that my tab would be paid but I would just take a while to count out the money.
A tiny bit more stumbling than usual was required for me to make it out of that fine drinking establishment in one piece. The chilly winter air provided practically no help when it came to sobering up. I had barely made it to the curb when the sea of nausea and all its glory came rushing at me. "Good bye dignity." Violent vomiting wasn't a new concept to me, or to any of the innards that were damaged during the path of destruction pursued by my stomach contents. Fortunately this usually helped me to sober up, if only a little. But I was sober enough to make the short trip to my little flat, without too much incident I hoped.
Could I have been more wrong? Probably. Do I really want to think about what could be worse than what transpired that night? Not really.
I remember trudging home and accidentally bumping shoulders with a random fellow. I guess he didn't take my current state in to account, or maybe he did and that's why it happened. I felt strong arms wrap around me, one of them smart enough to cover my mouth to prevent my pleas. The sudden movements quickly upset what little sense of balance I had and I was approaching the brick wall of the alleyway at a concerning speed. However, my face was spared from what would have been an ugly reunion but unfortunately, the back of my head wasn't. As if I needed any more help with causing disorientation…
The warm hand was still firmly clapped over my mouth and I realized that this stranger's other hand was the cause behind the incessant tugging at my jeans, fumbling with the button and zipper. Aaannd now we cue the panic and the wild thrashing.
By some stroke of luck I had managed to wiggle out of his grasp but then came the not so lucky part of luck, I realized this as I was suddenly sprawled out on the ground and forcefully rolled on to my back. Whoever this man was, he was strong as well as heavy. This I realized when I discovered that movement would be close to impossible, especially with the uncomfortable weight on my chest. "You great big bag of dicks, you've got two seconds to get the fuck offa me or so help you God…" For a drunk, I was actually pretty pleased with my coherency. However, my attacker was not and decided the best way to shut me up was by using his mouth.
So here I was, being more or less sexually assaulted, with some random guy forcing himself between my legs and keeping my mouth shut with his own. I tried pulling away, I tried moving my head and Christ, I'm pretty sure I even tried to head-butt him. All I could feel was pain as his teeth assaulted my lips in such a way that was by no means sexy. My heart rate increased tenfold as I hear the telltale sound of a zipper being undone. "Nononono, please! Stop!" My cries and pleas didn't sound like my own and they only served as fuel to this vile man's fire. "Oh but I do adore it when you beg," It was little more than a low growl when he said it but I knew it was not going to end well. I felt his free hand trail down to the waistline of my pants before he slowly worked them down. I felt a rough finger snag the crotch of my panties to force the last bit of protection I had aside. Unable to bear the humiliation any longer, I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to ignore the silent tears that were streaming down my face.
My eyes squeezed shut even more as I heard the sound of a zipper once more and I tried to brace myself for what was to come. Nothing could have prepared me. The pain was just short of excruciating as he slammed in to me; his free hand grabbed anything to hold on to as he continued his assault. A small whimper escaped as he nipped at my neck and ears. "Oh but this is so delightful, you say no, but your body, oh how it says yes, how it begs for more…" My ears refused to block out the noises. The words, the heavy panting, the grunts, the groans, the sickening sound of his skin slapping against mine… My skin crawled as I felt one of his rough hands drag its way to my throat, wrapping his fingers around it none too gently. His grip became tighter still as his thrusting began picking up speed.
The world seemed to be slowly dimming as I struggled to take a breath to fill my lungs, but it only came out as a weak sounding gasp. The last things I felt were his final thrusts, the contraction of muscles and his teeth pulling and biting at the skin of my breasts.
I welcomed the darkness with open arms.
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I woke to the sounds of something rustling in the trash. The first thing I noticed was that I was still alive. That's always a plus. Then along came the confusion as to why the fuck I was laying down, partially naked in an alle- Oh. The memories hit me like a ton of bricks. It felt unreal, like it was all just a bad dream that it didn't actually happen. Oh God, how I prayed that it was just a dream. I spent more time than I'd care to admit wallowing in whatever emotions I felt. I was mostly numb I think. Maybe I was in shock, I dunno. My common sense finally kicked in and I moved to fix my clothes the best I could.
I felt so disgusted, stumbling on in to one of the lovely 24 hour pharmacies to grab a bottle of water and the magic little pill, Plan B. The cashier didn't even bat an eye, for which I am thankful. Buying shit like that for some reason is always embarrassing. Even if you don't wanna believe it, they're totally judging you. It is human nature to judge and be judged after all.
As the automatic doors slid shut, I swear I heard a soft clicking noise.
I started running.
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I made it to my flat in record time. All my doors and windows were locked, the blinds drawn shut. I was safe, safe in my little well lit cave, safe to drink away those memories, safe to run away from my past. But first, I had other matters to tend to. I cast a wary glance down at the little pack that for some ungodly reason, cost $60. The instructions were simple enough, take one now and take the other in a few hours. A few swigs of water and the pill went down with relative ease. I shambled to the kitchen area in search of food. I was halfway through pulling food out of my fridge when I froze, my appetite suddenly gone. I reached for a bottle of soda instead and turned away, heading off to the shower.
Calling the police wasn't high on my priorities. At some point it was, but not any more. Not until I could be sure that I wasn't slowly going crazy and imagining those sounds. Right now I just wanted to wash all the filth from my body and then curl up on the couch and pass out while watching the news or something equally calm.
The warm water was like a godsend. I stood under the stream of water, reveling in its warmth for who knows how long. All I know is I had no desire to move. I had scrubbed every inch of my skin until it was red, as if that would help to comfort me. With practiced ease I wrapped my hair up in one towel and grabbed another to wrap around my body after drying off.
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The news was dull. It's always the same old stuff. Car accident here, shooting there. On good days there maybe be a homicide investigation or two. I felt myself drifting off slowly and barely suppressed a groan when one of the reporters started blabbing on about "breaking news".
"An unidentifiable body was found off of Hermosa and Elm earlier today. Eyewitness reports claim that they saw a man in his mid to late thirties walking by when a flash of blue light seemed to engulf the man before burning him alive. The police are asking any more witnesses to step forward as they try to find a lead."
My eyes snapped open as the newscasters showed images of this victim, burned to a crisp with bits of crimson and yellow seeping between what I could only imagine were cracks in the skin- or what had once been skin.
"Oh. Shit."
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A/N: GOOD ENUFF. I'm tired. And I wanna get this out. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a lot of typos and grammatical issues. Whatevs.
R&R, concrit is always welcome.