Lisa Mcmann

                I looked down at my green sneakers. “So who’s first?” After the words escaped my mouth the room exploded into chaos. Someone I didn’t notice to be in the room grabbed my arm and started to pull. “Come now, don’t be foolish girl let’s go!” The voice that had a hold of me was clearly from a woman. She had a thick accent that I couldn’t place. French maybe? I brushed away my thoughts and began to run with her. The people who blocked the door now seem to be the ones keeping the true enemies away. 

                Once I was free of the doom impending building and running for down town the warehouses looming above me. I started to run down side streets and back alleys. I leaned up against a dumpster to catch my breath when I froze. I was alone. The woman who helped me free the building was no longer with me.

                Did she just help me so she could kill me herself? I spun around pressing my back firmly into the wall beside the dumpster. The air smelled of plastic and rats. My nose wrinkled in according to the smell. I heard distant footsteps and my ears pricked. Someone was coming, but whom?

                I looked around in the half lit alley for a weapon and spied a metal pipe wedged behind the dumpster. I reached down to grab it when the people rounded the corner into the ally where I was hiding. I got my grip around the pipe pulled and found it to be stuck. If I pulled it hard enough to get it unstuck they would hear and come over.

                I weighed my options and was about to rip the pipe free and brain them when they retreated. I heard the footsteps leave and I pulled the pipe free. I held it to my body and began to follow them. I turned the corner after them and someone was in my way. That someone I might add was huge!

                I let out a scream, or well I tried to scream. The person had me spun around and pinned to the wall. My back pressed up against him. My hat being squished down into my face. I could feel my long auburn hair spilling onto my face. Great I left death just to meet it again in the form of rape and murder. I mumbled my plea and he pressed harder.

                I was starting to not be able to breathe when I heard a woman’s voice. One with a slight French accent. “Let her go this is the girl.” The huge male pressure was moved off me and I fell to my knees the pipe that was digging into my stomach dropped to the ground with a metal clank. I felt the air slam into my lungs burning.

Ouch that hurt was all I was all I was thinking. Then I felt long fingers attached to huge hands pull me to my feet. I looked up at him and I realized I couldn’t see his face it was hidden under his hood. I pushed it up and screamed. His face was burned half off. Before I fainted I saw his hand brush over his face and saw it was just a mask. The person under the mask was beautiful.

He had dark brown hair and green eyes and a worried expression. He had one arm around me and all I felt was his touch. I reached up to touch his face and I was lost to the darkness. I never felt him swing me up into his arms. Nor did feel us get into a car and start to drive away.

I never felt us arrive to hotel or have the woman with the accent explain I had one too many drinks. I never felt him lay me in a bed or knew he sat next to me the entire night and half the day.. I dreamed of his face burned. When he tried to take off the mask he realized he couldn’t it was his real face.

I woke up startled the room I was in was dark and cold. I rolled over. I could tell there was a window. And sitting in the shadow of that window was a man I screamed. It never made it all the way out he was on the bed then hand clamped over my mouth. “Must you scream every time you see me?” he asked.

I pulled his hand away from my mouth and he rolled over to turn on a lamp. When he rolled back towards me I was glaring and he looked confused. “Must you scare me every time I see you?” I said in return and this time I got the glare. It seemed to change his face. he looked older now in the half light.