Panic Room [p.p.]

00

HER SCREAMS had cut through the light chatter of the diminishing crowds occupying the street. The silence that followed was deafening to many. Nobody dared to move even a muscle, scared that the screaming would ensue if they did. Nobody moved, except for one. One man who recognized the source of the screams to be the little girl he was meant to be looking after. One man who couldn't move fast enough to reach her. One man who would never forgive himself.

She was young, and despite the intelligence she possessed she had made a poor choice, one that would change her life for the worst. The young redhead had only wished to retrieve the ballet slipper that had flown out of her hand in excitement. However, the unlit alleyway near the landing sight of the unfortunate slipper had housed two agents, poised for the attack. Like cats stalking a mouse, they had waited until the proper time to grab the girl, knowing she was the one they were after.

At the beginning of the night, her only concern had been executing her Pirouette turn during her solo with perfection. Despite the three other dances she was due to perform in, the Pirouette had been all that was raking on her nerves. Once that moment had come and passed, she couldn't have been happier, the turn having come and gone with ease, the rest of her performances occurring without an issue.

The end of the night had marked her and her best friends half-hearted complaints about their aching feet. The pain of Pointe ballet had worn off to a dull ache most days, but the added performances had raised it to a quiet roar. Now, she would have given anything for aching feet to have been the worst of problems.

She had felt the hand over her mouth before she had seen the assailant, her automatic instinct being to thrash and kick. Her first screams were muffled by the hand, but she bit the man, a stream of curses coming out in a language she didn't recognize. She took the opportunity to scream, to cry out for help. The men had already pulled her into the alleyway, no longer bothering to silence her cries. It was much too late for anyone to reach her. She continued to kick and scratch, trying to overpower people who were thrice her size. They pushed her into their car, but it didn't stop there.

A sharp needle penetrated her skin. She fought against its effects, terrified beyond anything she had ever felt before. Tears streamed down her face, blinding her from identifying anything around her. The last thing she could think to do was pray a silent plea, hoping someone would find her soon.