RENAISSANCE

24. Warm rain

Then she took out a crumpled piece of paper that seemed to be lying under the other paperwork.

I grabbed it with my trembling hand, before opening it doubtfully.

"Everything is my fault. I'm sorry."

My heart skipped a beat. 'Sorry' ? But sorry for what? I did not understand. What was she talking about? My mind became muddled, my thoughts procrastinated.

I feared the meaning of his message, I didn't want to believe it.

I turned the paper over looking for another clue. Then I saw the inscriptions on the back.

"Save yourself."

I looked up at the woman in front of me, she was already looking at me. His look was strange, and I suddenly felt oppressed.

In a rush of reflex, I immediately left the place.

Second reflex: call him.

I quickly found his number in my messages with Suzan, while I was walking to get away from this neighborhood as quickly as possible.

The bell rings once, twice, then-

"What ?" the deep voice on the other end of the line said to me.

"Isaac! I'm in Vinegar Hill," come quickly please-

He hung up.

I was short of breath and my heart was still beating fast. I kept turning around to make sure I wasn't being followed. My breathing was ragged, I wanted to cry but I couldn't. My throat was blocked, the lump didn't want tos free yourself.

The late afternoon was hanging over the place, I had to get out of here before nightfall. I was so scared.

I had already covered several meters, and I was starting to feel like I was being watched.

No, no, no, not that...

Then after a moment, two men appeared behind me, coming out of an alley between two old buildings. I quickened my pace without knowing where I was really going, but the distance between us did not widen. It was then that I realized that they were also speeding up theirs. The rain blurred my vision, I was cold.

My walk became even faster, my heart racing in my chest. I had to escape their grip, their gazes which seemed to undress me, to devour me. Their urgent footsteps echoed beside me, their insidious whispers reaching me like venomous snakes.

In the gathering darkness, I decided to take a tortuous detour, hoping to cover their trail. My feet led me into a labyrinth of narrow streets, where shadows danced like vengeful specters. My breath mingled with the night breeze, and my mind desperately searched for a way out.

The male shadows were still there, unwavering, like sentinels of the night. Their quick steps growing more urgent with every turn I took. Panic took hold of me, but I refused to give in. My survival instinct shifted into fierce determination.

After a few meters, I turned around again, but this time, there was only one man left. And it was at that moment that I felt like I was falling from the clouds. Where is the second?

I focus again on my path and look straight ahead, when again I turn to look back. More people.

More people.

My breathing wheezed, I stopped.

They could come out of nowhere, jump on me without me expecting it. So I looked around me, my ears strained.

A hand then placed firmly on my mouth and pulled me against a chest. I lost all control and started screaming at her. It was my end. It's finish.

"Shut the fuck up," the man whispered.