Beast Within

03| Crimson

KAIA'S P.O.V.

Every night, I was responsible with closing up at my job. It takes an hour to close the entire place down. They didn't have a dish washing machine, so I helped out over in the kitchen area and did a big sweep all around the bar. Tonight, Winston left earlier than I did and helped a tipsy girl find a cab. Jamila was going to let Dario drive her home, but I called my older brother, Lawrence, so he could pick her up, insisting that it was a better idea. Reluctantly, she went into my brother's car. But not without making out with Dario first.

It was just me and another guy named Fazel shutting down the place. Fazel was a quiet one, so there wasn't much talking between the both of us. The most we said was "did you check this" or "did you check that." Beyond that, there was nothing else we talked about.

With it only being us two, it took twice as long to do all of the duties alone.

By 3:54am I was out in the parking lot, walking toward my car. It was a used Toyota I had gotten when we first arrived here months ago. Despite its chipped paint and lack of a radio, it was a good enough car to get the job done. Get me from point A to point B.

I pulled out my keys from my purse and opened the door. After getting in, I noticed a white sheet of paper sticking out on one of my windshield wipers. Confused on what it might be, I stepped out of the car briefly to retrieve the paper. It was slightly crumbled at the top, so I folded it over my thigh and flipped it over to read what was printed on it.

My eyes skimmed over the words, but I was interrupted in the middle of reading.

I heard a voice.

"Why didn't you share a drink with me, sweetie?" He asked from inside of my car. My eyes snapped up at the rear-view mirror and saw a man sitting in the backseat. The same man who had tried to buy me a drink was seated in my car. Beside him, there was a roll of duct tape and a yard of rope.

"Oh, don't worry about those." He chuckled. "I'll only use them if you struggle. Or scream. They said you'd scream."

My hands shook as they reached for the door handle. I flew the door open and sprinted back to the bar, hoping that Fazel was still there. Coming to a complete stop in front of the glass doors, I banged my palms against it.

Fazel's head bobbed up from behind the bar area. He juggled his keys, from side to side, taking his time as he got to the front door. I yelled even louder, but it was no use.

"Please hurry up!"

He said something, but it was inaudible through the thick glass. Sneaking a look over my shoulder, I made sure the creep from the bar wasn't closing in on me yet. He was a good distance away. Thankfully, I had parked in the furthest parking space.

I darted a glance back at Fazel, but he was nowhere in sight. Banging on the glass even harder, I wondered if this was going to be my last moments on earth. Screaming until my lungs hurt and begging for my co-worker to open the damn door. It wasn't a peacefully way to go.

Fazel reappeared and brought the key up toward the door. He froze, hesitating to put the key inside. He was looking at something over my head, then his eye glossed over and slammed shut. A thud rang loudly inside as his body slammed into the glass.

Blood stained the front of his shirt, causing a long trail of crimson to smear against the glass. His body fell with a thud, leaving a dark figure behind him.

With one swift move, he unlocked the door Fazel was struggling with and opened it. Was it the same guy or did he have a partner?

I didn't wait to find out.