In Her Shoes

Chapter 41: The King Has Returned

I felt like I had been walking for hours, but I followed the kind lady's advice and kept going down the block. I was getting close to the end when I heard voices behind me.

"Hey man, look at that," one said.

Shit. Male voices.

"Whoa. Think we have to pay her?" Another asked.

"Who gives a shit if you do no one's here to make you," a third added.

I gulped. Since there was no one around they were clearly talking about me. I quickened my pace. 

Click clack Click clack

"Hey baby!" They called out to me.

"She totally wants the D."

"Then go give it to her man." 

No. There's no way this is happening. I suddenly started to regret saying no to the lady who offered me to stay with her. 

Click clack Click clack

"Hey baby, we don't bite!"

"Speak for yourself." 

No, no, no, no, no. This is deja vous. This is bad. This is bad. 

Click clack Click clack Click clack

Finally I reached the corner, eager to see the town as the lady had said I was so relieved that I nearly skipped around the corner. But once I did I skidded to a stop. There was a dead end. What happened? What did I do wrong? I looked around and realized that I had turned the wrong corner. On the other side were the city lights, but they were so far away they were tiny. I was about to head that direction when the three men came my way, cornering me in.

I backed away, totally helpless. "Get away from me!" I screamed.

"Don't get mad sugar," one of the guys slurred.

"Let her get mad," the second one threw in. "I love the feisty ones..."

"We just wanna talk baby girl," the third coaxed.

I backed away, the wall getting closer to me. I remembered something I learned a when I was a kid about screaming fire when you're getting kidnapped so people will pay more attention. "Fire!" I screamed with desperation, willing to try anything. "FIIIIREE!!!"

"Shh...no need to shout...no one can hear you sweat heart..."

My stomach churned at the names they called me, and I wanted to throw up in my mouth. This couldn't be happening. The scariest thing about the men was that I couldn't see their faces. At all. All I knew was that one was taller than the other two, and they all sounded not much older than me. I remembered then, the red head who we had attacked. This was karma. And it was going to bite me back. Hard.

"Please..." I tried. I didn't really know what I was begging to, but I hoped it would work. "Please I'm sorry just..don't...please..."

"Hey guys..." one of them slurred again, a perveted tone in his voice. "Think she's a natural red head?"

I gasped, backing away some more, my heart thudding madly in my chest. "No..." I whispered, as if saying that could undo what was about to be done.

"Only one way to find out...."

"Get 'er!"

Someone lounged at me and I screamed and punched him in the face. He stumbled back, surprised by the force of the blow, but another one came up behind me and pinned my arms down. I screamed again and knocked my head back, hearing a satisfying crunch as my skull connected to his nose. He let go with a cry of pain but the third one grabbed at my ankles. I kneed him in the jaw and he stumbled backwards, too hitting his head against the brick wall and going out unconscious.