Taken

Walking home alone again. Alex was supposed to walk me home. I should know better by now, should know that he's just one big let down. A waste of time and energy but, what can I say...Can't live with him, can't live without him. It gets me down, the way he treats me. So what if I'm an 18 year old virgin. What's so wrong with waiting until I know that I've met 'the one'? I brush a strand of hair out of my eyes and debate whether or not to take the short cut or to go the long way round.

My mum always told me to go the long way. 'It's safer' she used to say. But it's cold and dark and all I want to do is curl up in bed with a hot chocolate and a crappy film. I go for the shortcut and, yes it makes me feel paranoid because it is dark. Who doesn't get paranoid walking around alone in the dark?

The shortcut is a ten minute alley - no street lights, no houses - but what's ten minutes out of civilization? The sound of my footsteps - clip-clop, clip-clop - is loud to my ears. I hum to myself, some overplayed pop song, feeling irritated that I can't get it out of my head. Clip-clop, clip-clop - humming is better than listening to the sound of my high heels in the crashing silence around me. And so I hum and walk and ignore the paranoia that makes my heart beat loud in my ears.

Slap, slap - the sound of footsteps behind me - slap, slap, slap. I speed up, glancing back over my shoulder. I can't see his face but I know he's there. I hear the slap, slap of his shoes keeping in stride with the clip-clop of mine. No where to go but forwards and so I do. He whistles a tune that I recognise from long ago and, as he whistles, the words come into my head. You are my sunshine, my only sunshine... My mum used to sing it to me and the lyrics replace those of the irritating song that has played and replayed in my head countless times over the last few days. It makes me feel relieved that a different song to listen to in my paranoid mind.

Slap, slap, slap - the sound of his shoes as they speed up, getting closer. I glance over my shoulder again. He's much closer now and my heartbeat seems to increase in volume, rising into my throat. Just being paranoid, I tell myself but it doesn't ease the hammering of my heart. Still he whistles, the high notes accompanied by the slap, slap, slap of his shoes as he closed the gap between us.

I run, the sound on my high heels echoes around us and, still I can hear the sound of his shoes. He grabs my hair, yanking me off my feet. Winded and unable to catch my breath, I struggle against my attacker. I use all of the weapons I have - teeth, nails, fists and feet - but he is strong and he holds me down.

My voice seems to shoot from my mouth like a bullet leaves a gun, No, get off! GET OFF ME!' He perseveres, roughly slapping some duct tape over my mouth to quiet my screams. He slaps me when I dig my nails into his face and drag them down through his skin. He curses at me, Fucking bitch! I feel blood trickle down my chin and know that my lips split. I continue to thrash around, kicking him, trying to scream through the duct tape.

He throws me over his shoulder in a fireman's carry. I can't think straight, a million things swirling in my head but, above all of these thoughts is the voice of my mum, take the long way, it's safer. He walks towards that orange glow of the street lamp. The same light that I had, only moments ago, based my hopes on. I hear the beep-beep of a car alarm as it's disabled and the click and swish of a car boot as it swings open. He drops me in with a thud that jars my body, the pain shooting up my spine.

In the orange light I catch a glimpse of his face - lined with age, steely eyes that I imagine to be a hard blue colour. My tape padded screams sound so loud to my own mind but I know that they won't be heard. I take one last lung full of the fresh night air as he slams the boot and the dark engulfs me.