Page 5 of All My Broken Dreams

“Friends? What friends? What kind of friends are those to let you drag your suitcase–is that what that is? It’s a big one, hey boys? Isn’t that the biggest fucking suitcase you’ve ever seen?”

“What’d ye have in there–a body? You got a body in there, love?”

“Open it up. Open it up and let’s see what you got in there.”

“Panties,” one of them said and the tone in the alley changed. “I’ll bet she’s got some sweet little panties in there. Show us, sweetheart. Show us your panties.”

The hair on the back of Robbie’s neck prickled with alarm. She dropped the suitcase and tried to run but her legs locked in place. Her brain stopped functioning. Anxiety exploded in her chest. A high-pitched ringing in her ears drowned out the scraping of their boots on the cobbles as they came after her.

Someone grabbed her backpack and wrenched it hard. Pain shot through her shoulder and she screamed. Her assailant slammed her against the brick wall, scraping her cheek and nearly knocking her unconscious.

She sank to her knees, her arm dangling uselessly at her side. The ringing got worse and she was disorientated. Three pairs of jean-clad legs surrounded her. Thick boots stood on her coat, pinning it down. Then a pair of hands gripped the hood and she was strangled with it when he tried to pull her up. Blood trickled down her cheek and into her mouth.

She didn’t know how to cope with this situation. She had no skills to deal with bullies or potential rapists. Emboldened byher passivity, one of the guys, the one strangling her, slammed her head into the wall for a second time.

“Easy, asshole, don’t kill her. I’m not corpse-fucking. Check the suitcase for valuables.”

Robbie met the speaker’s eyes as his fist drew back. “No,” she pleaded and raised her hands to block the blow.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” he breathed, smelling of alcohol. “I’m only going to give you a tap. Just to keep you quiet.”

The ‘tap’ sent her sprawling back, lying prone and helpless on the cobbles. Stinging snow fell into her eyes and she started to cry. Her pack had been wrenched from her shoulders and her arm was burning in pain.

One of the men was going through her suitcase, throwing her clean, carefully packed clothing all over the alley. The other man was rifling through her backpack looking for her wallet, no doubt. There was a third man but she couldn’t see what he was doing. He was at her feet, struggling to take her boots off.

The boots, then the tights and then the underwear….

And then the rape.

Three of them.

Robbie closed her eyes and let the sleet pelt her face. If she could pass out, that would be desirable. Maybe if she fought back, one of them would hit her hard enough to knock her unconscious.

You have to find Harry. Fight, Robbie. You have to fight.

She pushed up on her elbow and saw something that gave her hope.

A man stood at the top of the alley in a swirling cloud of snow and glistening rain. It was too dark to see his face but he wasn’t one of the attackers. The wind caught the hem of his coat and pulled it back.

“Is everything all right, boys?”

The guy trying to take off her boots spun around slightly. “Fine, old man. Our friend fell down and we’re giving her a hand.”

“A little too much party. This one likes her drink. We’ve got it under control.”

Robbie tried to call out but her throat was closed tight with terror.

“Doesn’t look like you have it under control,” the man said, stepping slowly and purposefully into the alley. “Looks to me like she needs a doctor or maybe the police. Shall I call the cops, boys?”

“No, asshole. We already told you–we have it under control. She’s drunk. Getting the cops involved would be bad for her. Got it? Now, piss off.”

Robbie lifted her hand, pleading.

What happened next was a blur. The man swung toward them, picked up the guy at her feet by the scruff of the neck and threw him against the wall. The other two hurled themselves at her rescuer, but before she could warn him, he had spun around and plowed the first one in the face with his fist. The second thug received a roundhouse kick to the gut for his pains and went down like a sack of cement. The would-be rapist who had been thrown against the wall recovered and flew at the stranger wielding a metal pipe.

It was so dark, it was hard to see what was going on. Robbie’s head throbbed; she was terrified her helper was going to be killed trying to save her.

A ghastly sound of metal crunching bone reached her ear and everything seemed to stop. Then a high-pitched scream echoed down the alley. Two of the three that could still move turned and ran while the third clutched his arm, sobbing hysterically.

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