Page 13 of Perilous

I turn to my right and see an exit sign glowing, tempting me with freedom. I move in that direction, staring down at my feet. When my body collides with the door, it doesn’t move at first. I give it another hard push and it opens up.

Fresh air engulfs me and I stumble out into an alleyway. The door shuts behind me and I look back, realizing there’s no latch or handle, meaning I can’t get back inside the nightclub.

“Fuck,” I whisper.

Before I can think, I hear a thudding sound and some gurgling. When I look to my right, I see a man on the ground, curled up, left hand clawing at the ground.

I figure it’s some guy who had way too much to drink and got tossed into the alley to puke and sleep it off.

He lifts his head.

That’s when I see blood coming from his mouth.

* * *

Holy shit!He’s fucking bleeding!

Now I’m thinking this guy got too drunk, was tossed out on his ass, and he ended up hurting himself.

The guy reaches for me, gurgling, blood squirting from his mouth. My stomach turns as I reach for my phone.

“I’m going to call for help,” I tell him.

“That is not a good idea,” a deep voice says from behind me.

Chills paralyze me and I feel an intense presence closing in. My body starts to shake.

“Give me the fucking phone right now, doll,” the deep voice growls.

I ignore the command.

“If you don’t give me the phone, I’m going to kill you.”

“I saw nothing,” I say. “I came out for some air and there was a drunk guy on the ground. That’s all. I didn’t see anything el—”

A hand clamps around my wrist super tight. I look down as the feeling in my hand leaves and my cellphone drops to the ground. My body lifts from the ground and I’m thrown into the closed door.

I put my hands up to protect my face but it still hurts being hurled into a steel door. I fall to the ground, look up and see the person who is attacking me.

Dressed in all black. A black robe. Head to toe. Wearing a black mask.

He reaches down and grabs for my shirt and picks me up with ease. He pushes me against the steel door and holds me there.

“What the fuck are you doing out here?”

“I hate the music and lights. I needed air.”

“Fucking stupid.”

His large, gloved hands grab my shirt and rips it open, sending buttons scattering to the ground.

I open my mouth and try to scream, but it’s merely whimpers. I scream in my brain to fight back. Except…I don’t.

He spins me around and pushes me face-first against the steel door. In one aggressive motion he strips me of my shirt. His body presses against mine.

“You fucked up,” he growls. “And you refused to listen to me. For that, you’ll be punished.”

“Please,” I beg.

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