Hadrian's Wall (15 page)

Shit! Shit! Shit!
I was sure they wouldn’t let me leave the building
alive to tell the police about their involvement in the
attack.
Shut your fucking mouth!
Make a decision!
Make it
now!

Okay, okay!

I decided get out of the
elevator before it reached the ground floor, so I punched the
button for the first floor. When the doors opened, I projected
myself out like a cannonball. I raced through the aisles, trying to
locate the other cleaning girl, but couldn’t find anybody.
Maybe she’s in the employees’ lounge?
I couldn’t go down there because I’d have to go
past the security office.

I heard footsteps in the stairwell. I was
right after all. They were expecting me on the ground floor. When
they realized that I’d gotten out, they came looking for me.

Cursing the fact that I didn’t have a cell
phone handy, I turned on my heels and ran to find a phone. I
remembered the public phone in the corridor near the restrooms, so
I rushed there. When I glanced around the corner, I was relieved to
find that my memory had not failed me. I exhaled with relief,
lifted the receiver, and started dialing.

The steps were coming closer, faster and
faster. Too fast! I left the phone dangling on its cord and ran
back the way I’d come. I entered the first open door I saw,
immediately realizing that it was the sports equipment section.
When I spotted two camping tents on display, I threw myself behind
them a split second before Cridder’s minions reached the telephone.
I fell on the cold concrete floor, striking my elbow hard. I had to
muster up a lot of strength not to scream in pain.

“She must have gone into the restroom. Check
the men’s room while I go to the ladies’ room.”

Great!
That’s all I needed—one second of distraction. I managed to
get to my feet and ran. My sneakers made noise on the smooth
floor...
nhec...nhec...nhec...
which forced me to pick up the pace. They’d soon
realize that I wasn’t in the bathroom and if they heard the noise,
they’d move faster.

I ran as fast as I could,
slipping...falling...scrambling...until I reached the stairs that
would take me to the
ground level.
I
knew there was another phone there. I was
almost to the last flight of stairs when an iron hand grabbed my
arm, throwing me off balancing. I fell backwards and rolled down
the rest of the stairs, coming to rest when I hit the ground floor.
The force of the impact knocked the wind out of me. I was sprawled
on the floor like a rag doll. For a fleeting moment, I guess I knew
that I’d broken some ribs because the pain was intense.

This is the
end
. I was absolutely sure. The guy would
attack me, probably kill me. I could see the headlines in the local
newspaper’s morning edition: “ORPHAN GIRL’S LIFE ENDS TRAGICALLY”
or maybe better “FIRST JOB CAN BE DANGEROUS!”

* * *

Simon Cridder was on top of
me now. He smiled in a disgusting way. He tore my shirt and uttered
the classic phrase that all rapists say in trashy movies, “You’ll
love it, baby!” It was
his infamous
comment
that gave me strength—a
supernatural strength for my petite size, dictated by hatred and
despair. I was so angry that I raised my knee and hit him precisely
in his most sensitive anatomy.

I stared at his ugly face, awaiting my
satisfaction for having hurt him, but there was nothing. He didn’t
move! I felt anguish, I hadn’t hit him properly, but then he fell
on his side. His face looked blue. A faint moan escaped his barely
parted lips.

I wasted no time turning onto my stomach and
crawling away from his limp arms. As soon as I was far enough away,
I managed to stand up, but it was difficult to move. My ribs no
longer hurt so much, but the pain was enough to make me want to lie
down on the floor and curl up in the fetal position.

When I heard the footsteps
of the other two men on the stairs, I forced myself to flee. Half
stumbling, I rushing to the store’s front entrance. I almost
fainted when I saw that the exit doors were locked with a padlock
and chain.

Damn! A thousand times damn!

I hesitated, looking
around, not knowing what else to do. T
hen I
saw the boxed goods stacked against wall near the freight elevator.
They had been unloaded
at the end of the
day so that they could be logged into the computer system in the
morning. I ducked behind them.

From where I stood, I could see the two men
helping Cridder to his feet. He was swearing and gesturing,
pointing in various directions he wanted them to go while he
tottered down the hallway.

I removed my sneakers. I didn’t want them to
hear me running. I crawled slowly along the wall behind the boxes,
at one point passing close to the two men. They were too busy
combing the electronics department to notice me.

I did not stand until I was very close to
the stairs. It wasn’t easy. I still couldn’t breathe very well. It
felt like knives stabbing my lungs. I tried to ignore the pain
while I made my way down the steps, but it was really hard to
move.

I hadn’t reached the garage
when I heard a crashing noise on the ground floor. Tempers were
f
laring up there...
What would they do when they realized that I wasn’t there? I
wanted to be as far away as I could when that happened.

I was relieved to finally make it to the
parking garage. I tottered toward the vehicle exit ramp, looking
around for any sign of another cleaning girl or someone who could
help me, but there was no one. My surroundings were immersed in
silence and darkness. I also gave up searching for a phone,
realizing that plan was very risky. In my condition, I couldn’t
defend myself from anyone. The best thing to do was find the
police. I jumped through the gate, feeling the pain in my ribs
robbing me of my breath again, but I finally exited the parking
lot.

The cold air hurt my lungs,
making me realize that the temperature outside had plummeted. I
rubbed my bare arms, trying to get warm. I feared that my feet were
frostbitten because I was walking barefooted on cold concrete. I
looked around, but saw nothing that could provide shelter. I needed
to find a safe place where I could get out of the cold. All I could
see were trees bending in the wind, darkness, three parked cars,
and the two men watching me.
They
had followed the same route I had taken. I groaned
in despair.
Now what?

Instinctively, I headed toward the trees. I
could hear their footsteps behind me. This time I dared to look
back and saw Cridder running down the vehicle ramp. Where were the
two men? Dazed, I turned and kept running. I had to fight against
the vertigo that threatened to be my undoing. I crossed the
sidewalk, stepped over a low wall, and finally made it to the grass
as Cridder hurried to catch up. I didn’t even stop to think about
whether or not the distance between us was diminishing. I forced
myself to keep moving, ignoring the stabbing pain in my lungs. The
grass was thinning as I climbed a small hill.

Soon I was surrounded by very tall trees. I
was thankful for the moon’s soft, natural light for without it I
would have slammed into a tree trunk in my haste to escape. I kept
running, skirting the trees, jumping over fallen branches until my
lungs could take no more. I dropped to my knees, out of breath. I
wanted to be quiet. I swear that’s what wanted, but regardless of
my will, I was panting heavily. I was sure that Cridder would
eventually find me when he heard sound of my loud breathing.

Suddenly I saw a movement
in the woods. It was very fast. Something was following the same
path that I was on and then suddenly it disappeared. What
was
that?
It was
huge! I froze in terror. I heard the snap of a dry twig behind me,
imagining it to be my attacker. That thing that passed me
was
something else
... Will it...? My imagination would have found an alternative
way for my winged monster to make its triumphal entry into my life.
I didn’t even hear the beating of wings this time. The other
possible explanation was that my mind was tired of using the same
protagonist and “decided” to create another.

What’s the point in
arguing about who was playing the supporting role in my
hallucinations?
I frowned. I was between
the devil and the deep blue sea...caught in between a real monster
and another one—legendary. What to do? I had to stand up if I
didn’t want the real-attacker-monster to reach me. I stood up and
kept running. If I’d stopped to think about it, I’d regret it.
Chills coursed up and down my spine as I suppressed my survival
instincts and advanced toward where I saw the thing. Nothing
happened. No one jumped me. There was
nothing
there!

Cridder had also paused, but now was moving
again because I could hear the sound of his footsteps—accelerating
because he now knew my location.

Where’s the road? Where’s the road? It’s
obvious that I’m lost!

“You couldn’t have chosen better place,
baby.” I heard his voice...breathless...right behind me.

I slowly turned to face him. What I saw
sapped all the strength I had left. It was the look...the look from
a man who shouldn’t exist. No one could be that bad, but he was.
Evil radiated from his eyes.

I could no longer feel my legs. I fell at
his feet, panting, too tired to continue. It was the end.

“You put me through a rough time, my pretty.
What happens now is your fault.”

Cridder circled around me
like a predator, evaluating the best approach, enjoying the last
moments of his prey, anticipatin
g her
suff
ering. Yes, he was savoring my
terror.

“But yo
u know what? It was fun!” H
e opened
his pants and I groaned. He laughed. “After I finish with
you...when they find you, they’ll think that you were devoured by
the cat that walks around here. He grabbed my hair, yanking hard to
force me to lift my head. I think that he intended to kiss me, but
I wasn’t sure because my vision was blurred.

Finally, I saw the winged
creature moving among the treetops. She always appeared when I was
about to faint, so
I knew that my end would
not be painful...that I would not see or feel anything.

Cridder gave me a brutal shove. When my head
slammed against the cold ground, I thought I would black out right
there, yet at the gates of darkness, I heard something different
than the flapping of monstrous wings. I opened my eyes and I
thought I’d seen the same dark shadow passing through the
trees.

I think Cridder hadn’t noticed anything
because he was absorbed in ripping my clothes off. I felt the
assault of cold air on my breasts as my brassiere gave way—the last
barrier. I closed my tired eyes.

Suddenly,
t
he weight of Cridder’s body was torn from
me.
I heard the cracking of breaking
bones, snarling as flesh was torn from them
and Cridder’s agonizing cries.
Then
the same horrifying sound that I’d heard before prevailed over all
others, completely filling the atmosphere of this place—a roar that
could burst eardrums which almost paralyzed me and left me
breathless. Was I wrong or had the sound come from nearby? This
time it was very close. I didn’t want to see what was happening to
Cridder, so I kept my eyes squeezed shut.

All of a sudden
the screams stopped and a merciful silence
enveloped me. To my surprise, cold hands bolstered my body. I made
a feeble attempt to defend myself, but those hands easily stopped
me. I quieted down, certain that he wouldn’t hurt me. The hands
moved down my arms and gently touched my
chest
and back. Were they examining
me?

A strong arm reached around
my waist, lifting me. The movement made me feel pain in my ribs. I
had decided not to make any sound, but I couldn’t help myself and
emitted a groan. While one arm holding me, the other adjusted the
position of my legs and bac
k and
the
pain disappeared. Gentle fingers
touched my lips, tracing along the jaw line, running past my ears,
until they reached my hair. They gently cleared away the wires
plastered against my wet face. Their touch felt almost...
reverent.

Then I blacked out again. I
only had a small glimmer of consciousness when I felt I was being
placed in an ultra-comfortable seat of a car, but all I wanted was
to deny what was happening. It could only be my imagination playing
a new joke on me because it was bored with the old jokes. At any
moment I would wake up and discover that it was all a nightmare,
that
I was sleeping in Carmen’s house,
s
o I snuggled into the seat that I thought
was my bed.

I heard a car door slam.

“What are you doing here, Stephen?” That
voice...where have I heard that voice before? I know her.

“I followed you, of course. After you left,
upset like that...”

What an odd nightmare!

“Since you came, please make sure that no
evidence gets overlooked. Did you find everything?”

“Yes...I’ll have many clues to cover. It’ll
be a long night...”

The deep voice laughed softly.

“I didn’t ask to you come.”

“You know
I had
to come. It was my
duty...you broke the rules.”