It was already dark when Shirley'd finished work. She had had to see to a couple of patients in a remoter part of town, far from any public transport, and she walked fast to get back to the better-lit, more familiar parts to go and find a bus. She loved nursing, but she didn't exactly care for these areas; the sooner she was out of them again, the better.
She had had a violent quarrel with Jake, her boyfriend, the day before. He'd wanted to fuck her ass, and she hadn't wanted him to, and they'd said things they didn't really mean and eventually said they never wanted to see each other for as long as they lived. But when she was lying in bed, crying, he'd called her and apologised and eventually they'd made up. He would come over to her place by ten and she was looking forward to seeing him again in glad anticipation. She'd dressed for the occasion in a light summer dress and nice underwear, and she walked even faster as she thought of him.
She didn't like this part at all. It was quite a distance to the better part of town. There were narrow streets with old houses, and the population seemed harsh and aggressive. There were fewer streetlights than she would have liked, and she always felt somewhat ill at ease.
When she rounded a corner she saw a group of louts loitering at the other end of the block. She didn't want to walk past them so she diverted her path and tried to find a different route.
She suddenly sensed someone was looking at her closely. She stepped up her pace a little. Her footsteps echoed against the walls of the narrow street, and she got the impression that they were a little out of synch. Was she being followed? She glanced over her shoulder and saw a dark shadow some yards behind her. It didn't stop but it seemed to gain on her. It made her back go all wet with perspiration; cold sweat, fear. She walked even faster and the sound of her high heels rattled back to her.
Overhead in the darkness there were little light patches in the clouds, now and then. It had been a hot day and thunder had been threatening since the middle of the afternoon. With a little bad luck she would get wet.
She heard more footsteps following her. She anxiously looked over her shoulder again, and saw to her dismay that there were now at least five figures following her. She could run for it - but she wasn't a good runner, and she would only exhaust herself, so she just kept on walking fast. The steps she heard grew louder, and they seemed to get closer. She hunched her shoulders and clutched her bag under her right arm.
Two of the dark shapes came abreast with her; then they passed her and walked just in front of her, falling in with her pace. They were tall and she couldn't really make out their faces. They didn't look at her; they just escorted her.
There were even more of them now, she thought. She felt their eyes on her, and she felt mortally afraid. Her heart beat in her throat, and she couldn't have yelled out for the lump in her throat. She kept her eyes in front of her and assessed the distance she'd still have to go to reach safety - and then there was an immense flash of lightning followed by thunder almost at the very same time. Her heart skipped a beat and all lights went out.
Notwithstanding her fright she kept on walking. Overhead there was an intermittent rumble with irregular bouts of lightning, and she could vaguely see her way now and then.
Then something made her hair stand on end - the footsteps seemed to close in around her! She pressed her arms close against her body in defence. The little hairs in the nape of her neck bristled, and she felt her entire body tense. They were so close now she could smell them - a mixture of aftershave, body lotion and sweat.
She felt terrified. She had heard too many stories of women ending up with their throats slit, and she had even seen one once on a mortuary slab in the hospital where she'd done her training.
Something touched her left hip, the her right one, too - they had come so close to her she could feel their thighs press against hers. Now she really tried to run - but the backs of the two shapes that walked just in front of her blocked her path.
They actually slowed down a bit. She felt herself surrounded so closely that at least four bodies touched hers, two shoulders, two hips... they kept on walking, forcing her to walk into the direction they had in mind.
"Please," she croaked, "let me go!"
The thunder rumbled threateningly overhead. It was not half as threatening, though, as the silence of the dark figures of her abductors; they just walked her on, and said nothing. They might have been deaf for all she knew.
They went into the poorer part of the area, a part even worse than the area where she'd been working that evening. She didn't know her way there at all; but there was nothing for it but walking along, shivering and weak-kneed, on those bloody heels, too - her feet started to hurt and her arms and shoulders were stiff and sore with the tension in her limbs.
Some one touched her. She felt a hand on her bottom. It just sat there for some time; she tried to feel behind her and push it away, but she felt a big hand clamp down on her wrist and just move it a little. It hurt so much she was afraid it would break and gave up the attempt.