Prologue
I can hear the rain crashing on a metal
roof and plastic sheeting flapping with the force of the wind. In the distance a dog barks; its voice lifted
above the noise of city life. An
emergency vehicle screams its way down the road, off to save some poor soul, or
to catch some bugger acting recklessly and placing others in danger.
I’m haunted by the sounds surrounding me;
squealing women filling the atmosphere with their laughter, but their naivety
leaves them vulnerable. They become easy
prey for the vultures that always lurk in the dark. Heavy footsteps alert me to the men that
stalk by looking for their next target, while others are just looking for a
warm embrace to fill a lonely heart.
Soft whispers of courting couples trying
to steal a few secret hours drift to me in the darkness. They give me comfort from the hell I find
myself in; they let me know there’s good out there and warmth and safety can be
found if you look hard enough.
I know it’s out there, I have felt it many
times before, but in this moment that belief is waning. There is an icy dampness beneath my fingers;
a chill has started to seep into the fabric of my jeans. My bottom is numb from the mixture of the
cold, hard floor and the hours that have passed me by while I remain sitting in
this same position.
I have given up crying out for help,
because the piece of cloth bound tight around my mouth is quite efficient at
muffling any sound. My lips have become
sore from the harsh material digging into my skin and my throat is dry from
lack of moisture. My eyes are cast into
darkness by a makeshift blindfold. The
fabric is so dense and so close to my skin that no light can seep through. I’m surrounded by complete blackness.
However, as one sense is denied and shuts
down, the others are heightened, especially my sense of smell. The foul stench of sewage and the
mouth-watering aroma of cheeseburgers and chips float in the air around me. But there’s one scent that overwhelms them
all. I feel as if I’m drenched in it
it’s that strong. It’s familiar yet
not. A musky, seductive cologne so
powerful I feel lightheaded and find myself succumbing to the strange power it
holds over me. All this mingles with a
familiar blend of cigarette smoke and whisky.
I feel lost and disorientated; a helpless
victim under someone else’s mercy. I’m
the doll waiting for a child’s hands to possess me, to give me life. All sense of time has eluded me. Is it eight o’clock in the morning or eight
o’clock at night?
Is
this the beginning of something or the end?
I shiver, but not only due to the cold.
***********
Later.
Not sure how much later, but I’m jolted
from my semi-conscious state at the sound of what I suspect to be a large,
metal object hitting another metal object.
Its sound rings through the air like a church bell. With my heart pounding and pulse racing I listen
for further sound.
There’s nothing.
Silence.
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