40 The Nightmare Begins (2/2)

She paid the taxi driver with the saved up daily allowance money her Uncle had given her.

She got out of the taxi and looked around. The roads were particularly quiet for a Saturday afternoon. There weren't many shops in the area. Li Xiuying saw a few people in the distance meandering into what looked liked a small convenience store.

She pushed open the door and heard a small bell jingle. She looked around the cafe, there was only one other customer. It was a young man no older than 20, he sat in the poorly lite corner typing away at his laptop. His fringe was covering his eyes. He had pimples on his face and it looked greasy. He wore all black. His right leg was shaking and he was biting his nails. He looked up when Li Xiuying entered, their eyes met and he immediately looked down back to his laptop screen.

Li Xiuying walked over to the only staff member in the cafe, who was standing behind the till.

Li Xiuying: ”I'll have a small hot chocolate with cream, to eat in.”

Barista: ”35 yuan.”

Li Xiuying handed over the money. The barista slowly set about making the hot chocolate.

Li Xiuying went to sit down in the corner opposite and furthest away from the twitchy young man.

The barista eventually brought over her hot chocolate and placed it on the table.

Li Xiuying checked the time on her phone. It was 2:25 pm.

She messaged Chen Wei: ”I've arrived at the cafe, text me when you're nearby.”

Li Xiuying reclined in her chair and sipped on her hot chocolate whilst looking out of the window on the far side. She became lost in thought.

After a while she looked at her phone it was 3:30 pm.

She tried to call Chen Wei but he didn't pick up.

She left him a voicemail: ”Hello Wei, I'm waiting at the Cafe, Is everything okay? Are you on your way? Please give me a call when you get this.”

Li Xiuying then sent Chen Wei a text message stating the same thing and continued to wait. She took out her laptop and started working on the research paper she was looking at earlier. She became lost in her work to the point she didn't even realise it had gotten incredibly dark outside and that she was the only one left in the cafe.

Barista: ”Excuse me, It's closing time.”

Li Xiuying looked up from her laptop and frowned: ”What time is it?”

Barista replied curtly: ”Its 8 pm.”

Li Xiuying was surprised it was so late: ”8 pm! Please give be a moment and I'll leave.”

She closed her laptop and disconnected the charger. She then took the charger out of the wall and placed everything in her briefcase.

She opened the door and heard the little bell jingle again. Li Xiuying stepped out and stood outside the door of the cafe. The barista locked the door behind her and put down the blinds. It was dark outside, there were only a few street lamps dotted around that weren't very bright. The eerie yellow light fell on various objects such as trash cans and railings; casting distorted shadows on the ground. The streets were empty, not a single soul in sight. Only the sound of some animal rusting in a bin could be heard.

Li Xiuying fell a chill going down her spine. She took her phone out from her pocket. She stared at her phone screen, there were no messages or calls from Chen Wei.

She tapped on Chen Wei's contact details and was about to press the call button when all of a sudden she saw movement in the corner of her eye. She began looking up, when she felt someone put a wet rag over mouth and nose. Her waist was also pinned to the body of her attacker.

Li Xiuying struggled to free herself, she tried to elbow and kick her assailant but he held the cloth in place. Li Xiuying fought hard with every fiber of her being, but nothing she did was of use she soon lost the battle with her consciousness.