39 The great escape (1/2)
The phone line fell quiet. Blood dripped from the cold glass screen.Dried blood clung to various areas of Dante's face where deep claw marks had already healed. He let his phone drop to the floor as he struggled to secure the hands that kept lashing out at him.”You're a feisty little devil, I'll give you that.”Dante huffed.He had Shelly's body pinned to the ground with the weight of his body on top of her, but she was still fighting tooth and nail to get free of him.
She kicked and punched blindly as she squeezed her eyes as tightly shut as possible, refusing to give the monster on top of her the opportunity to control her mind again.An influx of texts earlier had snapped her out of his control, unfortunately, her best efforts couldn't hide her regaining of consciousness.Shelly fought against the memories of the repulsive things he had done... the way he had grabbed her... Kissed her lips... and... and... 'I'm hungry for something tonight, get on your knees...' His horrible words reverberated in her ears.When she hesitated, he had known right away that he no longer had control over her.{How many other times had he given that same command... and how many times had I obeyed without hesitation...} Tears streamed down her cheeks as she fought against the beast of a man on top of her.
To her surprise one of her blind blows made contact with his jaw, sending pain radiating through her hand and down her wrist.When he lost his center of balance, she quickly bucked against him hard causing him to topple over.Shelly rolled to her side and struggled to her feet.When his hand shot out toward her ankle she quickly turned and landed a kick into his sternum, before turning back around and heading toward the open balcony doors on the other side of the small kitchenette.As she rounded the table she grabbed her phone and clamped it tightly against her chest.
Dante could only release a heavy grunt as the air left his lungs.Not waiting for the air to return, he pushed his self up off the floor.”You little bitch.” He huffed, ”You'll pay for this... Oh, will you pay for this!”
He recovered quickly and was soon rounding the table on Shelly who had just made to the oven.She quickly glanced around her as he came charging at her.She back up against the oven, phone still clutched tightly in one hand as the other felt around frantically behind her back.Her hand finally came in contact with its target as Dante closed the distance between their bodies.Just as his outstretched fingers brushed her skin, she shifted her weight and swung the large iron skillet with all her power.It made a sickening crack as it made contact with his temple.She quickly stepped past him as his body crumpled to the floor where he stood.She didn't hesitate for a second as she charged throw the balcony doors and flung herself over the rails.She braced herself for a rough landing as she fell the short distance, praying she had jumped far enough out to avoid hitting the 3 lower balconies.
Her breath pushed forcefully past her lips as she hit the ground hard with a clumsy roll. She forced her trembling legs to hold her weight as she fought to stand.She staggered several feet, clinging to the phone like a lifeline as she tried to find something familiar around her.Once the North Pier came into focus she pushed her battered body harder, into a sprint toward the well-lit beacon of hope towering over the sands and water.
She stumbled over the uneven ground, broken shells jabbed painfully into her bare feet, but she couldn't slow down... wouldn't slow down.As soon as the pier stood only 100 feet away she slowed to a jog and quickly looked down at the lit screen of the phone.{Who had the lifesaving texts been from?}The name Rin stood out from the many words on the screen.{Oh thank the Gods!} She quickly hit the button at the top of the message box to dial the number.The phone rang only once before it was answered.
”Shelly? Shelly! Are... ” Rin's voice called over the phone but was interrupted by Shelly.
”Rin, the North Pier! HURRY!”Shelly clung to the phone tightly as she once again sprinted toward the pier.Her heart pounded in her chest, a loud BA BUMP, BA BUMP beating in her ears.
A familiar figure materialized on the high walkway of the pier as her exhausted body crumpled against one of the tall pilings.
”Shelly?!” Rin called out as he leaped over the side of the railing.He landed elegantly on the ground beside her.He reached out a hand to steady her as her body began to slide down the piling toward the sand. ”Shelly, what happened to you?”
Anxiety-ridden eyes met his eyes, as she clamped her small fingers around his extended arm. ”No time... we gotta leave...” She panted.
He nodded his head in understanding and pulled her trembling body against his.Within seconds they materialized inside the small apartment he shared with Niru.
Rin quickly guided her toward his room and sat her on his bed.He then moved to the closet and began rummaging through the bottom of it.He quickly dumped the content of a large gym bag onto the floor and flung it beside her on the bed.He leaned back into the closet again and this time came out with a small box.He stood and walked over to the bed and gently sat it into the bag before turning toward the dresser and flinging open the drawers one by one, grabbing handfuls of clothing from each.He glanced over at Shelly, Her clothes were tattered and torn in several places.There was more skin visible than covered.He turned back to the current drawer he had opened and grabbed a shirt and a pair of short then handed them over to her. ”Here, change into these. I... have to get a few things from the bathroom anyhow.”He grabbed the bag before taking several large strides to the door.He looked back at her over his shoulder.Her hands were trembling, bearly able to hold the clothes he had given her.He shook his head.{What in the hell happened to her in the past few weeks?!} He forced himself to turn away from her and close the door.He didn't waste any time getting to the bathroom and filling the bag with essential toiletries.
He tapped lightly on the bedroom door, but when there was no response he cracked the door and glanced inside to see her still holding the clothes with trembling hands.His heart sank at the sight of the crumbled remains of the once strong, happy-go-lucky girl he had known for so long.He let out a heavy sigh as he dropped the bag to the floor and slowly sank down into a squat in front of her.He gently took the items from her hands and smiled tenderly down into her unfocused blue eyes.”Here let me help you.”He helped her up into a standing position then leaned slowly toward her.”Is this ok?” he asked as he reached around her to pull what was left of the tie on her dress.
Shelly nodded not breaking eye contact with him.
He gave the bow a light tug then, stood back upright.
When the thin strap began to slide down her fragile shoulders, she whimpered and began shaking more and crossed her arms in front of her still clinging to the phone in her hand for dear life.