Say Your Prayers, You're Really Gonna Need Them.

★ ★ ★ - Indicates point of view change.

-

I won.

It was a close call, as I thought I was about to go out like a light due to the excessive alcohol swimming through my veins. But in the end it was Josh who caved, at the last minute standing and running to the bathroom clumsily, hand clamped over his mouth.

Okay so technically yes, I had puked prior but at least mine was secret. Ellen and I exchanged a look, giving each other a clandestine smile as I basked in victory.

When Joshua came back, he looked a little irritable passing me over the crisp twenty pound note.

“I will be asking for a re-match in the near future.” He said, with a drunken smile.

“Nothing looks better on a boy than a wounded pride.” I laughed, causing my stomach to churn and my head to spin.

Laying my forehead on the table, I let out a slow whistle.

“Sod me, I’m fucked.” I whispered quietly, trying to raise my head but only to end up opting against it.

When I looked up again, Joshua was mimicking me, only he wasn't talking or even conscious.

“Oh dear, better call an ambulance!” I giggled, laying my head back into its prior position.

“Well, we better get them home.” I heard someone say, causing me to look up.

“I’m not ready to go home yet; I’m going to go to the toilet.” I slurred a little lazily.

“Would you like one of us to come with you?” Verity asked.

I shook my head overly, before standing to walk, my whole body felt jelly-like and heavy as I walked.

Throwing up the second time in the evening was something I could have easily done without, but never the less I felt instantly relieved.

And once I was in front of the mirrors routing through my bag the relief came again thick and fast after stumbling across my spare toothbrush and travel sized toothpaste that I'd forgot I had packed earlier on.

I squeezed a glob onto my brush and began frantically brushing, causing me to receive some weird looks from other girls waiting for the toilet, but I was too wrapped up in my hygiene mission to notice or care.

After fixing my face and hair, I pushed myself out of the busy bathroom and cast a sweeping glance around the club, it was hot and humid, my nebulous brain and clammy skin begging for the release of fresh air.

I made my way upstairs, onto the smoking balcony which luckily at this point wasn't too over crowded.

The air was cool and instantly made a cluster of goose bumps reappear on the naked parts of my skin.

As I sparked up a cigarette, the feeling of being watched returned. Casting a look around the balcony I was only met by groups of laughing and drunk club goers, none of them showing me the blindest bit of interest which I was fine with.

Where was Harlan? Did I imagine seeing him?

My brain was swirling, the alcohol taking charge of my entire body. I placed my free hand on the balconies railing, steadying my swaying figure.

Closing my eyes, I leant into my arm, and for a single second I swear I felt a hand on my back, cold but comforting.

I opened my eyes and turned around; there wasn't anyone there, no owner of a safe hand and with only the tingling on my back from where it felt like I'd been touched to make me think there had been someone with me, even if only for a split second.

Concentrating on breathing I inhaled, taking the last toke of my cigarette before throwing it off the veranda and I watched as it disappeared into the night’s sky.

Making a mental note of what I needed to do helped take the edge off thinking about my gurgling stomach.

I was still alone, not being able to find any of my friends on the way back through the club I contemplated going home.

I sent a short text to Ellen asking her where she had gone as I made my way to the cloakroom lazily.

Pressing the button on the counter I waited, checking the time.

It wasn't overly late, only midnight so upon seeing the cloakroom empty I frowned.

“Hello?” I shouted, I wasn't in a hurry but I wasn't up for standing around whilst the attendant took the piss on a lengthy break or something.

After five minutes of waiting and ringing the bell I ducked under the counter and holding my number up began searching through rails of coats and bags.

“567...567.” I whispered to myself, as I searched through.

Surely it was unsafe to leave this room unattended?

I placed my hand on a hanger and smiling in rejoice as I allocated my jacket.

As I went to pull it off the railing, I let out a small scream as a hand wrapped itself round my wrist from the other side of the rail.

“What the fuck?” I shouted, yanking my hand back quickly.

“You shouldn’t be in here.” The cloakroom clerk said as he walked around to face me.

I couldn't suppress the anger, “No you’re right I shouldn’t, but you should be at the desk when someone comes to collect their coats, I was standing there for about ten minutes ringing the bell like a lunatic.”

“At any rate, I’m going to now have to check that you haven’t helped yourself to anything from anyone else’s bag.”

“I'm not a thief.” I muttered staring him straight in the eye.

“Regardless, policy is policy.” He said with a scarily blank expression, which caused me to narrow my eyes before handing him my bag to check through.

“How would you know if I’d taken anything anyway?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.

He didn’t say anything as he rifled through, once he handed it back I began to walk away but he grabbed my arm again, spinning me around to face him.

“I'm not finished.” He said monotonously.

His grip was iron hard, to the point where he was causing me pain, I gritted my teeth.

“Yes, you are. So let go of my arm.” I growled.

“Not until I'm finished searching you.” He said, as he aggressively pushed me against the wall and began putting his hands over my body in a very unprofessional way.

“Get the fuck off of me!” I shouted trying in vain to push him off, but in my inebriated state my feeble and maladroit attempts at freeing myself just weren’t working.

He pushed his arm over my throat, blocking my breathing as his other hand found its way down my tights, I couldn't breathe and I couldn't scream.

I wasn't sure what had happened in the next second, because suddenly I could breathe easily and there was no hands anywhere near me.

I opened my eyes to an empty room, looking around quickly before grabbing my bag and legging it out of the cloakroom and through the club until I was outside.

There was no way I was willing to wait for everyone else, I just wanted to go home.

I tried to flag a cab but to no avail, I decided to walk a little bit until I found somewhere a little less overcrowded with people so catching a cab would be easy.

Searching through my bag for my phone, I sent Ellen another quick text explaining my absence, as I pressed send a group of lads passed, cheering and shouting at me.

Keeping my head down I continued past until they were out of sight, my phone buzzed again, indicating a call.

My pushed my hand into my bag, not looking where I was going and just as my hand brushed over the piece of plastic a hand wrapped around my mouth and another round my chest pulling me backwards into an alley.

Struggling desperately I was pushed against a wall, and only when the grips lessened was I able to turn around to face the perpetrator.

“Harlan?” I asked dumfounded.

He smirked, before pulling me close and wrapping his arm around my shoulders, burying my face into the crook of his neck.

“What...what? Where have you been?” I asked frantically, his jacket muffling my voice slightly.

“Shh, shh.” He soothed, pulling me closer.

My brain was buzzing, but slowly I felt it begin to swirl and I became suddenly very tired.

I closed my eyes for second... they were so heavy and my breathing was becoming slow, my legs buckling underneath me until everything went dark.

-


It was almost like I was swimming in a dark abyss, the water was dark and I was weak.
I lifted up my hand to stare at my fingers, I was on my back now and just floating, my palm was dark and sticky causing me to realize that this wasn't just water.

This was blood, it explained the temperature... warm, like the moment it seeped from a vein, hot, sticky and thick.

When the first figures head emerged out of the water, I wasn't surprised, I was almost expectant.

It was the same for the second, third and fourth figure.

They remained close to me as I floated on the crimson ocean; they were waiting, just as I was.

As I looked up into dark sky I began to think and at the last second an idea formed in my mind, it was something I was taught when I learned to swim.

Breathing was what made you float.

Just as that thought was processed, I held my breath and closed my eyes, sinking faster into the darkness and leaving the figures behind.

I couldn't see a thing, but holding my breath was beginning to become a chore.

Knowing I couldn't hold on much longer, I looked around; I was deeper now and things were beginning to become clearer.

When I felt something touch my back, I spun around quickly to face him.

His appearance itself enough to make me take a deep breath, but I held on... watching as he faced me.

He smiled, there were no bubbles coming from him, which proved he wasn't breathing, wasn't letting out air from his lungs like I was.

He offered out his hand and I was apprehensive for a moment, but I had no other choice.

Placing my hand in his, he pulled us both down further, plunging us deeper in the darkness.

When we stopped suddenly I frowned, my head was beginning to ache and throb and my lungs burned.

I didn’t know I could even hold my breath for this long.

He sensed my struggle and it actually caused him to smirk, in an almost malevolent way.

The water was trying to push us apart and just as I got to arms length, he suddenly and roughly yanked me back, ripping my head to one side and plunging his teeth into my jugular.

The pain hot and searing, caused me to open my mouth to scream, but I couldn't... my throat was already filling with the red liquid, metallic to the taste and dense to the substance.

I was drained, as I drowned.