The Edge of Betrayal

I was running. My feet pounded against the leafy autumn forest floor. I saw a shape lying a few feet in front of me. I slid to a screeching stop. Leaning down, I turned the body over. I jumped up, and screamed in terror. It was faceless and bleeding.

“Cut!” my director yelled.

Panting slightly, I stood and grinned, offering a hand to my partner. He took it and I pulled him up. I walked off the set feeling great, hearing my co-stars and other supporting cast chatting to themselves, an occasional ‘Great job,’ yelled our way. I went straight to my director, who upon my arrival stood up and congratulating me. “That was truly amazing. And that scream? It sounded real. Great job Sofia, you portrayed Beth’s character well. Terrance! Beautiful, just beautiful. Oh yes, the papers are in my office. Yes, yes 6:05. Mhmm. That’s correct. No, but Adam will.” he wandered away with his hand to his ear. Terrance and I just looked at each other before going to our perspective quarters. I had my P.A remove my make up and get me a bagel. She handed it to me and I looked at it in disgust. “Melody. I told you that I can’t eat that many calories. Get me a bagel without cream cheese.” I ordered. Melody’s eyes widened.

“S-s-sorry, Sofia. I forgot.” she scurried away and a few minutes later returned with a bagel that met my qualifications. “Good. Don’t forget next time. I won’t be as forgiving.” She whimpered in fear. “Dismissed.” I smirked when she left. The fear in their eyes, oh, how fun to play around with. “Sofia? You’re on in five for the next shoot.” An intern whose name I didn’t know informed me. “Thanks.’ She nodded then left the door swinging shut behind her. Finishing the last bits of my bagel, I followed her. I went to Lorenzo’s station, my make-up artist. “Ah, baby! So good to see you!” we faked kissed each others’ cheeks. I seated myself in the chair as Lorenzo fluffed a cover around me, to protect my one time wear clothes from any powder or dust he chose to use that might fly in the air and land on me. “Are you ready for your next shoot?” I grinned. “Confident,” he removed the cover and told me to go before I was late. I already had the outfit on for this particular shot.

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A few hours later I was walking off the set, completely exhausted, hungry, ad sweaty from all the exertion. Cleaning up my disheveled appearance, I thought about where to go tonight. Of course! I could go to Fiery Passion, a new bar and dance club. Perfect. Once I had chosen my destination, I was off in search of party clothes in my wardrobe. Finally, I found the right outfit. A black fishnet shirt over a blood red tank top, a short black silk ruffled skirt, red three inch heels, dangling diamond earrings, a diamond necklace, red lipstick, and black eyeliner.

I capped the eyeliner and looked at my reflection in the mirror. I looked—“Hot.” A voice behind me commented. I whirled around. “Terrance!” my eyes brightened considerably. “I thought so too.” Putting the finishing touches on my new wavy hair, I turned around to face him.”Are you ready? The limo is waiting out front.”

I nodded. “Just let me get my purse.” I was going to get it, but Terrance’s hand shot out to stop me. “It’s no matter. I’ll pay.” I smiled. “Why thank you, saves me the trouble of having to carrying this around.” I retracted my hand and followed Terrance to the waiting limousine. The chauffeur opened the door for us, and I climbed in, holding down my skirt so I wouldn’t flash the men behind me. I situated myself on one of the side seats while Terrance sat on the end of another one. The tan leather squeaked when I leant forward to grasp the glass full of red liquid. I took a sip to confirm my suspicions. Smacking my lips together slightly, I agreed with my conclusion, the liquid was indeed red wine, a certain specified brand that was rare to come by.

“Where to?” the chauffeur asked us.

“The bar and dance club, Fiery Passion. The new one on 52nd street.” Terrance replied before I had time to open my mouth. He said nothing, but just urged the accelerator to go faster. We braked many times, due to the intensity of the traffic and the large number of stoplights. This was to be expected, it was New York City after all. I would be shocked if there was a day when the streets weren’t crowed with a ridiculous amount of cars and other flamboyant vehicles. Sometime later, we turned down a dark road, lit only by the red, green, and blue neon glow emitted from the club’s sign. We parked in front of the entrance, the limo door lining up with the red carpet. Terrance got out of the limo first and turned around to offer me his hand in assistance.

I smiled and accepted his attempt of being a gentleman. He can fool others, but he can’t fool me. Terrance McKell is the furthest thing from it. He likes to curse—but not around a potential job offer, or people of authority, that would be bad for his image, and his career. Not that he had much of one to begin with— loves to eat his food like he’s never eaten before in his life. To sum it up, he is a very insubordinate, irresponsible, vulgar man. But I accepted his attempt anyway. He pulled me out and I was careful not to break the thin heels that supported my weight. The limo drove out of sight to park behind the building. We entered the club to the pulsating lights, thumping, blaring music, and the sweaty odor that lingered in the hot air produced by the exotic and provocative dancers.

“Wow, this place is amazing!” I yelled to be heard over the beating thrum of the base. “You want a drink before we hit the dance floor?” he yelled back.

“Sure.” We shoved and pushed our way through the bodies to get to the drinks bar. “What do you want?” Terrance asked me pulling out his wallet.

“A dry martini, with a lemon slice, and a shot of vodka,” I replied. He shot a toothy grin at the bartender. “I’ll have the same as the lady.” the man serving us left and returned a while later with our beverages. “Thanks.” Terrance tossed a wad of money on the counter. “For the whole night,” he told him. The bartender’s eyes widened. Blankly, he nodded and pocketed the bills. “Flag me down; I’ll get you whatever you want.” Terrance smiled and waved his hand, clearly giving him the signal that he was dismissed. He left us alone, making Terrance turn his attention to me. Grinning, I sipped my martini. “Good thing you gave him that money, or he would’ve asked for ID, which would lead to him finding out that I was underage.” He smirked. “Can’t have that now can we?” he drained his martini in a few gulps. I had already finished mine so threw my head back, downing my shot in a single swallow, we had wordlessly initiated a drinking competition.

So far, I had finished thirteen shots of vodka, one martini, and one beer. Terrance had drunk only eleven shots and one martini. He slammed his twelfth shot glass onto the counter. Gasping, he said “Alright! You win; you can really hold your liquor. I’ll give you that.” He was almost to the point of drunkenness. I myself am feeling a little tipsy. I was about to congratulate him on doing well, being a good sport, and for taking it well for being out consumed by a girl, but his phone rang. “Hello? Yes? Alright, I’ve already done that. What do you want from me now? Oh. Yes. I’ll be there shortly. “ He flipped his phone shut. Looking at me apologetically, he said, “Sorry. I hate to bail, but Kirk wants me to analyze the shot scenes on my character, Bruce, with him.” I nodded and shooed him off when he was done explaining. “Will you be alright here by yourself?” he asked me, his eyes full of concern. “Yeah,. I’ll be fine. You go take care of Kirk’s qualms. I’ll see you later.” I waved him off.

“Thanks Sofia.”

He left me sitting there by myself at the bar. I ordered another shot of vodka. I had just drained my glass when I felt lips at my ear. “Come with us or else.” I gulped, but followed the stranger silently. “Act calm; don’t raise unwanted attention to us.” I tried to make my facial muscles relax, and I hope I succeeded. The three men led me toward a dark alley, and instantly I was afraid. They turned around to face me, their eyes greedy and full of want. “Give us your money.” I looked at them and told them that I didn’t have any money on me.

The medium built, but (still burly), thug got angry and shoved me against the wall. “Yes you do, give us anything of value that you have on you.” I breathed unevenly, as I shakily reached up around my neck and unclasped my necklace. I removed my earrings as well, and let them fall into the larger man’s outstretched hands. As soon as he had them, he pocketed them and then leered at me, “You have something else besides money that we’re interested in.” they took a few steps forward, I opened my mouth to scream, but was quickly silenced. The man behind me pinned my arms together, whispering in my ear, “Be quiet and it won’t hurt as much.” No! I was a virgin, they couldn’t do this! I started sobbing as the man in front ripped my shirts down the middle, and started to pull down my skirt. Before he was able to, something jumped him and knocked him over, face planting into the ground. Quickly, I saw the shape knock out the other two. The person grabbed my hand and pulled me through many alleys, taking turns I knew I would never remember.

Finally, we stopped in front of an abandoned warehouse. Dropping my hand, the mysterious man opened the door and walked in, leaving me behind. How rude! You’re supposed to let ladies go first! Had he forget about me? No he couldn’t have. I’m freaking Sofia Morris! The actress! The famous movie star! Stomping in after him, I felt the grime beneath my feet. I had long since lost my heels. They would’ve killed me before I had time to go faster than a walking pace! And anyway, the heels had broken off so they were rendered useless to me. “Hey! Wait! Why didn’t you hold the door open for me?” the man didn’t respond, just kept descending the stairs,

“I asked you a question, why didn’t you answer me?” I demanded. I followed after him. I was right behind him when suddenly whirled around to face me. I was rather taken aback by this sudden movement. Clutching at the place above my heart, I analyzed his appearance. He had a thin white scar on the corner of his left eye to the bottom of his jaw. He had handsome jaw-length jet-black hair, defiant piercing silver irises, and pale skin. He wore a tattered black T-shirt, white washed navy denim jeans with so many rips and holes in them, you weren’t sure that they were jeans. And he wore faded black leather combat boots. He had a gauge in his right earlobe, a silver ring in his cartilage, and he also had a tattoo— more than one I’m sure— on his bicep of a dagger going through what seemed to be a Celtic cross. His silver eyes hardened to steel as he glared at me.

Snarling, he said, “Look princess. You’re not surrounded by loyal maids to do your bidding, you’re lost in the dark alleys of New York City, on the streets, you’re on your own, every man for himself. If you can’t defend yourself, you’re royally screwed and as good as dead. Here. You’ll get your money stolen. Here, you’ll get beaten and bruised. Here, people will not hesitate to kill you. They won’t even give it a second thought. Now beat it,” he turned around and left leaving me in shock at his bluntness. “H-hey, wait! You can’t leave me here!” but he was already gone. Sinking to my knees, I spluttered out, “You can leave me . . . alone.” I sobbed as the truth of his words hit me. He was right. I am completely lost and alone in a world that is not my own. I don’t know how long I laid there curled in a ball, crying my eyes out, but when I finally look up, there was a dim light shining through the dirt encrusted windows. Morning. Hopefully the thugs wouldn’t be out dominating the streets and alleyways. I knew I had to find food and a water source, I may be vain, weak, and helpless, but I am not ignorant.

I chanced a look at my appearance. I also needed to find some better clothes. I couldn’t just wander the streets with ripped shirts. I would just be begging to be raped, or worse. I shuddered at the thought. Pushing myself unsteadily to my feet, I looked around observing the room. It was too shabby, but it could do with a little cleaning. I suppose it was the best I could do considering the circumstances. It would become my temporary refuge. At least until I got out of this mess. Sighing, I trudged out of the building, listening as the chirps of the early birds— oh, my bad. I’m not near the forest anymore. Let’s try that again shall we? Sighing, I trudged out of the building, listening to the heavy footfalls of my feet on the battered broken concrete and dirt floor.

Looking both left and right, I saw no one lurking in the shadows, waiting for the perfect time to jump me; all clear. Stepping out of my place of concealment, I made my way right, and continued to make turns. It was like a never ending maze, one you could easily get confused and lost in. I hoped I could find my way out again, but I’ll consider that a problem when I find food, water, and— pray god or some other deity is on my side— clothes. After many more turns, a lot of walking, and a few dead ends, I finally found a dumpster. Well. Here comes the fun part. Climbing into the green monster containing foul smelling junk, I dug in (quite literally), and searched for anything worth salvaging. And to be honest, there wasn’t much worth the effort of keeping. Sighing dejectedly, I kept hunting for another dumpster that would hopefully better suit my needs. Along the way, I came across a a small puddle of rainwater collecting below the gutter that ran down the side of the building. This is so degrading. I thought to myself. Feeling very much like a mangy dog, I knelt to my knees, cupping my hair behind my shoulder, before lapping at the murky water. I had no clue how old it was, or what had been in it, and I didn’t want to think about it. Licking my lips for any missed droplets that may have remained; I stood then wiped my mouth with the back of my hand, resuming my quest.

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A few hours later, I had found some empty water bottles (to store water in or other liquids), two empty containers (to store food or random collectables), and— thank you lord! I had stuck my hand into a bucket with a few uneaten pieces of chicken scarps that someone didn’t want. Just as I was about to jump down, something caught my attention. Something I knew wasn’t there a moment before. Maybe it had surfaced in my careless rummaging. I bent to pick it up. It was kind of soft. I pulled my arm back and gave a gently tug. The object came loose quite easily. Once it was in my hands, the object identified itself as a sweater. Grinning broadly, I yanked my tank top and fishnet shirt off and replaced them with the dull cream colored sweater.

Dropping the now useless clothes in the rubble, I climbed out, turning away from the garbage dump. I reached down to grab my newly acquired things, but they weren’t there, at least, not all of them. The chicken was missing. Panicked, I searched to see the thief was still in the area. But there was no sign of him, or her. Seeing nothing, I grabbed the bottles and containers they hadn’t bothered to take. I was about to leave, but then I heard a rustling noise; I peered into an ally you wouldn’t notice unless you were staring right at it. I saw a wiggling, squirming white thing eating my bucket of chicken scraps! “Hey!” I shouted trying to scare the white dog away.

I charged at him, but the dog merely looked up then continued eating. I sighed exasperated, seeing that it was no use. “I guess you need it more than I do. You’re awful skinny.” poured some water from the bottle into the bucket I’d refill it later. Turning my back on the happy animal, I heard the greedy slurps the dog was making. I’d have to find dinner another night. I was too tired to search again now. I made many lefts and rights, praying that I’d end up at the warehouse. Finally I passed the familiar puddle and refilled the bottle. Making a right I was ready to jump for joy. The doors to the warehouse were only a few feet away. Thank you. Then disaster struck. Well not really, but it was bad enough. Mother Nature had decided to rain heavily. I was soaked to the bone before I even got inside. I darted through the door, when something bolted in front of me.

“No don’t!” I yelled, but it was too late. The dog shook anyway. I tried shielding myself with my arms, but my effort was futile. I still got drenched even more than before, if that was possible. Sitting on his haunches, he stared at me, his tongue hanging out slightly. Grumpily, I glared at him, tilting my head and wringing out the water in my hair.

“You feel pretty proud of yourself don’t you?” If he could smile, that’s what he would be doing. Now that I could have a closer look, I realized he was indeed male, and about a year and a half old, clearly still a pup. He cocked his head to the side, a pointed ear flopped over. I sighed in defeat. He was just too adorable. “Alright, fine. You can stay. Just no stealing my food or chewing on my clothes, okay?” almost like he understood me, he jumped up excitedly, barking and wagging his tail. I laughed at his enthusiastic eagerness. I crouch so I was at the dog’s eye level. Placing a small morsel of leftover chicken skin in my palm, I extended my hand, hoping I wouldn’t lose a few fingers in the process. Taking small cautious steps toward me, he sniffed the air, taking in the faint scent of the chicken. Finally he allowed his muzzle to nudge my hand, delicately taking the tidbit from me. Backing up a good distance, he chewed, his wary, watchful eyes never leaving my own. Swallowing he approached me again. This time he was a little less cautious, but still remaining alert.

He snuffed at my hands and pockets before looking up at me in disdain. I knew he was wondering where the rest was, so I put my hands in my pockets, digging around, but coming up short. “Sorry boy. But there isn’t any more, see?” I showed him my empty hands. He sniffed them, eyes full of hope, but padded away in disappointment when he realized that there was nothing left. Curling up in a ball in the corner, he let out a little puff of air, similar to a human sighing. I went to my own corner, wrapping my arms around my legs, and watched as the pup dozed off into what I hoped was a peaceful slumber. The corners of my lips curling up into a small smile as I watched the dog’s even breathing. I had almost lulled myself to sleep when something was held over my nose and then I blacked out.