You Know I Make You Wanna Scream

The doorbell finally rang, indicating that the plumber had arrived, mere minutes after I made the phone call. I trudged over to the door and answered it with a very surprised look on my face.

I almost felt like this was one of those ordered male stripper scenarios – “Sexy Plumber Arrives To Clean Your Pipes.” Maybe I was simply too trapped in a stereotypical mindset, but this man wasn’t fat or ugly at all!

He wore his hat low over his eyes, and had a lip piercing that shined brightly in the afternoon sunlight. His sleeves were rolled halfway up his arm, showing off a nice collection of tattoos.

What a nice surprise.

“Um, hi, I take it you’re the plumber?” I asked, pulling the door open a little further to allow enough room for entrance.

He nodded his head and smiled as he walked inside and headed right toward the bathroom. I followed him from a distance, completely embarrassed that we had to meet under these circumstances. But even in the midst of deep embarrassment, I couldn’t help but wonder how he knew his way to the bathroom so easily.

He must have seen my confused expression because was able to offer a perfect explanation. “Oh, sorry if this looks weird…I knew where the bathroom was because I’ve dealt with a couple of the nearby condos here, so I'm pretty familiar with the floor plan.”

I nodded my head in response, feeling an oddly strong amount of relief wash through me. I ignored the slight strangeness of this entire situation as I headed back toward the leaving room, letting him finish his work while I continued watching the latest episode of Fullmetal Alchemist.

Since it was one of my favorite episodes, I really didn't pay much attention to the plumber anymore, which is why I was extremely surprised when his voice sounded out suddenly. “Anime fan?”

I nearly jumped out of my seat as my heartbeat began rapidly growing. I laughed a little after registering his voice. “Yeah, I’m a big fan. Sorry, this is just one of my favorite episodes. I was getting so into it that I almost forgot you were here!”

Wow…as if this situation couldn’t get any more awkward.

He laughed heartily before leading me back to the bathroom. “This was not a lot of work at all, just a slight amount of blockage. All the pipes are cleared now and your toilet should,” he paused to flush the toilet, “work just fine.”

I thanked him for his services and handed him a check for payment. I stood in the doorway watching as he drove off. He stuck his arm out the window and waved before turning onto another street.

Having nothing better to do and still having the house to myself, I resumed my position on the couch and finished the episode in peace. It didn’t take long for my stomach to finally give in to nature and start growling loudly.

“Guess I better make some popcorn real quick before the commercial ends,” I muttered to myself as I got up and walked into the pantry.

I grinned excitedly as I placed the bag of extra buttery popcorn into the microwave and listened to the kernels pop one by one. About two and a half minutes later, I carried the bowl of popcorn and a soda into the living room, plopping myself back down on the comfy leather couch, pulling a blanket over me and fluffing the pillow pressed up against my back.

I reached over a little flicking the light switch to bring the fire to live in the chimney. The fire began roaring as the sound of raindrops gently falling onto the rooftop echoed in the background. I sighed contently as the introduction of the next episode began. Sure, Chris and Randi may be out and about. But come on, what could be better than this on a rainy evening?

Just as the TV screen flashed into a commercial, the once vibrant flames in the fireplace suddenly began to die down into not-so-magnificent, dull embers. Shortly after, the TV screen turned black, the lights following suit. I guess the storm must’ve been a little more intense than I presumed. Why else would the power suddenly vanish?

I wasn’t much of an expert with electricity, but I knew that one of the best ways to fix it was to check the wiring downstairs in the basement. Ever since I began watching Supernatural, I tried my best to avoid going into dark basements alone – and up until now I’ve been rather successful.

I stood up reluctantly, and ran my fingers along the walls to navigate my way to the kitchen. I crouched down and dug around inside the pantry until my fingers brushed against the cool metal of the flashlight. I picked it up and used it to walk over to the stairs. I held the light at about shoulder height, foolishly only focusing on what was ahead of me.

I groaned loudly as I dropped onto my knees after ramming the side of my knee into a surprisingly sharp corner of the cherry wood coffee table in the center of the living room. I felt small droplets of blood stick to the surface of my jeans, but it was obviously nothing to cry over.

I forced myself back up onto my feet and slightly limped toward the stairs, stopping more often than I would’ve preferred – not out of pain, but because I could swear that I saw shadows running along the walls that weren’t mine. It had to just be simple paranoia. No one else was in the house…I would’ve heard him or her enter, especially since it was deathly quiet suddenly.

Light from the flashlight finally refracted off of the golden doorknob separating me from the basement. Quickly, I threw the door open and bolted down the stairs, more than anxious to get this over with. There weren’t many things in the basement, so it didn’t take too long to locate the electrical box.

Even though the black box was mere feet ahead of me, for some reason, my heartbeat began to race with each step that I took. What was I so afraid of? There were no monsters or ghosts hanging out down here. There were no rats or little creatures. Sure, there were probably spiders, but I’m pretty sure that should be the least of my concerns at this point.

It’s just a damn basement.

However, even after I managed to get my breathing remotely close to normal, I noticed something strange. All the wires that should have led up the black box were completely severed from the box. The wires were frayed and displayed across the concrete floor.

“How the hell would something like this happen?” I wondered aloud, feeling a violent shiver crawl up my spine. Something was clearly wrong here.

Before I could get a better look at the wires, or attempt to fix any of it, my flashlight clicked off, and I'll tell you right now that I was not the one who turned it off. I heard some heavy breathing that wasn't coming out of my lungs and immediately screamed as loud as I could.

I spun around and tried to run toward the stairs that seemed so tantalizingly close, but ended up colliding into a hard surface, collapsing on the concrete floor.

“W-Who's there?” I shouted, my voice cracking in evident fear, despite my attempts to sound strong.

A chorus of eerie laughter filled the stagnant air causing me to crawl backwards until I came into contact with something else. As I previously mentioned, Randi and I haven’t put very many things down here, so there shouldn’t be so many roadblocks surrounding me, unless…

My eyes widened as I realized that there were people down here who clearly didn’t belong here. I scrambled to my feet as the reality of the horror finally made sense in my head. I refused to go through any more traumatic events, and I meant it. I was going to enjoy my life, remember?

I need to survive this before I can start working toward my goals. Glancing down at the ground, I noticed that the person standing in front of me wore shoes with reflective surfaces. My eyes remained locked on the dim reflections as I crept past that person, trapping my breath deep inside my lungs to avoid bringing attention to my location.

Finally, the stairs came into range. If my deductions were correct, then they all should be several feet away from me…which should give me plenty of time to make it up the stairs before they could catch up to me. I allowed myself to exhale at last as I tightly gripped the wooden railing and bolted up the stairs, trying to ignore the piercing sound of the creaks that echoed each of my footsteps.

“I think she’s playing hard to get!” one of the men said with heavy amusement.

“Oh, she won’t get too far!” another said confidently.

Their heavy footsteps were coming my way so I didn’t waste any more time climbing the final steps and leaping into the kitchen, searching for the home phone. Once my eyes landed on the white device, I gripped it between my sweaty fingers and was prepared to dial 911. However, there was no sound on the other line – pure silence. The line was dead.

“SHIT!” I shouted in frustration.

Luckily, I remembered that I left my cell phone back in my bedroom. They wouldn’t be able to turn that phone off! Ignoring the slight burning pain I felt in my knees and the heavy beating I felt in my chest, I raced down the hall and tripped onto my bedroom floor. I was about to reach for my bed, but stopped dead in my tracks as a noise burst through the silence. My cell phone began ringing briefly before someone answered.

“Hello? Oh, I'm sorry Myra isn't here right now, can I take a message? Haha, alright I'll be sure to tell her...” the man spoke merrily into the phone.

I couldn’t do anything but stare at the shadow of the intruder, who stood in place, still holding my phone in his hand. He spun around and faced me with an evil smirk on his face. I could just see the amusement in his expression.

Suddenly, he threw the phone down onto the floor and stomped his heavy black boot on it until it was crushed into an acceptable collection of smashed metal. He pulled the black curtains back, allowing a small amount of gray light to enter the room.

Once he turned to face me in the new lighting, I felt my heart sink down into my intestines.

That face…it couldn’t be…

“Why do you look so shocked to see me, Myra? I know these years have done me some good but come on, you can’t be that stupid. You couldn’t possibly think that you could get away with returning to Cali so soon without expecting a hello from your favorite boyfriend,” he grinned.

I felt my fear slowly melt away into something fiercer – rage. My eyes narrowed as I glared daggers in his direction, feeling my chest heave up and down as I tried to keep myself contained. For some reason, I had such an urge to rip his throat out. I knew what he meant by “hello,” and I wasn’t going to give him a chance to capture me.

“You haven’t gotten me yet, ass wipe!” I shouted as my adrenaline kicked in dramatically.

His expression transformed into something much darker than before, and something about it told me that I really ought to get the hell out of there. I made a mad run for it, hardly accomplishing anything, though. It felt as if his hot breath was cascading down my neck – like he was right behind me.

There had to be at least two other men inside, and I’m willing to bet that the whole gang is probably here to say “hello.” It was three against one, and I knew that I would certainly not have the advantage indoors. The front door was getting closer in distance, and I decided that it would be my best chance.

I lunged forward and ripped the front door open. The storm had increased in strength as sheets of rain poured down onto the pre-flooded street. I could hardly see in front of myself, but perhaps that’s a good thing…that would mean that they would have a harder time finding me. Plus, it was almost completely dark outside by now.

I took one last backward glance before bolting forward, running barefoot through the slippery, wet grass as the fierce wind blew my drenched hair in every direction. I ran around what I assumed to be the side of the house and hoped that I was heading toward the woods. Everything seemed to blur into one darkened, watered down mess, which made it increasingly difficult to determine how safe I really was.

Regardless, I pushed myself forward, ignoring the feeling of sharpened roots scraping across my feet. I shoved branches out the way as best as I could while still maintaining my balance. Unfortunately, at some point my senses became entirely entangled as I felt myself slip backward, landing hard on my ass as I slid down the pointy hill of fallen tree limbs until I made contact with a large tree trunk.

The entire time I kept a hand locked firmly over my mouth to keep my screams safely inside. A leaned up against the tree trunk, praying that I had made enough distance between them and myself; it sure felt as if I’d been running forever…

Thunder clapped loudly overhead as lightning lit up the now blackened sky. The rain was as relentless as ever, causing my clothes to stick my skin so tightly, almost like an entire new layer of flesh itself. My body quivered as the cool drops slid across my face and arms. I fear I may have taken too long of a break as the horrid sound of crunching leaves could be heard in the distance.

“I think I saw her over here!” one of them shouted. My worst fears were realized as his voice bounced off the hollow trees. If I was able to hear them…then that surely meant they were too close to me.

I drew in one last partially interrupted breath before hopping back up onto my feet and running straight, wishing that it would be enough to put more distance between us. The wind had died down slightly, causing my wet hair to cling to my face, narrowing my line of vision. The rain was chilly, which made it very challenging to run forward while trying to suppress the shivers.

But regardless, the severe lack of vision was by far the biggest problem. I could be running in circles for all I knew!

As I increased my speed, I absentmindedly tripped over a large log in the middle of my path and let out a scream, this time unable to stop myself, accidentally revealing my location. Their maniacal laughter began suffocating me as their footsteps came closer and closer. I wasn’t sure exactly where they were, but since they weren’t directly in front of me I knew I still stood a chance.

I slowly stood up and continued onward, barely making much distance. After hearing some leaves crunching and branches snapping, I froze in place, easily reaching a stop, and ready to confront my attacker.

Cautiously, my eyes scanned my darkened, blurry surroundings. I knew someone was there…yet no one was behind me. I was still alone some how. "What the...?" I mumbled in confusion.

“Boo!” someone shouted from behind me as he lunged forward and wrapped his muscular arms around my skinny torso.

I immediately began squirming around in his grip, but soon resorted to screaming instead. “No, let me go! Someone help me!” I shouted at the top of my lungs, hoping that someone would hear me. The only problem was…I wasn’t sure how far we were from the condos.

The man behind me clicked his tongue in distaste as he used his free arm to clasp one of his hands over my mouth. "Shhh! I wouldn’t want you to use up all of your pretty voice right now. You’re gonna be needing it later…” he whispered with a smile into my ear.

Eww, I don't think so.

I knew that to get away from this maniac, I’d have to get his hands off of me. It was as simple as that. I cringed inwardly as the possibilities of where this hand has been filled my mind, but ignored the nastiness nevertheless. I bit down as hard as I possibly could on one of his fingers causing him to recoil back a little.

I breathed heavily out of my mouth before leaning my head backward, crashing into his skull and knocking him off balance. I spit the small amount of his blood out of my mouth and got ready to take off running again.

“Fucking bitch!” he growled, writhing in the dirty puddle of water. One down, two more to go.

For some reason, I ran back in the opposite direction, stumbling every now and then as I finally began to feel the aftermath smashing two skulls together. I tried my best to blink past the dizziness and burning pain and continued forward. I pushed myself harder and harder until my condo loomed into view.

I ran across the soaked grass with a maddening smile playing on my lips. I’m gonna make it! The back door stood in front of me, my reflection blurrily reflected off the glass. All I have to do is get inside, lock the door, and hide.

Anxiously, I wrapped my fingers around the slippery doorknob only to find that it was locked. How did they get inside if the doors were locked? I frantically dug into my back pocket and pulled out my key chain.

I shakily singled out the bronze key for the back door and stuck it into the lock, yet no matter how many times I turned it, it wouldn't budge, as if someone changed the lock.

“Having a hard time?” he asked from behind me.

As the lightning flashed in the sky, I saw three other reflections in the glass on the door. I ignored them and continued to shove the useless key into the slot, praying it would open. After realizing that I was cornered, I let the keys clatter onto the ground and attempted to run back to the front, but instead I was harshly pulled back by a steel tight grip around my arm.

"I don't think you'll be going anywhere right now…well except with us," he whispered in my ear as he tightly wrapped his arm around me and used the other to constrict my wrists together.

I began thrashing back and forth, as hard as I could, but it didn't faze him a single bit. “HELP” was the only word that I could scream. Each of the condos was fairly close to each other. Someone had to be able to hear me. This was a college town, not a retirement home. Someone had to be awake around here.

I soon abandoned all hope once we reached the driveway. My eyes widened as the reality of it all became evident. A large black van with tinted windows was parked alongside the curb. Could it really be that I’d given it my all? Was there nothing left to be done?

Then again, what could a weak girl like me do in the clutches of an overly strong evil man? Matt, the guy I knocked out back in the woods, opened the back door of the van before sending a snarl in my direction.

The only thing that gave me the slightest sense of satisfaction was watching the single trail of blood slide along his temple and down his cheek. My ex-boyfriend, Brian, shoved me into the last row of seats and tightly cuffed my wrists to some armrests.

“I hope you’re comfortable, because it’s going to be a long, painful ride!” Matt said with a dangerous smirk on his face that made me very uncomfortable to be anywhere near him.