Faceless

I awoke to the drifting stench of a cigarette nearby. It was chilly and the thin sweater I was wearing couldn’t provide the warmth that I needed. I opened my eyes to see the clear night with the ever moving street lamps lightning it up. The city bus was moving quite slowly almost lulling me back to sleep. The cigarette stench came from the man sitting next to me, his horrid smile glued to my brain. His teeth were yellowed probably with all the carcinogen that claimed his mouth every time he inhaled the deadly toxic. His torn pants and loose shirt suggested he wasn’t a man that had a stable home. “Next stop, Moonstone Hill,” came the voice of the bus driver. With an ill sensation growing in the pit of my stomach, I pulled the string so that I could be let out in the next exit. It had been almost two days since I woke up in an unfamiliar park bench with no recollection of anything except for my name, Camila. Who and where was my family or friends? I had a sense that I had a family but I could not, for the life of me, recall who exactly they were. More importantly, I had no idea of where I was at.
I exited the bus and noticed that the ragged man that was seated next to me on the bus had done the same. I had been on the streets trying to find out who I was or where I resided but every time I tried searching for help, I wouldn’t find any. The people in this town were cold and unkind to strangers. When I awakened from the bench at the park, I dug inside my pockets in search for any clues I could find about myself. I was only able to find a couple of change and a small pocketknife. The itch to grab ahold of the knife began to grow inside of me as I felt that same man from the bus continue to follow me. I was scared as my heart began to race uncontrollably. I didn’t want to hurt the man but I didn’t want to find out what would happen to me if I didn’t defend myself. Should I confront this man or not? I could only ponder this question for a while because I could see that the end of the street was approaching and further from it would only lead me to the darkened pathway towards the woods. I stopped and turned around as my hands shook horribly in my pockets near the pocketknife. The man was closer to me than I had expected as he quickly lunged at me. I pulled out the pocketknife but as soon as he saw it, he was able to wrestle it out my hand. His creepy grin was pasted on his face as he forcefully grabbed my arm. I tried fidgeting or trying to escape but a part of me was paralyzed in fear. He began to tug me away, closer to the darkened woods as I tried to escape his grasp. I had to pull away for I knew what the consequences would be if I didn’t. I stepped roughly on the man’s foot as I began to escape his clutch but I wasn’t quick enough. He grabbed my hair and pulled me back to him furiously. Before I could think of another way to escape, he began to beat me uncontrollably. The first hit was excruciating, the second and third one as well, but after the third one, I started to feel numb. The hits were targeted mostly towards my face and stomach. I felt the pain as I gasped for the cold air. Everything was becoming darker than it had been just seconds before. I could feel a sticky substance stream from my nose to my neck. I could taste the blood but more frighteningly, I could almost taste death. I could faintly hear the roaring sound of a motorcycle coming closer but the man didn’t seem to notice or care. By that time, I had already been pushed to the concrete floor barely able to see as the horrid man stood starring down with his twisted smile. Before the man could lay a horrid hand on me again, someone pulled him away and started to wrestle him to the ground. I couldn’t seem to keep my eyes open much longer and I fell into a deep state of darkness but not before I heard a man call out, “Adelaide!”