1. WILLOW

Izoom in on the map on my phone screen, the pin for the hostel I’m trying to find vanished a few moments ago along with my remaining data.

It’s just another addition to my list of things for how bad can this day possibly get?

My bus was delayed getting here and now it’s almost midnight, the only thing I’ve eaten all day was a cheap sandwich at the bus station. To top it all off, it’s starting to get freezing cold and I’m lost in a sketchy part of the city.

The lightweight hoody I have on over my jeans and t-shirt does nothing to stop the chill from getting to my skin. I pull the zipper higher, up to my neck and contemplate rooting in my bag for another layer to wear but decide against it.

It’s not a great time to be a woman alone in a dark alley, when is it ever? So I push on, feeling pretty sure my end destination is just up ahead. My sense of direction is terrible though and I don’t have a clue how anyone reads maps so for all I know I could be walking in the opposite direction. I have to at least try to be optimistic. There’s no point going back the way I came, there's nothing there for me.

My phone battery is running dangerously low and the gps keeps cutting out, the whole thing will probably die on me completely any second now. I shove the useless device into the side pocket of my bag.

The sound of people talking up ahead catches my attention. Either I’m about to be murdered or my bad luck has finally ended and some nice people will point me in the right direction. If luck was really on my side then it’ll be other people staying at the hostel and I’ve actually reached my destination.

Fingers crossed for the latter or if not a swift death at least.

From the photos on the website the hostel”s rooms aren’t great so I can understand why people would rather hang out outside than on the threadbare mattresses I saw. This part of the city isn’t the friendliest either, the few people I had to ask for directions when I arrived earlier really weren’t helpful.

Still, it’s better than what I had back home. I may have had a soft bed to sleep in but it wasn’t worth the price I paid for it daily.

I wonder if my Dad even cares that I’m gone or if he’s looking for me. It’s not like I just vanished completely. I left a note, albeit a brief one, that just said I’m leaving, you won’t see or hear from me again.

What little money I had in my account I used on bus tickets and a week”s stay in this hostel, the money’s gone already so I sure as hell am going to find this place, even if I have to look all night.

I’m going to have to share a room with three other people the entire time but it’s all I could afford in the city. The thought of getting to spend time with other people is both nerve-racking and exciting. I could have chosen a cheaper area to make my new roots in and spent less money on buses by staying closer to home but I wanted to be as far away from my dad as possible.

So here I am, cold, hungry and with nothing to my name but so grateful to finally have a taste of freedom.

When I reach the corner up ahead, I hear an odd, wet slapping sound followed by low groans that make me stop dead in my tracks.

Oh God, are there people having sex here?

I’ve zero experience myself and never watched porn. Dad tried to scare me away from it, with his constant insults and telling me how I’m destined to be a whore like my mother. She died before I could remember her but I do know that if any of what he said about her was true she still would have been a better parent than him.

Thanks to his years of mental abuse I’m eighteen and still a virgin. It’s not like I stayed pure because what he told me was right.

No, his attempts to bully and brainwash me were ineffective.

If I had gotten the chance to have sex with someone I would have but I never had a chance to do anything. If I wasn’t at school I was stuck alone in my room.

I should head in the opposite direction but curiosity keeps carrying my feet forward. Would people really get so horny that they’d fuck in a dingy alleyway in the freezing cold? If they are then good for them, I guess.

Adjusting my duffel bag higher on my shoulder, I poke my head around the corner. If there is someone having sex I don’t want to walk in on it and interrupt, I think I’d die of embarrassment if it was me getting caught.

Three men are covered in shadow, a little way down the alley. There’s no sign of the hostel, not even a door, just grimy brick walls and some long forgotten dumpsters overflowing with trash. A small spark of panic rushes down my spine as I realize I really am lost in the seedy outskirts of a city I don’t know.

One of the men is sitting on the floor, his legs spread out as he leans back almost like he’s sleeping. He must have taken something pretty strong to be able to sleep in a place like this.

The other two men are braced up against the wall, the tallest one holding the other up against it by his shirt. It’s so dark I can only make out their silhouettes and a small glimpse of the tall one’s face.

“I was really hoping you’d last longer than your friend but I guess my fun’s over pretty quickly tonight, huh?” the tall man says, his voice is a low purr that makes me shiver in a new exciting way.

As he takes a step back he becomes drenched in moonlight. I try to stifle the gasp that comes from seeing how beautiful he is in this light but I end up stumbling slightly around the corner and the two men’s heads snap my way.

The tall man is dangerously good looking. He’s so tall I know I’d have to look up if it was me pinned against that wall.

God, how I wish that was me.

I”ve never even held a guys hand before let alone been passionately thrust up against a wall like that.

His body is slim but athletically built from the way he fills out his clothes perfectly. Tight, black jeans and a dark, leather jacket. His side profile was elegant enough with sharp features but now that he’s looking straight at me, I’m hit by his piercing stare.

Bright blue eyes peek out from under pitch black hair that hangs over his forehead. As he stares at me, a wide smile creeps onto his face, one that looks like it belongs to a wild animal. One with fangs and claws ready to sink them deep into its prey.

The look he’s giving me should make me run but my feet are frozen to the spot. Out of fear or something else, I’m not sure.

He cocks his head to the side as he croons, “what do we have here? A cute, little kitty cat skulking around alleys? No need to hide. Come join in the fun.” He beckons me over with a wave and something glints in his hand.

A sharp looking blade shines in the moonlight and even from here I can see just how much blood is coating it.

Then the whole scene in front of me comes into focus.

The man slumped on the floor is dead, or close to it, blood pools around his legs and his stomach is a bloody mess of guts spilling onto his lap. I scream and quickly press my hand to my mouth so I don’t throw up.

“Call the cops!” the man held against the wall shouts, bringing my attention back to him and the blue eyed man.

They’re both covered in splatters of blood but somehow I know none of it belongs to the man holding the knife.

He’s still staring at me with that wide grin and his hand twitches where he’s holding the knife like he’s desperate to gut me next. That thought scares me but not as much as it should.

Every second he’s staring at me makes my body come to life. It’s like there’s a pull and I need to move towards him to let his hands roam over my skin and his teeth to mark me.

No.I shake myself from whatever dark thought that was and stay rooted to the spot.

“Come here, little kitten, let me see you.” His voice does something to me that I don’t understand. If I believed in the supernatural I’d think he was a vampire or something just as deadly, but this is the real world. There aren’t any monsters, just bad people.

“He’s dead, you killed him,” I say, almost numbly.

“Looks that way doesn’t it?” he smirks, like this is all fun and games for him.

“Why-why did you kill him?” I ask, my voice small and shaky. Maybe he’s not the ruthless killer I think he is, he could have been defending himself.

His eyebrows lower but his smirk doesn’t disappear. As he tilts his head to the other side, he looks at me from head to toe and I swear there’s a flash of something hungry in his eyes, like he doesn’t just want to kill me.

My heart starts to race and my body heats up even in the cold night air. I try to ignore the twisted feelings fighting for attention inside me.

I need to run and find help. If I’m quick enough I might be able to save the other guy at least. He looks beaten up but all his organs are still inside his body, unlike his friend.

“If I told you I killed him because I enjoyed it, would you scream?” he asks, his voice suddenly sounding husky. I bite my lip so I don’t make a sound and shake my head. If I need to keep quiet to get out of this alive, I can do that. “We’ll see.”

Without taking his eyes off me, he swipes the knife out to his right and it plunges into the side of the man’s neck.

My feet get tangled up on themselves as I start to back away and I trip, falling down onto my backside. As I scream, the man puts his other hand on top of the knife's handle and drags the blade, severing the guy”s throat so deeply that his choked cries cut out completely. His body falls to the floor, his eyes wide and glassy. If there is any life left in him it’ll be gone in a matter of seconds from the rate that blood pours from the nasty gash onto the cement.

“Want to have some fun?” the man asks, twirling the blood soaked blade in his fingers. Each time he speaks it’s like my insides are tangling themselves in knots. I scramble to my feet, grabbing my bag and holding the strap tight to my shoulder.

Why the hell am I not running?My body is completely frozen even though my insides are burning up.

I try to register what he’s saying but my head is woozy and it’s getting harder to breathe.

He steps towards me, the knife loose at his side. “I can fuck you right here in their blood before I kill you or you can run. Your choice, but I do have one condition.” He’s so close now, his breath fans my face and I can smell the tang of coppery blood mixed with something else on him.

I hold my breath trying not to breathe any of him in.

“You have to scream for me, no matter what. So what’ll it be, little kitten?”

Run.

Scream.

Those are the only words that seem to register in my brain. The most basic instincts that my lizard brain latches on to. I need to run and I can’t stop the scream that erupts out of me, tearing its way from my throat.

The man’s eyes widen and his nostrils flare like he can smell my fear.

My body starts to finally listen to me and I’m moving away from him, running back where I came from. My legs move as fast as they can but my bag keeps slipping from my shoulder. I try to keep hold of it, the little that I own is in this bag and I don’t want to let it go. But if I don’t I might lose my life. It’s an easy decision in the end. A small sacrifice to get me through the night alive.