The Love Score || Zhuo Zhi

28: A Dangerous Night

As soon as his face came under the light, though, I let out a breath I hadn't known I was holding and almost fainted with relief. "Bai Yang, what are you doing here so late at night?"

Bai Yang slowed down to a halt a distance away from me, panting, "Running... I'm not done... you're not going... home yet?" he questioned, beads of sweat falling off his nose and dripping on the ground. He quickly wiped his face with the thin towel he wore around his neck.

"I'm going now," I nodded briefly. "See you tomorrow then, Bai Yang?"

Too out of breath to respond, Bai Yang just glanced up and nodded lightly, before jogging another round around the school. I grasped the straps of my book bag tightly, trudging towards the bus stop. Goddammit, I should have followed Yi Kai and Li Jing instead of staying behind this late.

The eerie darkness of the night engulfed any sort of noise down the street. The air was warm and dry, the sky hidden above a black velvet blanket with a few stars peeking out. A breeze whispered through my hair as I arrived at the bus stop, only to let my eyes fall on the signboard which said that the particular bus I was waiting for was not arriving here today. What in the world? I groaned at my bad luck as I began to trudge further down the street to take another bus.

A/N: *Trigger Warning*

The wind rustled in the tree leaves, which, in the day, seemed friendly and welcoming, protectively shading pedestrians from the glaring sun as they walked under their branches. With no more sun to shade us from, the lights from the lampposts created black shadows on the sidewalks, long and thin, stretching like crooked fingers. It was as if the world was muted from any human noise at all.

I began to turn around the corner of the sidewalk when I noticed a shadow at the corner of my eye. Not the shadows of the trees or bushes, but... the frame of a person. I felt my heart drop in worry as I pretended not to be bothered, continuing my path. My throat went dry as I instinctively hastened my speed, walking on my toes as if my footsteps sounding any lighter would perhaps rouse less danger around me.

Don't look back, don't look back.

I just wanted to hurl through the door of my apartment and stay in the comfort of my home. I then wished that I also had my earphones blasting music through my eardrums to drown out the footsteps behind me.

Then it stopped. The quiet, rhythmic treads following me-- all of a sudden, I could hear them no more. Like a music track that got cut off. My blood chilled in my veins at the abnormality of the entire situation. I was wearing my P.E. attire-- a grey shirt with black shorts-- so I shivered in my thin clothes as I felt the wind blow past my bare legs. The temperature seemed to have dropped by a few degrees.

I sucked in a sharp breath, my muscles tensing as I made the decision to turn around, not knowing if that was a brave or stupid move. "Who's that?" I called out, still edging backwards. There was no silhouette or signs of any human around me. The mysterious person had vanished, leaving me on the sidewalk alone. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up, prickling. "Show yourself!" I shouted again, my voice cracking with panic. A force clenched my heart tightly in my chest. I ran my tongue over my dry lips, anxiously thinking, Okay, it was probably just my paranoid imagination.

I was about to spin back around when a hand grapsed the strap of my book bag, a cold finger touching my skin. My heart stopped beating for a moment as a scream froze in my throat. I struggled against the hand, but the person pulled me back with so much strength that I was pretty much helpless. I stumbled backwards and tripped into the hedge. I finally came to my senses and screamed, but not a second after had a hand slapped me violently across my cheek.

Tears burned into my eyes as I whimpered, looking up at my captor. He had shaggy, untrimed hair and a rough stubble on his chin. His clothes looked grey and old. Although it was too dark to see his face, his eyes were gleaming down dangerously at me. He dragged my collar upwards, pulling my ear close to his lips. I gave a yelp as he hissed, "Don't fight back. There are three of us around, so don't think you can try to escape,"

I whipped my head around to see two other shadows lurking around me and my captor. Crap, I was outnumbered. I had no chance to run.

One of them kicked my stomach harshly, making me double over in pain. I let the tears fall as I gasped painfully, clutching my stomach. My mind was blank except for the sole feeling of pain throbbing excruciatingly. The guy bent down until he was at my eye level. I looked away, refusing to meet his eyes, to let him see through my vulnerable, scared-to-death state. "Do you hear us?" he growled in a low tone.

I whimpered pathetically, "Y-yes,"

The other man pulled me up roughly by my wrist, instructing me to walk quietly along with them and not to scream, otherwise I would 'get it'. I had no choice but to go along, my throat hollow and my legs weak. I was led to a deeper, darker part of the estate that was emptied of people and shaded with tree canopies, making the area look spooky and dim.

"Can you... not hold me so tightly?" I spoke weakly to my captor.

At that, he tightened his grip on my wrists and shoulder, earning a wince from me. The other two guys cackled at that, then continued their discussion while trailing behind us.

I ran the possibilities through my head. I could go along with the men until they leave me somewhere, and I can work my escape route from there. But I didn't know the area well enough, seeing that I have never been to this part of the town before, so it was just as bad as an idea if I got lost. I could scream for help... but I doubted there was anyone close enough to hear, plus, the men would probably use violence on me again. I decided that the best yet unlikely to succeed option would be to break free and run.

Fueled by panic and fear, I brought my arms downward forcefully, taking my captor by surprise as I broke away from his hold. I took to my heels as I speeded away, racing out of the dark estate and onto a lighted pathway. They might be faster runners than I was, but my defense had given me a one-second headstart, not to mention that I was terrified out of my wits. I heard a shout and the beating of footsteps close behind me.

Not long after I had finally made it to the lighted pathway did someone kick my shin, sending me sprawling to the gravelly ground. I screamed, desperate to let somebody hear me, while one of them yanked me up by my arm. . "Stop!" I cried out, and I was responded to by a slap to my face. The blow stung and burned but I didn't care about my sanity anymore. Their grip on me was hurting.

Let me go let me go let me go

I strained from the man holding me, attempting to free myself. I kicked at his leg, but he only flinched. A harsh punch to my gut. Another angry stroke to my cheek. I kept yelling at them to stop, to release me.

One of the men grabbed my throat, clenching his fists, cutting off my breathing. I felt dizzy and breathless, the last ounce of energy leaving my soul as I made out in a loud whisper, "Stop...s...stop,"

Black spots appeared in my vision. I was blacking out... then I heard a loud thump. My throat was released as I collapsed on the ground from the impact. The man had suddenly released me out of nowhere. I panted heavily, regaining my breath as I blinked weakly at the tall silhouette who threw another punch at my captor.

He delivered another blow at his cheek, saying fiercely, "When a girl tells you to stop, stop."

☆ ☆ ☆

Holy mushrooms, re-reading this chapter while I was checking it seriously gave me the chills.

By the way, the next chapter will be continued off from here. I'll add in the A/N of the trigger warning at the start of the chapter in case, and there will be another notice at where the episode will end.

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~ Snowy ♡