Karaoke
POV: Victoria
“Tori! You’re next!” my best friend, Allison, screams into my ear.
“Fine,” I reply with a giggle.
You would think being 18 and freshly graduated we would be mature young adults but nope not my friends and I. We just graduated a couple of weeks ago and this is our last weekend together before we all start our lives as adults. So we decided why not have one last night together embarrassing each other at the karaoke bar.
“Hey, Micah! Where’s your cousin?” Allison asks our other bestie, ”He needs to buy us another round.”
“I don’t know, he should be around here somewhere,” Micah states absentmindedly, just as his cousin walks in with another round of shots. “Found him!” Micah points to his cousin with a proud smile.
Allison shoots him a glare and grabs her drink. “Wow Micah, you are just so much help.”
“Aww thanks for acknowledging my hard work,” Micah replies sweetly.
We gather around the table with shots in hand. “Three… two… one!”
I tap my shot glass on the table and throw it back. After taking my fifth shot of liquid courage for the night, I head over to the mic and try to decide which song to sing, but with all the alcohol in my system I concede quickly and just pick a random song from the 'Top 10 of Today’s Hits'.
After my song, the effects of the alcohol are running strong and Allison drags me to the restroom to cool down and freshen up. I drag my fingers under my pale blue eyes, removing the running mascara, and using a bit of water to tame the flyaways on my sleek blonde high-ponytail. Stepping away from the mirror I fix my olive green halter dress and turn to Allison.
She makes eye contact with me in the mirror. “I can’t believe you still haven’t decided which school you want to go to.”
“You know my parents are pushing med school on me and they won’t listen to me. So, I decided on a gap year, and hopefully, they’ll come around to me doing something else… Anything else…” I sigh and lean back on the sink, “still not sure what that is yet, but hey I have a whole year to figure it out now,” replying with a hopeful smile.
“I don’t understand why they want you to be a nurse.”
“Surgeon,” I murmur.
“Yeah yeah, whatever. Doesn’t matter right now. What does matter is I’m moving in a couple of days and we have someone out there…” -pointing to the bathroom door- “who’s willing to buy us drinks. So let’s go have some fun before you have to leave in… 42 minutes,” she says checking her phone.
“Okay okay,” I giggle, throwing my hands up in mock surrender, “let’s get you some more drinks.” Smirking, she links her arm with mine and we walk back to the boys to enjoy the remaining night.
45 minutes later I’m rushing out of the karaoke bar. Deciding to walk a bit before getting a ride share to air out some of the alcohol smell and hoping it won’t be as noticeable, though if I don’t sober up quickly it’s not going to matter. After walking a few blocks, my feet start hurting. Wearing brand-new, not broken-in, combat boots was not a smart idea. The street is empty so I decide to give them a break and sit with my back against the brick wall of a rundown store, next to a trash can a few steps into a nearby alley.
A few minutes later, while I sit with my head against my knees, I hear a commotion coming from further down the alley. I shift onto my knees to peek around the trash can. It’s fairly dark with only one small flickering light to illuminate the space. I can’t see much other than two dumpsters, next to the trash can, and four men dressed in all black, as if they don’t want to be seen.
I shift again to get a better look while ducking behind a dumpster. One of the men takes a step to the left and that’s when I see a fifth man hogtied on the ground.
I know I need to get out of here before they see me but my drunk ass can’t focus on anything but the man tied on the ground. They say you go into fight or flight mode when your life is in danger but I’m frozen like a deer in the headlights. I’m frozen. I’m so panicked I can’t even hear what they are saying to the man, I can only watch.
Two of the men pick up the tied man, while, what must be their leader, crosses his arms and the fourth guy pulls out a gun and holds it to the man’s head. The leader must not be getting the answers that he wants, as he steps aggressively toward the tied man and punches him in the gut, he proceeds to land blow after blow to the man’s face and torso. The leader steps back while gesturing to the two goons holding up the tied man to release him. Once they let go, his head hits the cement with a sickening crack.
Somehow the tied man is still conscious and rolls over giving me a clear view of his face. His eyes are almost completely swollen shut, and his nose is purple, obviously broken, and gushing blood. The rest of his face is just as bad with a busted lip and blood leaking out the corner of his mouth forming a puddle on the ground.
My focus shifts back to his eyes, where they connect with mine. Clasping my hand over my mouth, in an attempt to muffle my gasp, I can feel the tears spilling down my cheeks as I hear the gun being cocked, I snap my eyes up and watch as the man with the gun raise it and pull the trigger with no hesitation. This time I’m unable to hold in my shriek as I watch the bullet end the man’s life.
I stumble backward, tripping over my own drunken feet. All four of the men’s heads snap up in my direction. Making eye contact with the man with the gun, I run. I don’t know where I’m heading, I just need to get away. After what feels like an eternity of running, I can’t hear anyone behind me anymore, while stopping now is a bad idea I have to catch my breath.
Hunching over with my hands on my knees, gasping for breath, I hear a noise behind me, at the end of the alley. Whipping my head around toward the sound, I see Gun Man and one of the goons round the corner.
“Well, well, well…. You’re pretty quick, Girly. But not quick enough,” Gun Man says in a rough voice. “What do you think, Ty? Breathing or not breathing?” It’s at this point, I noticed the goon has a scar running from the outside corner of his left eye down to his jaw.
“Hmmmm… I can think of some pretty good arguments for both sides. But today, I’m thinking we keep her breathin’.”
Gun Man chuckles darkly, “Mmh, I don’t know, Ty, she’s seen quite a bit already.” I take a step back even more frightened by his words.
Ty smirks. “Exactly, why not have a little fun before we bring her to the boss?” My eyes widen and my breath catches as I take a step back. “A pretty little thing like her will be real popular back at the base.” Without thinking I take off down the alley again, hoping to lose them. I will not be some sex slave for these disgusting men.
Sprinting down the alley, I attempt to knock anything and everything over, in hopes of slowing them down. I turn to knock over the last trash bin in the alley, but my foot catches on a broken chair next to the bin and I lose my balance, crashing onto the rough cluttered ground.
I wince as the palms of my hands and my bare knees hit the cement. I rush to stand up, sticking my hand onto a broken beer bottle in my attempt. Gasping at the sudden pain, I shakily pull out the glass before scrambling to my feet and sprinting out of the alley.
