Broken

Lucy dawdled along the alley, with no place to be. Beneath her feet, the pavement glistened from an earlier downpour, reflecting the stars in their ripples. Her chance of finding a dry place to sleep looked bleak, but her spirits remained high.

Earlier, she had come across a young man who wanted to meet tomorrow. He had told her of a shelter he would take her to on the outskirts of town which helped teens to get off the streets and into sheltered accommodation. For the first time since her mother had passed away nearly 4 years ago, she felt like she had a future.

Lucy allowed her mind to wonder as she stared up at the cloudless sky. She dreamed of a warm room to call her own and the freedom that came with having an income. She dreamed of her mother up in heaven, smiling down at her.

Suddenly, a clanking sound shook her from her musing. She glared to the end of the alley she had been perusing, peering into the darkness towards the source of the noise. Two shining yellow eyes glared back at her from behind a trash can. A fox? A cat maybe? There was always the chance of a badger. Lucy decided to give the beast a wide pass. She had been bitten by unsuspecting animals before whilst rummaging through trash for a morsel of food.

Passing, she caught the sweep of a long ginger tail, and laughed at her own foolishness. It was just a scruffy old fox. It wouldn’t bother her if she left it alone. Keeping her eyes on the animal, she backed out of the alley, her high hopes returning.

As she exited the gloom of the alleyway, the scraping slide of metal on metal behind stopped her in her tracks. Spinning, she almost lost her balance as the loading door of a blue transit van opened, and two men loomed towards her.

Lucy’s breath caught in her throat and her feet scrambled for traction on the wet pavement. She belted down the road, her feet sloshing in the puddles. Her shoes, two sizes too big, flapped wildly, twisting around her feet and causing her to stumble. Her pulse pounded in her ears. She sucked in great lungfulls of air. Her heart beat against her ribs in time with her footfalls, but it wasn’t fast enough.

Something snagged at Lucy’s coat, causing her to lose her balance. Her shoe twisted from her foot and she collided painfully against the tarmac as two beefy fists grasped her. Fat fingers wrapped around her mouth as she tried to scream. The smell from them made her gag, but she forced her teeth down into the salty flesh. The metalic taste of blood was the last thing she felt before a thud to the face and everything went black.

When she awoke, darkness remained. The smell of gas permeated the coarse fabric that covered her head. Her wrists were bound behind her and her leg ached terribly. The rope of her bonds chafed her skin. Lucy rotated her wrists, desperate to loosen the knots but to no avail. Panic was rising inside her, causing her breathing to race and her head to spin. Biting through the pain, Lucy raised her legs behind her, using her hands to unknot her bindings. She let out an involuntary groan as pain scorched through her leg. A terrifying banging echoed around her as a deep growl rumbled though the air like thunder.

“Oi, what are you doing back there?”

Lucy stilled. With baited breath, she waited to see if they’d discovered her newfound freedom from her leg restraints. In the silence, she could hear the blood pulsing past her eardrums. After a few seconds, she decided she was in the clear. Fortunately, their banging had given her a sense of direction. Shuffling, she headed for the rear of the van. Sticking to the edge, she worked her way towards the door, feeling her way with her feet. Adreneline helped steel her nerves and kept her pain at bay. Using her feet, she found a panel, and with all her might kicked.

The fresh air that greeted her toes told her she’d found her mark. The cover on the lights had smashed out and she wiggled her leg frantically, hoping that someone would see.

“What the...“, a voice boomed from the front and the van screeched to a halt, throwing Lucy backwards. She heard the drivers side door open and slam. Yanking her foot back inside, she huddled into a ball, hoping to conceal her loose feet. A thousand thoughts raced through her mind as she danced with the idea of making a run for it, but before she had time to formulate a plan, the door swung open, and once again, everything went quiet.