by Sophia Sharp
In vain, I kicked at the desk, trying to push the chair back to knock the attacker over. He didn’t even budge. Sheer terror coursed through my veins. I was a rabbit struggling in the talons of a hawk. Squirm and fight as I might, there was nothing I could do to free myself.
I was determined not to breathe. Whatever the rag was soaked in would surely knock me out if I did. But time was running out. I couldn’t hold my breath forever. My mind raced for an escape. Something. Anything! I tried flailing my head back and forth, pushing against the chair with my back, squirming my body to the sides – all to no avail. The man was an oak. He would not budge.
Seconds ticked by as long as hours. I fought the man’s grip with every muscle in my body. My hands tore at his arm, trying to force the rag away from my face. Nothing I did had any effect. He hadn’t even made a sound yet! Sheer terror radiated through my body. I couldn’t hold my breath much longer. Just a few more moments, and my lungs would gasp for air, forcing me to breathe the cursed chemical.
Desperately, I tried to reach for the crystal. But it was back in the desk drawer. Too far for me to reach. If only I hadn’t decided this was going to be the time to do my homework. If only I had taken that moment to take it out of the silk bag. If only…
The man had me beat, and I knew it. Whoever he was, he would get what he wanted. The crystal was my only salvation, and it was out of reach. My lungs screamed for oxygen, but I fought the impulse to gasp in a breath. Every single one of my muscles burned with the strain of struggling against this man, burned and cried out in pain without the oxygen they so desperately needed. But if I took another breath in, that would be it.
Even as I held my breath, the fumes from the rag still permeated my airways. A feeling of dizziness started to kick in. I was getting lightheaded. It felt like I was getting drunk, only a hundred times worse. Was this man trying to kill me, or something worse? What was he after?
One last kick of adrenaline shot through my body. With all the strength I could muster, I forced the man’s hand from my mouth. I must have caught him by surprise, because his hand lifted, and for a glorious moment I could breathe again. I gulped down as much air as I could. Too soon, the man’s hand was clamped back over my mouth, tighter than before. He still hadn’t made a sound aside from a few grunts of effort. His arm tightened around my shoulders. That short breath I had gotten was a false victory. All it did was delay the inevitable. The crystal was my only salvation, and it was nowhere within reach.
Even with the gulp of fresh air, the effects of the chemical-soaked rag were starting to kick in. My muscles were weakening. I wanted to keep struggling, but I did not have the strength anymore. I took one last longing look at the drawer where the crystal was safely hidden. It was so far out of reach.
I was beyond panic, beyond any asinine notions of self-preservation. My strength gave out. I simply stopped struggling. The dizziness came in full, but I felt an odd sense of acceptance with what was about to happen. If this was going to the end, it didn’t seem like such a bad way to go. It was preferable to a death by fire, or…
A muted thud sounded behind me and suddenly, the man’s arms fell away. The rag slid from my face. I sucked in a rasping breath, filling my lungs with clean, blessed air. I didn’t know what had happened. For one glorious moment, I didn’t care. All I knew was that I could breathe again, and it was the purest feeling in the world.
I started to hyperventilate, taking in exaggerated gulps of air as if I expected to never breathe again. My heart was still beating out of my chest, and my whole body felt raw. I was in my room. This was supposed to be my sanctuary! But somebody had come in here to attack me!
My breathing slowed slightly, and the reality of the situation dawned on me. Something had happened to my attacker just now. My attacker. My thoughts were scrambled, and I was shaking. I knew I had to turn and look.
I started to twist in my chair, too weak to rise, when I caught another outline of a man from the corner of my eye. This one was standing about five feet away, his legs spread in an aggressive stance. He was big and he held something long, like a club, in one hand. A lump formed in my throat. I had escaped from one attacker and had fallen straight into the arms of another. My heart rate doubled, terror returning with a vengeance. I filled my lungs to scream—
“No, no! It’s me, it’s me!” A somewhat familiar voice pierced the air, but my mind was too jumbled to identify it. I had to force my eyes to focus on the second man. It took a moment, but then I realized who it was. Rob.
My eyes widened, and wordlessly I took in the scene before me. The body of the attacker lay limp on the floor. He was wearing all black. His dark hair was matted with blood. Rob stood over him, baseball bat in one hand, holding it between him and the man. The end of the bat was stained a dark red. Rob’s eyes darted from me to the man and back again.
“Get over here,” Rob urged. “Away from him!”
It took another moment for his words to actually hit home. When they did, I scrambled up and ran to him, nearly tripping over the body. The man on the floor was still breathing, which meant he was still alive. Still dangerous. I crashed into Rob, nearly knocking him off-balance. Never before have I been so glad to see him. I threw my arms around his torso and held him tight. My whole body shaking. There was nothing I could do except start sobbing in his chest.
“It’s okay. It’s okay,” Rob whispered gently into my hair. “You’re with me. You’re safe now.” He said the words, but his voice shook a little, too.
“How… did you…” I started to say between sobs, but Rob answered immediately, without taking his eyes from the body. “I picked up your book by accident at the end of class. I came here to return it. I heard some noise inside. When I came to your door, it was unlocked, so I pushed it open. I saw the man on you, and just acted on instinct. Lucky I had my baseball bat with me. I never thought I would use it like this.”
“You saved me,” I whispered between sobs. “Thank you.” Rob held me tighter. My heart was still racing, but holding onto Rob made me feel safe. He was in control. He had saved me.
“The door,” Rob said, and I looked back to realize it was still wide open. “Quick, go close it before anyone sees anything.”
I jumped to comply without thinking. He was the one in control. And I was out of my wits from fear, terror, and a whole plethora of other emotions I couldn’t even name. I had almost been killed. Who was the man on the floor? What did he want? A haunting suspicion started to form in my mind that the attack had to do with the crystals.
As I swung the door shut and locked it, I realized, for perhaps the first time, that I had tears in my eyes. I felt as if I had just run a day’s marathon after an all-nighter on the same week as final exams. I rubbed the tears away angrily. I didn’t want Rob to see me like this. But even my hands were shaking. I was angry for being so weak, so fluttery. Angry for not being able to take care of myself. Angry for being caught unprepared.
The man’s back suddenly arched. I froze, fear rising in my bones. Rob hefted the bat in his hands, ready to strike him again. The man let out a weak cough, nothing more, and fell back down.
“Is he still alive?” I whispered as I came to Rob’s side. He had both hands on the bat, but I had to hold onto one of his arms for balance. The muscles of his arm were tense, and impressively hard. I felt safe with him at my side.
“He’s alive,” Rob answered, “and still dangerous. We need to do something.”
For the first time, I took a good look at the man. His clothes were black, from his shoes to his pants to his jacket. Blood oozed from his head where Rob’s bat had hit. I looked around my room, to see where he might have come from, and realized that my closet door was open. Suddenly, everything made sense. The man on the floor, this attacker, had hidden in the closet while I was out. He must have gotten into my room through the front door. That was why I had found the door unlocked! He had broken in, but not had enough time to get out before I came here. Even worse – had h
e come here especially for me? That was my original suspicion. But how did he get inside the building in the first place?
“The security guard!” I said without thinking. “He’ll know what to do.”
Rob barked a harsh laugh. “That decrepit old man? He let this guy get to your room. How could he possibly help us? He’s so old he’ll collapse before he even makes it up the stairs!”
I flinched at the harshness of his words. Rob must have noticed, because he looked at me and softened his tone. “Sorry. I didn’t mean it that way. I’m just – on edge.” I realized that Rob, too, was breathing hard. A large vein in his neck pulsed angrily. “The security guard can’t help us, and it’s not like there are police on the island. Even if there were police, we couldn’t just leave this man here while we got them. For all we know, he might regain consciousness before we come back. We’ll need to secure him somehow.”
“Secure him?” I asked, confused.
“Tie him up. Make sure he can’t move when he does awake.”
“With what?” I asked dumbly.
Rob looked around the room. “Get me some of your clothes and a pair of scissors. Quickly!”
Chapter Two – A Desecrated Sanctuary
I leapt to obey Rob’s orders. He was in command of the situation. I was still shaking.
It didn’t take long to find clothes I was willing to part with. Truth be told, I’d easily give up my whole wardrobe if it meant never seeing the man again. Rob was satisfied when I gave him some old shirts and a couple pairs of jeans. I raced to retrieve the scissors from my desk, being extra careful to step around the body on the floor, but almost tripped over it anyway because I was so unsteady.
Rob handed me the bat before he started, but I doubted if I could have found the strength to hit him, had he stirred. The light aluminum bat in my hand felt like a lead-iron weight. Rob set to work quickly, and with obvious expertise. He wanted to have this man immobilized as quickly as I did.
The scissors sheared through my jeans, making long strips of fabric. Rob used those first to tie the man’s hands behind his back, and then did the same with his feet. Next, Rob took my shirts, and didn’t even bother with the scissors as he ripped them with his bare hands. He used the pieces to tie the man’s elbows and knees together. Neither of us spoke while he worked. When that was done, he set to doubling the number of cloth strips used at each joint, and then tripling. He pulled with as much force as he could after he tied each knot, ensuring that the man would not be able to break free.
My courage started coming back to me as I watched Rob work. Maybe it was seeing my attacker restrained like that, or maybe it was simply the time that had passed, but by the time Rob was done I was feeling significantly better. If the man woke up, I was confident the only muscles he could move would be in his face. My pulse had returned to normal, and my breathing had stabilized. My hands were still quivering slightly, though.
“There,” Rob said, tying the final knot. “He won’t be getting out any time soon.”
“What do we do now?” I asked.
“We have to figure some things out. Who was he? What did he want? He came at you for a reason – do you know why?”
“I don’t,” I lied. I couldn’t tell Rob about the crystals after the oath I swore. It was simply not possible
“Maybe it was a burglary then?” Rob opined. “But how did he get to Traven Island? A random attack doesn’t make any sense.” Rob rolled his shoulders uneasily. “We’ll need help moving him out of your room.”
“Where?
“I don’t know. But we can’t keep him here. Is there anyone you trust here?”
“I trust the girls.”
“Call them!”
I nodded, and ran to my backpack to pull out my phone. While I was there, the realization struck that if there had been one attacker, there could easily be more. I stole a glance behind me, and saw that Rob was looking the other way. I quickly opened the desk drawer to pull out the silver bag containing my crystal. I clutched it tight in my hand. I would not leave myself helpless again.
The crystal made an imprint in my palm. After a moment, I realized my haste had been foolish. There was nobody else in the room now, which meant I didn’t need to cling onto the crystal as if my life depended on it. I slipped it into my jeans pocket and flipped the phone open to dial one of the girls.
Ashley picked up after a few rings.
“Hello?”
“Ashley! It’s Tracy. Something bad has happened.” My voice shook as I relived the memory. The sight of the man on the floor didn’t help. “Come to my room as quickly as you can. And call everyone else! They all need to be here.”
Ashley obviously picked up on the concern in my voice, because her tone turned gravely serious. “I’m in my room. I’ll be right there.”
I hung up the phone, and looked at Rob. He was examining the man on the floor, but not touching him. “We should sit him up somewhere,” he said.
I looked around. “Against the wall,” I said, looking in the direction. Rob gave a curt nod, and grabbed the man’s shoulders to drag him over. The gnash on his head has stopped bleeding, but it had stained the carpet. I began contemplating how to get rid of the stain – and then I shook my head. That was definitely the wrong thing to think about.
Rob didn’t ask for my help as he moved the man, and for that I was thankful. I did not want to come closer to my attacker.
I leaned against my desk, and noticed the white rag the man had used lying by my feet. Hurriedly, I kicked it away, to where Rob was propping the man up.
Rob noticed as it flew through the air. “What is that?” he asked.
“He put it over my mouth,” I explained. “I think it was laced with something.”
Carefully, Rob picked the rag up. He brought it to his face, took a small whiff, and instantly recoiled. “I recognize the smell.”
“You do? What is it?”
“Chloroform. It’s an anesthetic that knocks you out. I’m surprised you’re still standing, if he had it over your mouth. You breathe even a tiny drop of the fumes, and you’re out for a long time. But…”
“Yes?”
“If the rag was laced with chloroform,” Rob said pensively, “that means the man wanted you knocked out. He came here specifically for you, Tracy.”
Suddenly, I heard the man stir. His head, which was hanging down his chest, started to move, and his eyes flickered open groggily. Without thinking, I leapt to snatch the cloth from Rob’s hand and pressed it tight against my attacker’s mouth. The feel of his face beneath my hand was filthy, disgusting, and being so close to him was frightening. Luckily, he didn’t realize what was happening, and it only took a few breaths for him to be knocked back out again.
“What was that for?” Rob asked carefully.
“To keep him quiet,” I replied. I did not know what I would do if this man awoke with me in the room. Maybe I was terrified he would somehow break free and try attacking me again. Maybe I was scared he would scream and call attention to our room. Whatever it was, I thought it best for him to remain unconscious.
Just then, a cautious knock sounded on the door. I spun around, heart caught in my throat. Rob hefted the baseball bat. He nodded for me to go against the wall, out of sight of the doorway. I moved as silently as a hare slipping into the night. Rob approached the door.
“Who is it?” he asked carefully.
“Ashley!” came the reply from the other side. Hearing her voice, Rob visibly relaxed. I did too. He opened the door a crack and ushered her in.
“Quickly,” he said. “We don’t want anyone passing by to see.”
“See what?” Ashley asked as she stepped in. “What’s going—” she cut off with a sharp intake of air as her eyes landed on the man slouched against the wall. Her eyes followed the small trail of blood from the man to the spot on the carpet by my desk, where Rob had hit him. She took in the discarded pieces of cut up clothes littering the floor, and disorderly state of the ro
om. Finally, her eyes landed on me. I saw that they were wide and scared. “Oh my god, Tracy, !” she exclaimed. “What happened?”
With a deep breath, I relayed events to her as best as I could remember. When Ashley realized the man had come here for me, she ran across the room and wrapped her arms around my body with nearly as much strength as the attacker had used holding me down. As soon as her hug hit me, I couldn’t stop myself from having another small breakdown. Rob picked up the story from there as Ashley stroked my hair gently. When it was all explained, and I had calmed down once more, Ashley looked at the man.
“How did he get on the island?” she asked. “Who is he? Where is he from?”
Rob went to kneel beside him, and tilted the man’s head up by the chin. For the first time since all this began, I got a good look at his face. The man was… simply the most unremarkable man I had ever seen. He had a small nose, regular cheekbones, and unobtrusive eyebrows. None of his plain features warranted any extra attention. There was nothing about his face that said he was capable of an attack like this.
“I don’t recognize him,” Rob said after studying his face for a moment. “He’s not from here. I’ve seen most of the staff here at one time or another. He’s not particularly remarkable, but I would know if I’d seen him before.”
“I don’t recognize him either,” Ashley said. She looked at me questioningly, and I shook my head. I had never seen him before.
“So… now what do we do?” I asked. “Is there anyone we can go to? There’s no like, police, or anything on the island, right?”
“Just the few security guards taking shifts guarding the dorms,” Ashley said sarcastically. “And it’s not like they’d be much help.”
“Besides, we should figure out what he wanted before we go raising a ruckus,” Rob said. “I’m just thinking out loud here, but maybe the best thing in the short term is to keep this as quiet as possible.”
“I agree,” I said. “But he’ll wake up eventually. We can’t just keep him here.”
