Survivor

Chapter 2

Julie's POV:

    It took several hours on several different busses before I was finally getting closer to Russellville, Kentucky.  I just recently got off of the bus in Clarksville, Tennessee and I'm really starting to feel drained.  It's really early in the morning, probably around four in the morning and I'm a little scared.  I've never been to this town and even though it would have been faster to go through Nashville, that was almost more scary at the moment than being in this unknown town in the middle of the night by myself.

    I didn't want to go through Nashville because that's really close to where I used to live with my parents before all of this happened and I just can't go back there.  Even if it was just to get on a bus to continue my way to my grandparent's house.

    The bus stop didn't exactly drop me off in the most pleasant areas and according to the driver, it doesn't sound like there will be another bus for several hours because of the time of night it is.  That my best bet would be to either get a ride with someone I know the rest of the way, find a motel to stay in, or wait for the bus in the morning which won't be until about eight.  I'm only a little less than an hour from my grandparents so my first thought is to call them and hope they can come to pick me up, otherwise, I will be looking for a motel for the night.  The real question is, are there any payphones left?

    The air was just a little chilly to my skin but it wasn't too bad.  I just rubbed my arms with my hands and continued on my way.  The area was dark because not all of the streetlights worked.  Some of them looked like they were broken and most of the apartments above the shops had their lights off.  I couldn't stop myself from looking behind myself continuously as I walked the streets looking for a payphone.

    I was really starting to scare myself just from my thoughts of whoever or whatever could be out there at this time of night.  If I had a place to run to, I probably would be running at my full speed to get to it.

    Just then, as my heart was already beating at the fastest pace that it could, I saw it.  A stand-alone rectangular glass box at the edge of the sidewalk, a payphone.  I ran as hard as I could towards it but stopped suddenly when I thought I heard something nearby.  I looked around all over trying to see if I could see anyone out there.

    "Who's there?"  I asked in a raised voice but at the same time, I tried to stay quiet because I didn't want to accidentally alert someone that I was out there who may not have known I was there to start with.

    I always thought those people who ask that line in those horror movies were stupid for asking that because obviously, they weren't alone, and here I was, asking that same question.  The only difference is, this isn't a movie and I could seriously get killed out here if I wasn't careful.  My heart was beating so hard that I could feel the pulse in my ears.  It was so loud that I could hardly hear anything around me.  So much blood was rushing to my head that even my eyes seemed to betray me.

    After looking around my location and not seeing anyone, I quickly turned and ran the rest of the way to the payphone.  I pushed on the bifold door and it opened.  I quickly turned around and practically slammed it shut.  Even though the box was completely see-through to anyone who would be out there, it still somehow made me feel safer.

    I took a deep breath of relief and turned towards the phone and picked up the receiver.  That's when it first dawned on me that the phone may not even work.  It's not like these are all that common and more and more towns are removing them.  I almost cried tears of joy when I heard that it had a dial tone.  I pulled my bag around and reached into the pocket in search of some coins for the machine.  I couldn't contain my happiness when I pulled out a hand full of coins and saw that I had just enough for the payphone.

    I quickly put them into the slot of the payphone and dialed my grandparent's number.  The phone started to ring on the other end and all I could think about was if they didn't pick up the phone.  I still have cash from my dad's credit card but the machine takes coins and those are what I'm out of.  There's nowhere open for me to get more change either so all I could do was hope and pray that someone would pick up on the other side.

    "Hel, ahem, hello?"  I heard my grandma, clearing her throat from just waking up as she answered the phone.

    "Grandma?"  I said excitedly.

    "Who is this?  It's after four in the morning."  She said a little irritated as if she didn't actually hear the first thing I had said.

    "It's me, Julianne Wilson."  I continued to tell her who I was.

    "Julie baby?  Is that you?"  She said as she started to wake up more.

    "Yes, grandma!  It's me."  I told her feeling myself start to cry.

    It's probably been a few years since I saw them last.  My parents didn't have a lot of money and it cost a lot to travel so we didn't visit them very often.  My grandpa doesn't get around very well anymore so they don't do a lot of traveling either.  Just hearing her voice was making me an emotional mess.

    "Sweetheart, why are you calling so early in the morning?  What phone are you calling from?  Are you okay?  What's wrong baby?"  She asked several questions in concern all at once when she heard me tear up.

    "I'm okay grandma but I need a ride.  Is it possible for you to come to pick me up?  I'm somewhere in Clarksville."  I told her and I could hear her gasp in shock.

    "What are you doing there?  Where's your mom and dad?"  She asked me and my mind was all over the place at the thought of what had happened just a few days ago.

    "No, I'm not with them.  I will tell you everything once you come and get me."  I told her.

    I could hear her moving around and the sounds of my grandpa waking up were heard through the phone.

    "We will come to get you.  Where are you at?  What street?"  She asked me and I turned to look around to see if there were any street signs nearby.

    I jumped with a loud thud as my back hit the side of the payphone when I saw a man standing outside of the box, staring at me.  He had an evil smile on his face with a mouth full of crooked teeth.  He looked like he hadn't bathed in a long time and his facial features were rugged.  His hair was a greasy dirty mess and his clothes looked more like rags.  He was clearly homeless and I could tell by his facial expression that he was not looking for someone to keep him company for the night. 

    I couldn't move, I was frozen in my spot.  I couldn't take my eyes off of him even though his eyes were all over me.  He even licked his lips as if he was looking at the most delicious meal he has ever laid his eyes upon.  He slowly lifted his hand and used his pointer finger in the come here motion.  I just shook my head from side to side violently to tell him that there was no way I was coming out of this booth.

    "Julie?  Are you there?  What's going on?"  I heard my grandma ask in concern laced with fear but I couldn't answer her.

    I was too frozen in my spot with no voice as I stared at the man on the other side.  He just continued to give me that smile as if he knew that this box wasn't going to protect me. 

    I yelped when he took his fist and hit the door of the phonebooth, rattling it from the force of his hit.  It reminded me that I never locked the door from the inside so I quickly reached over and took the cheap latch that I knew wasn't going to do a lick of good, and locked the door.  I looked up when I saw movement and his hand was sliding down the glass of the door, leaving a streak of grime behind.  He took his other hand and moved his finger in a "no-no" motion as he also slowly shook his head and I leaned back on the wall of the booth on the opposite side.

    Before I had a chance to say anything back to my grandma who was now starting to cry because I wasn't responding back to her, the man took a card that he probably stole from some dead person on the streets, and slid it through the crack of the door till it reached the latch hook.  I went to hold the hook down but he was too quick and had it lifted before I could stop him.

    I dropped the phone from my ear and pushed on the door to keep it from getting folded as he started to push it open from the other side.  I was starting to cry out as I did what I could to hold the door shut but he was just too strong.  He had the door folded in a matter of seconds and myself back up against the other side. 

    I screamed when he reached in and grabbed my arm and started to pull.

    "Grandma!"  I shouted, knowing that she was still on the other side of the phone listening to what was happening because I could hear her yelling through the phone.

    "No!  Please!"  I shouted at the man and tried to push his grip off of my arm.

    When I realized that it wasn't going to work, I reached over and grabbed the phone box to try to keep myself in but all that did was let him grab a hold of my body with his disgusting hands and pull me out even harder.

    "Let me go!"  I shouted as he yanked me out of the box.

    I was trying to fight with all of my might but he was just too quick and strong for me to get away.  He pulled me into the nearby alley and pushed me hard.  I lost my footing and stumbled to the ground, skinning up my hands and my knees when I hit the concrete below.

    I felt him over top of me as he pushed me down onto my chest.  He grabbed ahold of my bag and pulled it off of my arms and set it off to the side.  I thought maybe that was what he wanted since he probably didn't have anything but I was wrong.  He moved and turned me over onto my back.  He was so close to me that I could smell his dirty stench as it burned its way into my nose.

    "Please!  Just take what you want!"  I cried out again and he hit me hard with the back of his hand.

    I cried more from the pain of the hit as he grabbed my wrists and held them together with just one of his large hands.  He squeezed his legs, closing mine tightly to where I couldn't move them at all as he took his other hand and started to unbutton my jeans.

    I continued to call out for help and scream as I continued to try to pull my hands from his hold and wiggle my body to try to get freed but it wasn't working.  All it was doing was making me weaker and more tired than I already was from the lack of sleep from riding on all the busses.

    He grabbed the side of my jeans once he had them loosened and tugged on them, pulling them partially off of my waist.  He must have thought I had given up or maybe he just wasn't thinking, inexperienced in raping someone, or just wasn't paying attention, but he let go of my wrists so he could move to grab my jeans better.  I made a fist with my right hand and I hit him hard in the side of the face when he was looking down.

    He made some kind of noise in pain but it wasn't enough to fully knock him off of me.  I then kicked my knee up and got him in the crotch which was enough to get him to move and I was able to slide out from underneath him and fixed my jeans as I ran.  I was so scared of what was about to happen to me, that I didn't pay attention to the fact that I was running farther into the alleyway that also happened to be a dead end.

    "You have got to be kidding me,"  I whined to myself as I looked around to see if there was a way out of here only to see that I was trapped.

    Before I had a chance to think of my escape, I was grabbed by the shoulder and turned around, only to be met with the fist of that man, with a hit to the side of my face.  He hit me so hard that I turned and fell to the ground.  I could taste my blood as it seeped into my mouth, causing me to spit it out.  I was so disoriented from the hit that I couldn't seem to fight when he grabbed me and flipped me over onto my back.

    "It's been years since I've f****d a woman and you were just too tempting to resist."  He moaned his intentions out loud as he placed his body over mine and held my wrists with his hand, pushing them up behind my head, scrapping them on the rough concrete below.

    By this time I was really crying and wishing that he would just fall over dead, or someone would have heard my cries for help and save me but it wasn't looking like that was in my cards for the day.  Instead, some horny, disgusting creep that has a bad case of body odor, bad breath, and covered in garbage was going to overpower me, beat the snot out of me, take my virginity by rape, and possibly kill me in a muddy alley.