Chapter 3: Chapter 3
The room hummed with low voices and whispers, men and women preparing for the end of their workday. I leaned back in my comfortable computer chair and sighed. Another shift over and done with, thankfully, with minor issue or stress. If only every day could be like this. But of course, a tech support agent’s life was never that easy. There were good days, blah days, and the notorious gut-wrenching days where almost every call ended with a ticket from my supervisor. Still, I wouldn’t dream of giving this up. Not yet, anyway. It was the best job I’ve had in the past two years. The pay and the perks were more than enough to keep me showing up for another shift. Plus, this was better than being in Customer Service. That experience was a right nightmare by far.
“So, Mira. Are you coming with us or not?”
I looked up to find Kris, my teammate, leaning over my cubicle. Kris had earlier told me she and two of the other guys were going out for a few drinks at the nearby pub after our shift. We all had weekends off.
“I can’t, sorry. I’m going to the gym with Janice in the afternoon and would like to catch a few winks before then.”
“Again? Well, alright. But you owe me two rounds now, girl,” Kris said, smirking.
Kris had invited me to go out drinking with her and her friends before and when I begged off, I promised to take care of the first round the next time we went out. This was my second time declining her invitation. I had nothing against Kris, I just didn’t like being set up on a blind date. Kris mentioned before that her boyfriend had a buddy who was looking for someone to date long-term. I had a feeling those two would wait for us at the pub. And I wasn’t ready for that kind of socializing.
“I know. I probably should just give you the money to cover for my—”
“Girl, you know it’s not about the money,” Kris said with a giant eye-roll. “All I want is for you to have fun once in a while. Remember, all work and no play makes plain Jane dull and bitchy.”
I had to laugh at that. Kris was a hilarious and irreverent girl.
“Yeah, yeah. I gotcha. Have fun out there, silly girl.”
Kris blew a raspberry at me before disappearing behind her cubicle.
I shook my head, chuckling softly. I dutifully logged out of the system before cleaning up my desk. I pile today’s notes and stashed them inside the desk drawer beside me, together with my trusty headset. After locking it, I grabbed the keys and slid out of my chair.
The walk to the lockers was a short but refreshing one. Sitting for two hours straight, the last segment of my shift had left my legs feeling cramped and bloated. It was nice to have all the blood flowing down to my feet again.
“Hey, Miss Jenny,” I said, greeting the locker custodian.
“Hey, Mira. Done with your shift already?” Jenny replied, smiling up at me. She was a small, matronly woman with a jolly face and graying hair tied in a tight bun behind her head.
“Yes, Ma’am,” I said, handing over my locker key. The older woman took it with another of her smiles and returned within seconds with a neon pink backpack, which she gingerly placed before me on the counter.
“Guess they’re not paying you enough to buy a new one, eh?” Jenny said. It was a running joke between us. My backpack had seen better days and was begging for a replacement.
“Yeah, not nearly enough, stingy bastards,” I replied, rolling my eyes overtly as I slung the backpack onto my shoulders. The bag was truly battered and frayed, but it was the last gift I received from my mom, and I couldn’t bring myself to part with it yet.
“Heading straight home, I hope?”
Jenny knew about the usual weekend drinking sessions the agents engaged in. Usually headed by Kris and her gang. She didn’t like Kris’s crowd and had already tried to steer me away from them several times. I appreciated the concern, though I couldn’t help but wonder what Jenny had against Kris. Maybe she just wasn’t too fond of Kris’ tattoos or nose ring.
“Of course, Mother Superior. I promise to be good,” I said, batting my lashes at Jenny.
Jenny laughed. “Oh, shut up and go home. And be careful.”
“Bye, Miss Jen. See you on Monday,” I said, waving over my shoulder.
When I reached the sliding doors, I swiped my card and waited for my credentials to show up on the tiny screen in front of me. The machine beeped once and my picture, name, and designation appeared instantly: “Alonzo, Almira, Tech-Support”. Below were my log-in and log-out time stamps. Time of exit: 02:15. When the light turned green, I pushed the door open and exited into the main hallway. I ran down the stairs, waved goodbye to Ramon, the on-duty guard at the main door, and exited the building.
Within minutes, I was walking down Ayala Avenue. The brisk early morning air nipped at my nose and cheeks. December was both my favorite and hated month of the year. The streets looked friendlier and cheerier with their fancy decorations and multi-colored Christmas lights, yet their gaiety also reminded me of my loneliness. I lost both parents in a car accident at fifteen and had since then moved around from one distant relative to another. My world fell apart that fateful night in December, two days before Christmas, and seeing reminders of it still hurt. The streets were empty. It was too late for night strollers, yet too early for joggers. At least they were brightly lit. I slid my backpack in front of me to fish out my headset, not looking where I was going. This was my usual route. I had practically memorized the bumps and dips on the sidewalk and could navigate it with my eyes closed.
“Hey there, beautiful,” someone said. I looked up to find a man leaning against a light post, smirking at me. His oversized hoodie cast a shadow over his face, but I could still feel the malevolence in his gaze.
I felt stupid for being caught off-guard. Normally, I was more alert than this, especially when walking alone during the witching hours. My hands tightened around the straps of my backpack as I rapidly walked past the man, ignoring his greeting.
“Wanna have some fun, sweetheart?” another man said, materializing from behind the dark alcove of a closed shop. He, too, was wearing a black oversized hoodie.
Swallowing the bile in my throat, I quickened my pace in time with the pounding of my heart. I was just a couple of blocks away from where I shared a unit with Janice and her sister, Melanie. If I ran, I could easily reach it in five minutes.
“What’s the hurry, sweetie? Don’t you want to get to know us better?” a voice whispered in my ear as a heavy hand draped around my shoulders.
Why didn’t I hear him approach? And how did he move so fast? Was it the first man or the second man I saw? It could be a third. But where did he come from? Before
I could react, something pinched the back of my neck, making me flinch. The pain was brief and swiftly replaced by a feeling of complacency. My limbs felt weightless; as if detached from my body. It was a strange sensation.
Go away, mind screamed. Yet my body was already leaning towards the soft crooning in my ear, pulling me into its owner’s embrace. I wanted to escape, to run away as fast and as far away as possible, but a thick fog had wrapped around my mind, paralyzing my body. It was erasing all my doubts and fears, making me receptive to the whisperer’s suggestions. Soon, I found myself in a dark alley, surrounded by the three men in black hoodies. The whispers continued, stronger and more insistent this time. The mesmerizing voice was making me drowsy and boneless. It was like floating on a sea of ice.
The three men had enclosed me in a tight circle, each one taking liberties with my body. One of them was sniffing my hair, while another was tracing the column of my neck with a frosty finger. Someone had unzipped my jacket, and it was now getting pulled off of me, exposing my bare arms. I only had a sleeveless tank top underneath my jacket, and it barely reached my navel. The air in the alley was even chillier, making me shiver. Something slimy and icy was slithering on my belly. When I glanced down, one man was on his knees, head bent at my midsection, licking my belly button. The sight should’ve disgusted me, but the whisperings made me feel like I was watching from afar, aloof and uncaring.
Cold hands were laying me down on the ground as they positioned themselves around me. My hands and feet were being slowly pulled apart, silky ropes wrapping around them. My mind was protesting, but I could barely keep my eyes open, the whispers dulling my senses to the point of non-resistance. I was a cut-off from the scene, a mere observer.
Then, the freezing, invasive fingers were abruptly dragged away from me, the whispers stopping in the same instance. A violent commotion erupted just a few feet away from me, and I felt a drastic shift in the air. A tall, black-clad figure was standing in the middle, slashing and cutting the hooded men down with something long and metallic. He moved so fast; he was but a blur to me. All I could see was blood splattering and splashing everywhere as his opponents crumpled to the ground, one after the other.
Are they dead? I thought, not caring about the answer.
After a few heartbeats, everything went still. I was already drifting in and out of consciousness, but the last thing I remembered was a pair of bright yellow eyes, slowly turning to blue, as they stared down at me with concern.
And a deep, soothing voice saying, “It’s okay. You’re safe now.”
I closed my eyes and sank deeper into the fog.