A Girl and Her Downfall After a Man Attacks Her

Her lips formed strange and unusual sounds, her eyes closed softly and her cheeks paled. From her side belt she withdrew a small knife, a dagger. With a quick movement she cut her left hand with the dagger. As the drops of blood hit the cold marble floor the knife also clattered to the ground. The girl remained speaking her foreign tongue and let her life's blood run down her outstretched arm.

Smooth, thin, and cold, the sharp object lying in her hands trembled due to her petite quivering fingers. The unforgiving sharp blade effortlessly sliced through her skin, pain and then numbness overshadowed her thoughts. With the world weighing down on her shoulders and with the sense of oppression, the girl carved into her arm without a feeling of regret. Daring, she placed the knife parallel to her veins located under her thin pasty skin. Finally, with resolution, digging the knife into her small arm, the young tortured girl could feel the deadly weapon tearing and mutilating her long tender veins. Gasping for breath, the pain surged throughout her body. However, with agony coursing through her body, the victim would not stop her leisurely stroll to the grave.

It was a pleasant fall Tuesday when Stephanie went to work. Her day normal consisted of writing reports, and filing paperwork for her office. She turned on the television to see if there was anything alluring in the news. “NEWS FLASH: MAN CONVICTED OF MURDER HAS ESCAPED PRISON.” The warning did not phase her, considering the jail was far from her office. She concluded that she was safe. By four o’clock, it was time for her to travel home from a laborious day of work. She arranged her things into her bag, and began her trek. Walking out the door, she was met with warm rays from the sun. It was an astounding way to end a strenuous

Becca weaved around the drunken crowd standing idly in the middle of the sidewalk and caught up with her family. The nightlife soundtrack of laughter and sirens had been slightly lowered with the rain this evening and the street lights were dimmer than usual. Becca enjoyed the new atmosphere and shared her giddiness by marching through every puddle that dared come in her path. Life was good, but she missed her home, and this city was a constant reminder of how much unlike it was to where she grew up. Stars and open sky and trees were home; there were no stars in this place. In midst of her splashing, a rumbling interrupted and stopped her; its source being the pit of her tiny belly. Her parents turned to her and laughed.

Anticipation brought a fever, a hot sweat to his face, my neck, and my hands trembled. I saw her as she turned into the alley. Puddles, slime and the pungent smell of rotting garbage filled the narrow walkway. I moved quickly, was almost within reach of her but she turned. Her eyebrows arched; lips opened. Screams filled my ears. I plunged forward, the knife awkward in my hand. Terror, stared at me, strengthened my arm; my fury drove the knife that slashed.

It felt as her life had been turned upside-down, Evelyn Harper was a mess. It all began two weeks ago; one night had wrecked everything she had worked for. It was a night she would never forget. The twenty-eight-year-old would wake up several times during the night screaming, sweating, and gasping for breath. It plagued her mind during the day and her dreams in the night. It felt as if there was no escape, there was no way to ease her mind. The only thing that brought her any kind of relief was knowing she’d given physical evidence after the attack. There was no way these men could walk away from what they’d done to her; they would pay for what they did.

It was a rainy summer afternoon in New York. The fog painted a blurry cityscape of only the tops of the tallest buildings. The absurd amount of traffic was creating a nervous knot in my stomach. I was exhausted from the non-stop eighteen hour drive from Alabama. Excitement pumped through my veins; thankfully, this was the only thing keeping me awake. The thoughts of finally meeting Lucki, a girl very special to me, the next day raced through my brain.

Tendrils of searing, agonising pain surged across the young woman's flesh, pervading into the layers of her skin as a curved, serrated-edged blade glided smoothly across the sensitive skin of her stomach. Hooks, scorching hot, were embedded deep into the ashen flesh of her shoulders. She sunk her teeth into the plump flesh of her bottom lip, sobs piling up at the hollow of her throat and threatening to spill as the twenty-one year old woman thrashed against the many hands holding her down. Her arms were numb, splayed away from her body at a perpendicular angle. Long, delicate and pale fingers –calloused by hard work and long hours– were attached to bony wrists, bound by thick, wrought-iron chains, barbed with sharp needles, blood oozing from

Tiny snowflakes glided down around me, like icy ballerinas swaying to a gentle beat. The view before me held a bittersweet memory, but my own heart felt empty. I remember the times I spent here with her. She wanted to stay, yet she knew she wouldn’t last. It was a different kind of stupidity. We met before this sunrise, before this sunset, and before the nighttime skies. She smiled a lot, making people smile and smiling in place of others. I’d met a lot of people but none like this girl. She was different, a perfect, original beauty in my own eyes, but she never stayed for long. She always drew in her sketchbook and focused on making smooth lines curving into her own creations. The thin, spidery webs intertwined on the paper, forming a delicate piece of art, her own webs.

Alessa woke up in a panic. Sweat was dripping from her face and her breathing was rapid. She looked down at her hands which were clenched onto the sheets on either side of her. She looked back up through her bedroom window which stretched from floor to ceiling. Outside the moonlight brightened the jagged peaks of the snowy mountains which overlooked the city of Athens. The snow that was falling made shadows on the floor and walls of her bedroom. Wind blew through the crack in the window and the drapes that hung from the top of her bed fluttered around her. Alessa inhaled deeply and then exhaled while taking in her surroundings. Her fingers unclenched from her sheets and her heart rate had slowly steadied. She intended to keep her mind blank,

Danni contemplated turning around and going only god knows where but before Danni could decide she was yanked out of her thoughts by an abnormally loud horn blaring from a car. Sighing she jerked her bike forward and away from the packed Diner. Danni's figure biked down a wide road, not quite leisurely, for her large backpack hanging off of her back had started to dig into their shoulders, but happy. The girl was happy because of the easy escape, she had left the commotion of the town many times. The girl smiled there was the worn path down to the center of her small town, snaking through the trees to meet the rocky dirt roads. Danni had always loved the buzz of the new, the thrill of the unknown, the seeking of new answers that push her limits.

Why had she remained outside? She didn't know. She was lost in her thoughts. However, when Clay came on the porch, and she took in his boyishly handsome face. “Hey, Lauren, you coming inside? We have some pie and coffee waiting. I am trying to be part of the welcome wagon here, Will you join me for the ride?” prompted the tall man before her with a humorous grin. Lauren let out a laugh from deep inside. For the first time, in a long time, she felt giddy like a school girl. This wonderful man was opening up doors she thought she'd closed. He was making her feel good and carefree in a way that she hadn't felt in a long time. Truly, it was a welcome from the heart, that was making her feel at home in her heart

HE RIVERFRONT BUSTLED WITH ACTIVITY. She sat on her favorite bench and absorbed her surroundings. The warm, humid breeze across her face felt heavenly. The brilliant blue, cloudless sky created the perfect Louisiana morning. A flash of white caught her eye. An egret began its graceful descent. This was where she grew up, where her life changed forever. Loneliness has become a permanent part of her life now. She was among the living, but not really with them. It was time to leave the pain behind and search for true love once again.

I looked at Mr. Dressler and I realized by the sadness in his eyes that he pitied me. He saw a girl whose parents didn’t care much about her. A girl who was alone in a strange city, without a single friend. He replied with a new hopeful energy in his voice, “Why don’t we stop for a bit of ice cream and a little drive through tour of the city, that way you won’t be completely discombobulated in this big

Her legs gave way into the hands of a monster. Roberts’s apologies were tossed to the side, only the tears and fist of sorrow were received. The midnight silence died and the screams rose. Elisabeth stormed out of the house onto to the streets wondering how to make right of her mistakes. Her legs gave way after running street after street, shadows danced to the wind. Her run came to a paced walk. The winter fog was dense and cold to the touch. Buildings caved across the street leaning over the vast street. Around the corner shadows moved blocking the light that was warm to the touch, she moved closer holding the memories that she cherished. Large men turned to face her presence, bottles of booze slipped from his hand; smoke mixed with the fog, bodies of children sagged behind him. A sense of danger filled her; she turned and ran for the second time this night. Heavy footsteps boomed to her, deep voices forced the fear in her to