In The Dark Of The Night

"The city's most popular reporter Janna Teed was reported missing when she didn't show up to her oldest daughter's wedding yesterday. Her daughter told us she was supposed to be there first thing yesterday morning to help prepare her for the event. When her daughter went to Teed's house an hour or so before the wedding she found the front door broken down and what appeared to be evidence of a robbery. After calling the police and aiding them to the best of her ability, it was determined that Teed had been taken from her home in the early morning hours of yesterday. There was a sign of forced entry, broken belongings everywhere, and a small amount of blood was found in the bedroom. Police believe Teed is alive, due to the small amount of blood present, but are unsure how long she has to live."

Janna Teed heard the report on the news. She couldn't see the TV, but she knew it was somewhere in the next room. All she could see was the dirty wall in front of her. She couldn't look around the room, and she didn't want to. If the dirty wall was any indication, she didn't want to know what the rest of this place looked like. Wherever this place was. She had no idea. All Janna remembered from the day before was getting dressed and then being attacked and dragged out the back door. Then she woke up here in this dingy hole.

She could hear the TV droning on about some other story but she didn't listen. She didn't want to. All she wanted was to go home. Sighing, she pulled at the ropes holding her to the hard wooden chair in the corner. She couldn't loosen them. A tear slipped down her face. How could she let this happen? Her husband had taught her how to stay safe and protect herself. After he died, she just lost her will. She still went to work and wrote the same incredible stories, but outside of work she wasn't the same anymore.

Lost in thought, she didn't hear her attacker walk into the room. He kicked the legs of her chair, nearling tipping her over. Stepping close to her, he revealed a large knife. Janna flinched as he brought toward her, but he didn't cut her. He cut the ropes and stabbed the knife into the dirty drywall in front of her. In one effortless motion, he scooped her up and threw her onto a nearby bed. He quickly secured her in place with handcuffs.

Getting her first good look around her, Janna saw how filthy everything was. Looking down, fighting the urge to throw up, she saw the bed. The once white sheets were yellow with sweat and blotched with the red of old blood. The man in front of her was just as dirty and blood splattered. His face was twisted with evil and she knew his heart was just as ugly as what she saw.

Bending over her, the man smiled. His mouth was nearly empty and what teeth he had were more yellow than the stained bed sheet. The man reclaimed his knife from the wall and brought it close to Janna's throat. She inhaled sharply, preparing for the inevitable pain of a slit throat. The man lowered the knife. In one quick motion he cut straight down the center of her pale pink dress, and then down the sleeves, and threw the fabric to the floor. He sniffed the air around her, almost touching her, as if he were an animal. Then again he cut through the fabric of Janna's bra and panties and cast them aside.

Staring, he flicked his short, ugly tongue across his broken lips. He leaned in close and ran his tongue across her cheek. She tried to pull away but found herself too tightly bound to the bed. A small smile crept across his face.