u/MANWITHFAT

I thought this guy was cute, but he's obviously had way too much to drink. He slams his beer back down to the counter, it sloshes up over the rim.

"Dick Fingers! I'm not lying, he came up behind us."

He burps and falls back into the stool. I take a much needed sip of my drink. He watches my lips a bit too closely. It doesn't taste right.

"Okay, so you were just out for a smoke and some guy showed up with cock hands?"

He looks back at me, or at least tries to. His lips fold up in a dumb curl.

"Yeah, pretty much. Hard to make out much of anything else. I haven't been back there since. If you want, I could take you there?"

His grin lets me know he's just as dumb as he looks. His invitation makes my stomach drop.

"Maybe another time."

I get up from the bar, not even bothering to finish my drink. He grabs me, just for a second.

"Be careful."

I'm taken aback.

"Uh, I'll try to be."

What a fucking weirdo. His grin is gone, he stares at me as I move to the other side of the bar. Feeling uneasy, and seeing my roommate face deep in a guy she just met, I decide to take my leave.

****

The street is quiet tonight. Our little downtown is never a bustling metropolis, but there's usually some other students out at the very least. I guess it is a weeknight.

My apartment is only a few blocks away. I see a homeless man laid out on a stack of newspapers. His dog perks up at me. I drop a couple of dollars into his mug.

The man doesn't stir and I continue on my way.

There's a light out ahead. Someone's standing in the center of the darkness. They're facing me.

My legs feel heavy. I'm getting a horrible migraine. There's a short alleyway that connects a block over. I'll just take that past him.

As I make my way through the alley, the world starts tilting. It feels like the walls are pressing into me. I'm relieved to make it to the other side.

I stumble a few more blocks and come across the same homeless man. Same dog, same stack of newspapers. The couple of bills I left are still lazily sitting atop the pile.

I was just here. I look up, the street signs are twirling. I can't make out a word. Panic overtakes me. My legs refuse to cooperate and I tumble. My headache is getting worse. My entire body winces with each violent pulse.

The homeless man's eyes shoot open. He lifts himself up to a sitting position. "Are you alright young lady?"

I'm terrified, his words reverberate; bouncing around my hollowed mind. I fall over a couple of times, my palms and knees are bloodied by the coarse sidewalk.

I stumble towards the broken streetlight. The absence of light creates a dark bubble of night. I can't bring myself to walk into it.

A man walks out from the shadow, twisted grin and greasy hair. I know him, it's the creep from the bar. His eyes remain unchanged as his lips carve a deep smile.

I step away from him trying not to lose my feet. My vision is spinning. It feels like the lightest breeze could topple me. The darkness behind him stretches out above his form and threatens to envelop me.

Then he pulls his hands from his pockets. Each finger is a disgusting, wet, twisted phallus. I would vomit if my stomach had the strength.

"I thought I told you to be careful?"

I scream, he lunges towards me. I cut between two buildings and push my body as hard as it will allow. I'm met with a fence that splits the alley. I try to climb up onto it but my arms won't cooperate. I fall to the ground with a hard thud.

He grabs me, I twist and kick but it's no use. He puts his disgusting hands over my mouth. He presses one to my lips, breathing frantically into my ear.

With my hand to my side I fish around for anything. Attached to my keys is a shitty little pocket knife, I slide it open and swing up into him as hard as I can.

He stumbles back, holding onto his hand. I sliced the middle one clean off. It wriggles on the ground spurting blood across the asphalt. He doubles over as his shirt saturates with his own blood.

I knew it was my only chance, I push around him and claw my way to the street. My eyes are going dark, my legs and arms feel like I'm dragging them through mud.

I can see nothing but the growing glow of the streetlights. My arms go completely limp and I fade into a puddle on the sidewalk. Before slipping into nothing, I hear a familiar voice.

"Are you alright young lady?"