Chapter 9

                                    

                                          
Thursday, 5th
                          
She was pinned down against the wall by a rough hairy arm squeezing her neck. She couldn't breathe. His face was so close to hers. She could smell his foul breath. The big man grinned as he yanked her skirt and tried to rip her underwear. She tried to scream, but no sound came out. She tried thrashing her body, but it wouldn't move. He choked her hard while feeling her up. 
                          
Suddenly, she heard a loud smack, a grunt, and the arm that was choking her loosened. The big man slouched down towards her, pressing her to the wall. His weight was on top of her now, but he was unconscious. She was still panicking, panting and tried all her might to scream, but still, no sound came out. Her arms flailing wildly on each side of the big man's body. 
                          
Then she heard another man's voice, 
                          
"Hey ... hey ... it's OK little girl. It's going to be OK. It's over now. You're safe." She tried to look at the face of the person who said it, but her vision blurred.
                          
Alex woke up startled, almost asphyxiated. Her neck hurt. She just realized that she had fallen asleep on top of her desk. She glanced at the clock on her desk. It was 11 A.M. She had been studying since yesterday evening and only slept for a couple of hours last night to continue again in the early morning. She was reading her anatomy e-book when sleepiness overcame her, and the nightmare took over. She steadied her breathing. Her nightmares had always been the same one or similar. They rarely occurred now, but when they did, they still gave her the shivers.
                          
Both of her tablet screens had gone off to hibernation-mode. She actually only owned one tablet, but since she was preparing for her exams, she found out that she needed another one to be able to type down summary notes and read her e-books at the same time. So, Glenn had lent her one. No, in fact, he said she could have it. But she would return it to him, of course, as soon as she was finished with the exams.
                          
Alex had asked Glenn for a day off today, so she could study for her exam this evening. And Glenn had approved. She felt a bit bad about it. She remembered Glenn's expression three years ago when she told him that she was taking classes to become a paramedic. She knew what he was thinking. Once she graduated, she would quit Paprika and work as a paramedic. And despite his true feelings, Glenn was nothing but supportive of her decision. She had felt as if she was taking advantage of his feelings, but she couldn't stay being a waitress forever.
                          
Alex felt cold. She had let the window open a bit in the early morning to fight off the sleepiness. But judging from her dozing off earlier, that trick proved to be unsuccessful. She closed the windows in the living room, the decontamination device in the windows beeping, and turned on the heater. She checked her phone. There were two missed calls and five text messages from Glenn, asking her progress of studying, or if she needed assistance to study. Alex had switched off her phone ringer earlier so she could focus on studying. 
                          
But it wasn't easy. The pressure of exams combined with Lindsay's disappearance, and not knowing what had happened to her – or if she was still alive, made Alex so anxious she could burst. Derek had informed her that he had talked to some people in Shockwave, the last place where Lindsay had been seen the last time, and he had gathered a bit of information on how he should proceed finding her. 
                          
She went to the kitchen to make herself some coffee. The flat seemed so hollow and quiet now that Lindsay wasn't there. She went back to her room and sat at her desk to do some more reading. She could hear the traffic noise downstairs seeping through the windows. When her coffee was ready, Alex poured herself a cup, prepared some toasts and boiled two eggs in the pot. She didn't realize how hungry she was. While eating, she couldn't help staring at Lindsay's open and empty bedroom. Derek's voice was echoing in her head. "We need all the information we could get." She finished her meal quickly and entered Lindsay's bedroom.