"Tom, can you not?" I said irritably, as I sat squashed in the middle back seat of the black Volkswagen Sharan. "I literally have no space."
"Sorry." Tom replied, still trying to reach in his back pocket. He then sat back down in the seat properly. "Got it." He held his phone up triumphantly.
"What are we gonna do when we get back, then?" Jake asked, sitting in the front seat of the Uber. I frowned, realising it was nearly two o'clock in the morning. The night was calm and quiet, and the London roads fairly empty as we drove back to the flat.
"Well, I'm planning on going to bed." I said. We'd just had a spontaneous flat outing at around ten o'clock, planning on taking a walk around some of London. It had to be the most adventurous thing I'd done since being at University- I mean, I'd been here a good few months. Christmas had been and gone. Still, it was enough time to get to know my flat mates. There were four of us who'd happened to get particularly close- besides me, there was Tom, Jake and Andy.
Tom was the first person I'd met at Uni, seeing as we'd moved into the flat on the same day. He was from America, although was currently living in Switzerland, but that didn't change the fact that his American accent rang through strongly when he spoke. He was tall, and quite skinny, and his hair was short and a dark shade of blonde.
Andy also happened to move in the same day as us, but not until later that day. He was from Birmingham, and unlike Tom, was only a little taller than I was. He had his hair cut even shorter than Tom, but his was much paler and didn't quite match the shade of orange hair that wrapped itself around his chin and jawline. It wasn't a long beard, but coated nearly half his face.
Jake, on the other hand, was the tallest of us all. He was well built, and had neatly styled blonde hair that would occasionally take a ginger twinge to it, depending on the direction of the light. He was loud, outspoken, and would often say whatever was on his mind. I knew he didn't mean to sound offensive when he spoke, but I could tell some people didn't like it. One of our other flat mates, who we only spoke to when meeting in the kitchen, definitely didn't like it. I could see that Jake, even though he didn't say anything particularly mean, made her uncomfortable by the way he spoke loud and in her face.
Still, I often found it quite humorous.
"Boo." Jake moaned. "It's only two o'clock." He chuckled.
"I think we're all planning on going to bed." Andy said, as the Uber driver turned the corner that would soon lead onto the road of the student halls. However, we were cut short when we noticed the road was blocked by an entire row of flashing police cars. The red and blue lights seemed to fill the surrounding skies.
"You're gonna have to get out here." The Uber driver said, turning to face us. "Don't think there's any way of me getting through."
"No worries, pal." Jake said, as we all got out of the car and watched the Uber driver leave. We then turned back toward the scene which we were going to have to get past in order to reach the flat, and for some reason, I had a bad feeling about it all. A sense of anxiety and dread filled me, but I couldn't quite figure out why. Still, I tried to shove it down, and ignore it.
"Damn, what do you think happened here?" Tom asked.
"Let's go find out." Jake said eagerly, before we made our way towards the flashing blue lights.
A police officer approached us as we got closer, his blue eyes reflecting the bright lights of the surrounding cars underneath his hat. "I'm going to have to ask you to take a step back." He said, in a calm but firm voice.
Jake, I could see, was peeking over the heads of the people and cars. I, on the other hand, was too short to do that. However, I did notice a man standing in the middle with his back to us, his whispy white hair a tangled mess on top of his head. I could see, even from here, that his grey fleece was a little too small, and his dark green trousers perhaps a size too big.
"But we need to get over there." Tom urged. "We live in that building."
The police man turned to where Tom was pointing, but just pursed his lips together. "I'm really sorry, but you're going to have to wait until this is all over."
"What is this, exactly?" Jake asked, still trying to get a better look.
"Just a delusional, but very dangerous man." The police man said. "Seriously, I strongly suggest that you stay well back."
I just frowned, well aware that it was pretty cold out here and I wanted to have a shower and go to bed. I was also well aware that I had to get up at some point tomorrow to attend my lecture. People were gathered, either waiting to get through to the other side like we were, or just being nosy.
"There she is!" I heard a male voice shout over the sound of people talking and making assumptions of what was happening. "That's her!"
We all turned to the sound of the voice- it sounded too manic to belong to a police officer. I managed to get a sneak peek of a man, standing in the middle of the crowd of police officers, holding a rather large knife. Immediately my heart dropped to my feet when I realised that the wild-eyed man was staring directly at me, a huge grin spread on his face, and his tangled hair occasionally brushing over his face in the gentle breeze.
"That's the girl I've been waiting for!"
The man started to make his way towards us, and the officers all turned their gaze onto me. I froze, wondering whether I'd seen this man before. I didn't even recognise him a little bit.
"Woah, woah!" All the police officers moved at once, and one of them came towards me.
"Do you know this man?" He asked urgently.
I shook my head, feeling a little terrified for some reason. I mean, surely the police could get him under control? There were six of them and only one of him. "No." I said. "Never seen him before."
"Well, he seems to know you." The officer said. "Stay back, okay?"
I nodded, taking a step back, but my gaze didn't break from the man in the middle. There was no doubt that he was looking at me. He then swung out with his knife, catching one of the police officers and knocking him backwards. His stab vest probably saved him, but he still fell with the force of the contact. All the other officers tried to grab him, to disarm him, but for some reason this man was getting the better of them. He looked very rough- possibly homeless. Either that, or he just chose not to keep himself very well.
Now I was beginning to get scared. This man, whoever he was, had a knife, and was coming straight for me. Not only that, but six police officers were unable to hold him back.
"Run!" Jake said, as the man began to break away from the officers.
And I ran. I could see Jake and Tom and Andy all running with me- I mean, what if he was after all of us? For a second, I nearly laughed to myself because what was the likelihood of a homeless man running after me with a knife? It was preposterous! Completely random, and unlikely. But, I took a quick sneak peek over my shoulder, and indeed, there he was, running. Despite the fact that his shoes were far too big for him, he was running with speed and intention. Purpose. How was this old man even catching up to us? I turned my attention back to the pavement beneath my feet, the severity of the situation hitting me hard.
We'd just rounded the corner where Wetherspoons was, when I felt a sharp pain at the bottom of my spine. I cried out, and found myself unable to run anymore. My knees buckled beneath me as the pain shot up my back- I then fell, unable to stop my head from hitting the cold floor. I could feel the sting of a cut on my forehead, as warm blood started to trickle down my face, but it was nothing compared to the ache in my back. Why couldn't I stand up?
I could feel tears begin to fill my eyes, making everything seem a blur. I saw the others stop running, and turn to me, but my eyes were too blurred to see their faces. Too blurred to see what they might be thinking.
I did, however, see the face of the man who now held a bloody knife in his hand. He looked mad, his eyes wide with lunacy, as he leaned over my aching body.
"I got you!" He exclaimed, his yellow and black teeth exposed. His thin hair hung wild over his face. All his features then seemed to relax, and he peered at the knife, as if he had no idea how it got there. "I got you." He said again, but more quietly this time, like he couldn't quite believe it. "It could only be you." I saw the man grip the knife tighter in his hand, before he turned it towards himself. A bead of sweat made its way down his forehead, before he plunged the bloodied knife straight into his stomach. It was then the police officers came running over- I could feel my eyes getting heavier, the corners of my vision darkening.
My hearing had completely gone- I could see the officer's mouths moving, but no sound was coming out. The pavement was cold. I could feel the coolness going through my clothes, alongside the warmth at the bottom of my back where the man had stuck a knife through me. One of the officers rolled me so that I was on my side, and that was when everything went black.
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Beep... Beep... Beep...
The beeping sound seemed distant as I lay in total darkness- where was I?
Beep... Beep... Beep...
There it was again. Where was it coming from?
"Millie?" I could hear a familiar voice echoing in the back of my mind- I just needed to find it, to grab hold of it. But everything at the moment seemed so far away.
"I think she's waking up." The voice said again. Who was that? I could recognise it so strongly, but for some reason all my thoughts were jumbled. I couldn't focus.
Then, I couldn't hear a thing as I seemed to fall back into a deep sleep.
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Beep... Beep... Beep...
This time, the beeping seemed a lot clearer. It seemed closer, as if it were right next to me. Maybe it was. Currently, I had my eyes closed, so couldn't see where I was, but I could tell that I was definitely on a bed. I knew I wasn't at home, or even at Uni. My head hurt quite a bit, as did the spot at the small of my back. It almost felt like someone had stuck a knife through it...
All of a sudden, my mind flashed with the memories of last night. The wild-eyed man with the knife, me running with Tom and Jake and Andy, and then... then nothing. Nothing except pain and unconsciousness.
My eyes burst open, and I shot up out of the bed I was laying on, immediately regretting it. Pain burst through my back and round the back of my head, as well as down each of my arms and legs. I seemed to ache all over. I felt a pair of soft hands touch my cheeks, and looked up to see my mum looking at me worriedly. Her short blonde hair looked unkempt, and her blue eyes had lost their glow. Clearly she hadn't slept for a while.
"Shh, sweetheart." She said, comfortingly. "You're safe. You're okay."
I took a deep breath, and sighed, realising I was in a hospital. My mum had been asleep on the chair next to my bed, and clearly I'd woken her up. I clenched my teeth together, grimacing against the pain as it slowly subsided to a dull ache in my back. I reached behind me, but when I touched it, I could feel the bandages there.
"How are you feeling?" My mum asked, as she helped me lay back down again.
"Everything hurts." I said, trying to laugh it off.
"Do you remember what happened?" She asked.
I nodded, as the memories began to flow back. "Yeah... I was with the guys from the flat, and this man... he just started running at me with this knife."
My mum nodded, her eyebrows still creased together in worry as I retold the story. "Okay, sweet. You're going to have to tell this to the police. They've been waiting for you to wake up."
I frowned. "How long have I been out?"
"Three days."
My eyebrows went up. "Shit." I said. "It felt like yesterday..."
With that, my dad came into the room with two cups of steaming tea. His face lit up when he saw me awake.
"Hey, there." He smiled, handing my mum one of the cups. "How you feeling?"
"Shit." I said, and laughed.
My dad chuckled, just as a police officer came in. He didn't have his hat on, so his short, messy brown hair was on show. I could also see he had very dark brown eyes, and tanned skin. "Sorry to disturb you." He said. "I'm afraid I'm going to need to speak to Millie alone."
Another woman officer came in then, a little younger than the man, so that there were four people standing round my bed. My mum looked at me, as if mentally asking for permission to leave.
I nodded. "It's okay, mum." I said. "I'll be right here."
With that, my mum kissed me on the forehead and left the enclosed area. The two police officers sat down on the chairs- they looked nice, and smiled.
"How are you doing, Millie?" The woman asked.
I smiled. "I've been better."
Both officer's chuckled. "My name is James, and this is my assistant, Phoebe." The man began, motioning to the woman sitting next to him. "I know you are probably a little disoriented about what happened, but we need to ask you some questions about the other night. Do you remember it?"
I nodded. "Yeah, quite clearly."
"So, do you want to start by telling me what you were doing that night?" He asked. Phoebe had her notebook out and was ready to start jotting some notes.
"I was with my flat mates." I began.
"What are the names of your flat mates?" Phoebe asked.
"Tom, Andy and Jake." I said.
Phoebe nodded as she scribbled the names down.
"We were out around London, just doing a bit of exploring, and then came back to see all the police cars. We live in the student halls just on that road. One of the officers told us to take a step back, so we did, but obviously we were wondering what was going on." I paused, remembering the mad face of the man who'd attacked me. "Then the man... the man in the middle, he just turned and looked directly at me. Like he knew me. I tried to figure out whether perhaps I'd seen him somewhere, but I didn't even recognise him. The officer asked me if I knew him when the man started coming towards me."
Phoebe continued to scribble.
"Then what happened?" James asked.
"Well, all the police officers were trying to restrain him, but for some reason they couldn't."
"What did this man look like?" James asked again, keen to get all the information he could. Wanting to get everything to match to the other descriptions he had.
"He was tall, quite skinny. Pale skinned, and thin white hair. He had a bit of a beard as well. He was wearing green jogging bottoms, I think." I dug into the back of my mind to remember a clear picture of the man.
James nodded, obviously confirming that this was the same man they suspected.
"Then what, Millie?" He asked.
"Well, we all realised that whoever this man was, he was coming at me with the knife. The police officers were struggling to hold him back. So Jake told me to run- and we did. We all ran, but then I felt this pain shoot up my back and I couldn't run anymore. I fell onto the floor, and he was... he was crazy. He kept saying I got you! And then..."
I struggled to speak the memory of him turning the knife on himself.
"It's okay, Millie." Phoebe said. "Take your time."
I frowned. "He looked at the knife, like he couldn't even believe it was there, and then he... then he stabbed himself with it." I paused.
We all waited for Phoebe to finish whatever note she was writing, and then James looked up at me. "Can you remember anything else?"
I shook my head. "Not really. When the police officer turned me onto my side, I blacked out. I can't remember anything after that."
"Okay." James said.
"Who was the man?" I asked, wondering if I was even allowed to know. Did I even want to know?
"Local residents say he was a homeless man who often walked around that area." James said. "We can't get hold of any family members."
"Did he...?" I began.
James nodded. "Yes. He died on the scene."
"Oh." I said, not really sure how to feel. I mean, he'd stabbed me. But, I couldn't help but feel bad for him. Something told me he didn't want to do what he did, but for some reason, he did it anyway. The fact that he stabbed himself makes me wonder exactly how bad he felt about it.
I didn't see him do it, but at some point James had pulled an evidence bag out of another bag. He held it up to me, and I realised then that it was a rather large knife. Although, it wasn't just your usual kitchen knife- it had a slight curve to it, and the handle had some rather unusual engravings on it. Not only that, but the blade and hilt were completely black. I could see that this was no ordinary knife, and recognised it immediately as being the one that went through my back.
"Do you recognise this knife?" James asked.
I just nodded.
"Can you confirm that this is the knife you were stabbed with, and the knife which the man stabbed himself with?"
I paused, still not believing that the knife was right here. Despite the circumstances, and what it was used for, it was quite a beautiful knife. "Yes." I said.
James nodded, as him and Phoebe proceeded to stand up. "Thank you for your time, Millie." He said. "I hope you get back home soon. If you have anymore information, please don't hesitate to call us."
I smiled. "Thanks." I said, and the officers left. I heard them talking to my mum and dad outside, although by the sounds of it, it was basically a repeat of what I'd said and what they'd told me. A few moments later, my parents came back in and sat on the chairs, before I drifted into a dreamless sleep.
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