ONI
The marines in front of the stage hollered and cheered at Gillian as she danced in front of them. She put a smile on her face and pulled the straps of her top down, not that her outfit covered much but it would sure make the marines want to spend more. They swiped card after card into the chip reader as she danced. Twirling around the pole in front of the soldiers. They continued to whistle and be rowdy. Obvious signs they had been drinking. One of the large bouncers ushered them out of the establishment, waving a stun baton as a means of persuasion. Her amber red air glowed in the neon lights of the club as she reset and continued to dance for the next fresh batch of customers.
As the night wore on, the club got emptier. Gillian stopped dancing as the last customers left and went out the doors. She hopped of the stage and went out back to the large dressing room she and the other dancers shared to get cleaned up. Wiping her makeup from her face, pulling on sweat pants and a hoodie over her legs, and putting on simple running shoes. She reached into her bag and pulled out her phone and her earbuds. Putting the pods in her ears and the end parts inflated to fit snugly in her ears.
She left the building with her favourite songs playing which blocked out all the noise around her. As she walked down the brightly lit street, a bottle landed in front of her. smashing and sending glass and a dark liquid everywhere. She looked down an alleyway to her right she saw the same group of marines who were eyeing her at the club. She tried to give them a wide berth but they sluggishly walked out of the alleyway at her. They yelled at her, cat calling her and whistled. Downing more of the liquor in the process.
She smiled at them and tried to continue to walk but was stopped as one of the marines stood in front of her and another behind her. She tried to get away but was pulled into the dark depths of the alleyway. Kicking and screaming at her attackers.
She could smell the liquor on their breath as they held her down. Sliding their hands all over her. She tried to scream for help but a strong hand clasp firmly over it. Clamping down like a vice grip. For the net while the marines had their way with her and Gillian passed out from shock. She came to in the alleyway. Her pants nearby, and her sweater on her neck. Her body was bruised and bloodied as she tried to get to her feet. The pain was almost unbearable. She tried calling for help but her voice was gone, her throat was hurting so hard she cried when she tried to make a sound.
A man looked down the alleyway. Seeing her shoes catching in the light. As he walked down to check out what it was he recoiled in shock as he started at Gillian. He stood in front of her aghast, pausing for a moment before he rushed over to try and help. He helped her put on her clothes to help her dignity, slumping over his shoulder and limping her out of the alleyway.
He tried to help her into a nearby car to take her to the hospital but she refused at first. "You can trust me. I wont try and hurt you, I promise" the man said as he tried again to help her into the car. She nodded and stepped in.
The drive to the hospital was quiet. No one said anything to one another until they arrived. The man got out of the car quickly grabbed a wheelchair from the front entrance point and wheeled it back. Helping Gillian into the chair she tired to say thank you but no sound was emitted from her.
He pushed her through the entrance and to the front desk where he explained where he found her and the state was in. "I think she was rap-" the man said to the nurse. Gillian tuned out the last bit. He vision going fuzzy as she remembered in pieces of the night before. The stench of the liquor lingered in her brain and the voices of the marines. A nurse came to take Gillian to the ER and the man said goodbye. Gillian came back to and saw the man leaving. She tried to give a simple wave but forgot how. Even tried to say goodbye to rescuer but her voice was lost and drowned inside her. She was wheeled to emergency room, and a doctor checked over her. Examining her with gentle care to try and not cause her anymore trauma. The doctor types on her datapad on Gillian's injuries. She also asked if she remembered anything. Gillian shook her head.
After a few days of waiting in the hospital to recover. The police came to question her. Asking her who did this to her and if she remembered anything. She kept her mouth shut.
After her recovery period was over she went home. She opened the door to her small apartment and as she stepped in and closed the door she slumped against it and cried. She cried till her eyes were sore and red. She stumbled into the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror. Her face was still bruised and had small cuts in some spots. Pushing her amber hair out of her face as it clumped against the spots where her face was wet from crying.
She tried to have a bath to calm herself, but that didn't work. The water only made her wounds sting. As she layed back into the bubble covered tub she closed her eyes and the marines, liquor smell and that alleyway filled her thoughts. She tried to to wake from it but the nightmare only kept her locked in. After hours of torture in her mind she finally snapped out of it.
She walked past the kitchen and into her bedroom and climbed into bed and rolled over. "Shit" she thought. She was late for work. Her phone was in her backpack and she dug through it trying to find it. Cutting her finger on something she grabbed which she realized was her phone smashed to hell. Luckily it still had some battery as she turned it on. Missed calls, texts and other notifications all from the club owner and other dancers. Surprisingly a text from her mother asking her how she was doing was also there.
she arrived at work. Heading into the dressing room where she got strange glances from her coworkers. The club owner called her into his office where he asked if she was okay. She shook her head and broke down. The owner was like the father she never had. As she slumped into the chair in front of the desk the owner got up from his office chair and walked over, to grab her hand.
