Page 18 of What Goes Around

I hesitated, staring at the glowing screen. But a moment later I grabbed my jacket and keys, stepping into the hallway before I could talk myself out of it.

Outside, the air was cool and still. Streetlights flickered against the empty road, painting the cracked pavement gold. The neighborhood was silent.

“Hello?” I called, scanning the shadows.

No answer.

Then a sound.

Tink.

A small metallic sound echoed from the alley beside the building. Not loud, like a coin flicked against metal.

Someone was there, half-hidden in the shadows.

I stepped closer, slowly.

“Hello? Are you the one who sent those messages?”

The figure didn’t move. Not until I was only a few feet away.

Then it happened fast.

An abrupt snap of motion. An arm jerking up. Something glinting in their hand.

A sudden splash.

I flinched hard, twisting on instinct, but the liquid still hit the left side of my face and chest. Heat exploded across my skin, a burning so sharp it stole the air from my lungs.

I staggered back, choking on a sound that barely made it out of my throat.

“Ah—God—help!”

The bottle clattered to the ground.

The figure was already running, disappearing into the dark.

Gone before I could even understand what had just been done to me.

I fell to my knees, screaming, the world spinning in a blur of pain and light.

“Help!” I choked, clutching my face. “Somebody—please!”

Doors opened. Voices shouted. Someone threw water on me, trying to rinse the acid off, but it only spread the burn.

I screamed until my throat gave out.

Then everything went black.

Time stopped meaning anything after that.

I drifted in and out of consciousness for what felt like days.

Pain.

Darkness.

More pain.