I wait by the door as he packs up to leave. I texted my roommate telling her that I got caught up in a good book and I’ll be home soon. I watch as Dylan collects his belongings and turns off the lights. The security lights come on but are so dim it’s hard to see.

“Alright Maeve. Ready to go?” Dylan asks.

“Yep as long as I can see where I’m going.” I respond. He comes up to me and takes my hand.

“Here. Follow me.” I can’t really describe the feeling that holding his hand gives me. I am overwhelmed with excitement and nerves. I can feel his fingers tighten around my hand fitting perfectly into his. He leads

me out the door and onto the sidewalk. The streets are quiet and the streetlights are busy letting off a low humming as we walk under each one. I calmly give him directions but secretly am in panic. I fear the dark. These streetlights and Dylan are the only things keeping me moving forward. Every part of me wants to go back to the bookshop and not leave until the morning. Yet, we linger on. Passing under streetlight after streetlight. I am afraid of what I can’t see and what might happen in the dark. We pass by multiple people on the street and each one more suspicious and frightening than the next. The whole time we walk Dylan is talking to me about the book he’s reading. I am reminded that it happens to be the same one I picked out earlier today. I give my input when necessary but my main focus is keeping my eyes on the next streetlight.

“You know, it’s okay to be afraid.” Dylan changes the subject.

“What? What are you talking about? I am not afraid.”

“You haven’t let go of my hand since we left and you’ve begun to cut off the circulation to my fingertips.” I didn’t even realize I was still holding his hand. Quickly I let go and shove my hands in the pocket of my sweatshirt.

“Just forget about it.” I say, feeling defensive.

“It’s nothing to be ashamed off. We all have fears. Everyone is afraid of something.” God, I wish he would stop talking about this.

“Let’s talk about something else. Anything else. Tell me about the bookshop. Why do you work there?” I offer.

“Well, my Uncle owns it. It’s kind of a family business….” Dylan keeps talking but I stop listening

The next streetlight is out.

I notice that there is a vehicle parked under it. Could it be a coincidence? Am I being paranoid for nothing? Dylan, who has politely changed the subject, has no concern about it whatsoever and I’m not about to tell him how scared I am.

We’re getting closer. I can feel the panic setting in and I unknowingly pick up the pace. I am walking slightly faster in front of Dylan. My heart is racing as we leave the comfort of light for this stretch of darkness. On my left is the van and on my right is a dark alley. I steal a glance down it and see a massive man running towards me. He’s already made it to me before I can think of running.

He shoves me and I go flying into the side of the van. If the door to the van was open I would’ve landed right inside. Lucky though, it was closed. But it hurt. A lot. I melted to the ground between the van and the sidewalk. My body aches all over and my head is pounding. I look up to see the large man and Dylan fighting. Dylan is a strong guy but this man is massive. He is at least a foot taller than Dylan and Dylan is about half his weight. While I process what is happening, I work to get back on my feet. I have to go help Dylan. I stand and grab my bag tightly. I run up behind the large man and hit him on the head as hard as I possibly can with my bag.

I must have hit the right spot because he collapses between us. Dylan and I look at each other with shock and disbelief on our faces but doesn’t last long. Before we can do anything else two more masked assailants attack us from behind. I watch as another man grabs Dylan covering his mouth with a white cloth. He goes limp. By this time the large man has gotten back to his feet and is helping carry Dylan to the back of the van. Another man opens the back door. That makes 4. Four people trying to kill us. I scream as I feel two strong arms wrap around my stomach. One hand reaches up to cover my mouth and I bite down as hard as I can. He gasps and drops me. I take the opportunity to run back the way I came, towards the bookshop but I didn’t even make it to the next streetlight.

My screaming had caught the attention of the three others who were putting Dylan in the van. I was running as fast as I could but they had longer legs. They had me. The picked me up off the ground and carried me kicking and screaming to the van. The men had also found the same white cloth they used for Dylan. They brought it to my face, covering both my mouth and nose. I refused to breath so the man holding my legs dropped them and gave me a jab to the chest. I took a deep breath in as my body was forced to “catch its breath”. It burned my throat, nose, and my eyes. My body suddenly felt heavy and my vision started to go black. The last thing I could feel was the men lifting me into the empty back of the van.