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Attacked

The floral curtains fluttered, revealing the glass window. The light of dawn seeped into the room. The sun cast rosy hue across the sky. Beautiful array of warm shades spread through the vast expanse.

A pale hand stretched upwards, and a yawn was heard. Strands of brown hair fell on the fair neck. The hand next extended to close the laptop in front of the youth.

Dark circles sat under the hazel eyes. On a closer inspection, specks of green was visible in those round eyes. The long brown hair was pulled into a messy bun.

The bangs were clipped back in order to prevent them from serving as distraction. She had a pale pallor due to staying in home all year around, giving her a sickly and weak image.

As she stood up, the t-shirt loosely fell on her thin shoulders, making her seem delicate and petite.

"Finally, done!"

A happy smile spread across the girl's face. She was finally done with her manuscript and had the rest of the month to herself. A detailed plan of a vacation already started to take form in her mind.

"And it's time to have fun!" she exclaimed.

She raised her hand and fell back on the bed, bouncing slightly from the impact. The comfort of the soft and fluffy mattress pulled her in, almost sweetly lulling her to a sleep. But the irritable gnawing of hunger inside her stomach prevented her from meeting her sweet dream.

A sigh of annoyance left her mouth.

She sat up on the bed.

"Right! I have to eat before having that good sleep."

Abruptly standing up, she took hurried steps towards the kitchen. First, she searched through the pantry, but the shelves held nothing she could eat.

She double checked to be sure. Next, she opened the refrigerator, and other than the bottles of cold drinks, she couldn't find anything.

Letting out an exasperated sigh, she was about to close the fridge when the lone cucumber, sitting behind the can of beer fell into her line of sight.

She reached out for it and washed it. Following that, she chewed hungrily on it like a starved beast.

These past three days, she hardly had a decent meal or sleep due to worrying about submitting the manuscript on time.

She sacrificed a lot for it. Therefore, the vacation was well-deserved.

The bland carrot didn't satisfy her hunger and only made her crave something delicious and satiating. She almost drooled as she pictured the menu in her head.

She decided to visit her favorite diner.

Rushing towards the mirror, she checked her image. Although she appeared a little too sickly and dull, hardly anyone would be out on the streets so early in the morning.

Adrianne pulled off her hair band and ran her hand through her hair before tying the straight brown hair into a ponytail.

She scrunched up her nose at the grease.

"I should wash my hair."

She proceeded to smell herself next. Although she wasn't in her best state, it wasn't that bad. Selecting her favorite fragrance— the lavender and lemon flavor she used all the time— she sprayed it.

She slapped her cheeks in an attempt to bring some color into them. Then, she grabbed her jacket and bag. While wearing the jacket, she walked towards the doorsteps before proceeding to wear her shoes.

Just as she was locking the door, her phone rang. While one of her hands turned the key, her other hand received the phone.

"Hello?" she asked upon the silence from the other side.

She struggled with the key due to it getting stuck. The lock was showing defects from months ago, but the house owner showed no signs of fixing it.

According to her, she will be doing it soon, but unfortunately, the soon hasn't arrived yet.

Helpless Adrianne couldn't afford a place other than here.

"Come back," a gruff and powerful voice ordered solemnly.

Adrianne paused. Her eyes bulged wide, and she checked her phone for the contact name.

As she was about to hang up the call, the man stated, "You have to return."

Before he was able to get more words through, she cut off the call. She furrowed her brows and stared at the phone screen in disdain.

"Am I returning just because you are telling me to? Hmph! I am a free woman with my own rights! It's a country ruled by laws!"

°°°

But of course, the ones handling the laws aren't strong enough.

Adrianne placed her hands on her ears, blocking them from the gunshot sounds that ran rampant. She hid behind the table. Her heart thumped rapidly against her chest, almost about to jump out.

A long while had passed since she had faced such a dangerous situation, and the fear made her unable to gather strength in her legs.

One of the glass window exploded. The shattered pieces of glass flew and spread across the place. It was important for Adrianne to leave.

But she was afraid of being noticed.

Adrianne took in a deep breath and reminded herself how she will only be blasted off if she stayed hidden there. If not that, she will be caught by them sooner or later.

The corpses lying on the ground horrified her. She covered her mouth with her palms, pressing them against her lips.

Biting down on her lower lip out of apprehension, she stood up. She bent her waist, lowering her body, while her trembling feet took a step forward.

She counted the number of steps she would need in her mind. Just when she thought she was out of the messy restaurant unnoticed, her knee crashed against a broken chair.

She prevented herself from letting out a yelp, but the screeching noise attracted the attention of the attackers towards her.

The next instant she felt a gun being pointed in her direction.

She gulped nervously.

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