The alley was a tomb of shadows, and Ella was a small, fragile thing trapped within it. The air hung heavy with the stench of stale beer and something far worse – a sickeningly sweet chemical scent that promised oblivion. Fear, raw and visceral, clawed at her throat, stealing her breath, constricting her chest until each gasp felt like a monumental effort. Her heart hammered against her ribs, a frantic drumbeat against the suffocating darkness. Her eyes, wide and desperate, darted around, searching for an escape, a glimmer of hope in the oppressive gloom, but finding only the cold, unyielding brick walls closing in. The hands around her mouth were like iron bands, crushing the air from her lungs, stealing the ability to scream, to plead, to fight back. Each strained breath was a desperate battle against suffocation, a silent scream trapped within her constricted chest. Her body trembled uncontrollably, not just from the cold, but from a primal terror that seeped into her bo
Last Updated : 2025-04-09 Read more