and frantic. Kitty recognised that look. The familiar look of a methamphetamine user.
His gaze landed on Kitty and he started yelling as he advanced towards her in an unnatural, nervous gait.
‘Help me! They’re tracking me, they’re going to kill me!’ His scratching gathered intensity and he had picked off several scabs. His arms were now bleeding.
Kitty was stranded on the wrong side of the desk. The desk was separated from the waiting area by a glass window and access to it was via a pair of doors that needed a security code to open. The desk resembled a bank counter. Lisa was the teller, safely barricaded behind the glass, but Kitty was exposed and vulnerable. She wanted to seek refuge but she was afraid to move, worried that any movement might trigger a reaction in this man. A reaction she wasn’t at all keen to witness.
She reached slowly into the pocket of her scrubs and retrieved a pair of surgical gloves, pulling them on carefully as she glanced at Lisa, knowing they needed back-up and knowing Lisa would push the button to call for help.
She reached out a hand, silently begging him to stop, praying that back-up would arrive before he got to her. ‘It’s all right, no one is going to hurt you here. You’re safe.’
He continued to look around but he stopped walking. He’d stopped almost level with the door that Kitty could have escaped through. If he took one more step in her direction he would effectively block her access to safety.
Kitty had to risk it. She knew Lisa could push another button that would open the door and let her in, once Kitty got close enough. She looked at her. Lisa nodded and moved towards the button as Kitty moved towards the door. Towards the man.
‘Stay away from me!’
Kitty froze. He’d taken her movement as a threat.
She raised her hands, intending to convey she meant him no harm. Her heart was in her mouth and she could feel every beat echoing through her body. Adrenalin coursed through her, triggering her fight or flight response. She wanted to flee but there was nowhere to go. This man was blocking her escape route, and the only thing between him and her was her pregnant belly.
She couldn’t risk it. She had to get out of there. She was terrified, afraid to turn her back, but she had no other option. She was trapped. She couldn’t go forward. She could only go back.
Kitty slid back a step, but he took another lurch forward.
‘What are you doing?’ he yelled at her.
She hesitated. She didn’t want to upset him. He was drug fuelled, erratic and unpredictable. Who knew what he was capable of?
Kitty took her eyes off him momentarily, searching to see if help was coming in any form. Surely minutes must have passed since Lisa had pressed the alarm? Where was everyone?
He was watching her. ‘Who’s there? Is it them?’ He turned his head to look over his shoulder and Kitty took another step backwards but she wasn’t fast enough. He had turned back to face her, catching her movement.
He advanced towards her, reaching behind his back as he walked. Kitty froze. She was terrified.
He brought his hand forward and Kitty’s eyes went wide. He was holding a large knife. Light reflected off the blade, glinting ominously.
Kitty couldn’t move. She was so frightened she’d lost voluntary control of her limbs, her muscles stiff and unresponsive.
He lunged at her, and Kitty was surprised by the speed of his movement and the power of his skinny body. She felt a blow to her chest that was hard enough to knock the wind from her lungs. She felt herself falling, and the last thing she remembered was the shine of the overhead fluorescent lights reflecting off the blade of his knife.
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