Messed with the wrong man

The horizon was glowing with bright city lights, and the pale crescent moon shone like a faint silver claw in the night sky.

A young woman looked up at the blanket of stars above her as she stretched her slim neck from the car's window. She held still for a while, gazing at the beautiful and lucid sky.

Her lips formed a bright smile, and her black eyes twinkled in the dark like the stars in the crisp, cold air. She enjoyed this serene atmosphere. The small car park was empty and quiet, and she could hear herself breathing. For some reason, this cold night felt exceptionally warm.

Ping!

An incoming message on her phone mercilessly disturbed the pristine silence.

[Some suspicious people broke into the vault and the evidence we so painstakingly managed to collect is gone. Be careful Arabella!]

Arabella lips curled down as she continued to stare at the inbox until the screen turned off to save power.

She wasn't sure whether she was disappointed or worried.

Her fingers trembled at the loss of her hard work. She knew a day like this would come so she made multiple copies of the evidence. If they managed to break into the vault which contained the original files, then there was no hope that they didn't clean off the rest too.

"That bastard!" she seethed.

She climbed out of the car. Her mood soured. The car door made a muffled noise when she closed it with a gentle kick.

She unlocked the front door with an elegant, ornate key. The hallway was shrouded in darkness, sending a shiver down her spine. The quiet and the dark that she appreciated outside didn't quite feel as comfortable in here. She activated her phone's flashlight and felt around for the switch.

As her got used to the light, she frowned seeing the pile of dishes on the dining table. In her hurry earlier that day, she forgot to do the dishes. Sigh.

After collecting the dishes in the sink, she dropped into a chair and poured herself a large glass of water. Sipping slowly, Arabella was lost in thoughts when she suddenly flinched.

Creak!

The faint noise drew her eyes towards the slightly opened sliding door, which led to the lawn. Why was that door open at this hour? Did she left it open?

A foreboding, ominous feeling crept up on her.

Everything about today had felt odd. As she stood up, she felt a cold gaze on her back, as though someone was staring at her with frozen eyes. She was suddenly very aware that she had only turned on one light. The darkness pressed on her from all directions.

Nailed to the floor, she tried to see from the corner of her eyes, and she cautiously turned on her sneakers. With a stifled sigh, she finally released the breath she had been holding,

There was no one there. Somehow, the grand wooden staircase's shape seemed distorted in the shadows.

Why was she feeling like this? There was no one in the villa but her. Or was there?

'Be careful Arabella' suddenly she remembers the caution of her colleague and warning bells began to chime in her head.

She opened the door a bit more and peeked out into the yard, but she couldn't see a thing. It all looked dark and dreadful with the outside lights off.

"Is someone there?" she yells but then mentally slaps herself. Even if there was an intruder with ill intention roaming her house right now, they surely wouldn't come running out at her call. Other than the familiar sound of locusts, she was answered by an unsettling silence.

Arabella clucked her tongue In annoyance and locked the sliding door. But when her gaze moved back from the lock to the crystal clear glass of the door, she gasped.

"Heuh!"

Her pupils widened as she tried to understand what she saw in the reflection.

Thump! Thump!

Her heart began to beat wildly, and her back broke into a sweat when her quivering eyes focused on the figure of a masked man coming up behind her.

An intruder! Definitely an intruder!

She could feel danger in the air. Her instincts told her to run for her life, but strong hands got hold of her faster than she could move. They clutched her hair harshly.

"Ugh." A small whimper was all Arabella could utter from the pain in her scalp.

He began to drag her away from the door by her hair. She couldn't move. She felt paralyzed by shock. Her heart raced, and her chest tightened; it felt as if the centre of her head — right behind her nasal cavity — was being pulled back. A sound roared through her reeling mind as her knees buckled, and seemingly black clouds pressed their way into her vision.

Something was utterly wrong with her. Had she been drugged? She didn't get time to think. The intruder slammed her head forcefully against the concrete wall.

"Ugh… W-what...you cheater...w-why do you drug m-me!?"

Her mind was already drugged and wrapped in chaos, and now began to hurt like hell. It felt as if her skull was trying to explode into one million pieces.

Warm crimson blood gushed out of her forehead and nose.

She was on the verge of fainting when the intruder yanked her up by her collar and held her wrist with his other hand.

She was close to him, very close. Goosebumps covered her body when his warm breath fell on her face. She could smell a musky-minty smell as her clouded gaze levelled with the man's cold eyes. He continued to stare at her.

Arabella clutched at his grip on her collar with her free hand.

"I-I beg you… P-please don't kill me..." Tears threatened to mingle with the blood as she continued: "I don't want to d-die…pfttt." She broke out into laughter and the man tilted his head at her in bewilderment.

Time began to move at a lumbering pace, but the man's vacant eyes didn't budge. He stared at her without blinking. She could hear the ticking of the clock louder than she had ever heard it before, until the ringing of her phone interrupted it.

Both of their faces turned towards the phone. Arabella was the first to look back at him and took the chance to punch him straight in the jaw. She bit the hand that had been clutching her wrist. Unbalanced and sick to the stomach, she ran to pick up her phone with incredible speed and then up the stairs that led to her bedroom because its door was specifically built for such situations.

She felt her attacker hot on her tail and before she could pick up the call, he was right behind her and tackles her to the ground. Coughing and wheezing, Arabella fights him with all she got and throws him off of her but the man was too damn persistent and without breaking a sweat lunges for her again.

There at the top of the staircase, both of them exchange several blows. Arabella managed to land a punch to his throat and he slapped her so hard that she saw stars.

The attacker came prepared and due to the drug lagging her down, she was growing extremely tired and couldn't properly fight for her life.

Suddenly her attacker whirls them around so that her upper body was suspended in the air with just his hand clutching her wrist. Arabella's eyes widened realizing what he wanted to do.

"FUCK! NO! AM SCARED OF HEIGHTS...AH!" She yelped and the man frowned. Here she was with one foot in her grave and she had the time to voice out her fears. What a strange woman. He thought. He was kind of amused by her antics considering their situation.

What a pity!

She messed with the wrong people.

He let goes of her hand and Arabella tumbles down the stair and landed on the floor with a sickening crunch of her leg. She hissed and groaned in unbearable pain.

The man slowly climbed down the stair. A gun in his hand with silencer attached. It seemed like he was done playing with her. Arabella writhed on the floor as she spat out a mouthful of crimson blood.

"You k-know–Agh godfuckingdamnit! My back hurts..." she winces as she looks up at him. "I…w-was always p-prepared…for my death..." her tongue felt heavy and dry. Her eyes were beginning to droop. "Tha-t fucking scoundrel…" she cursed which earned her a ruthless kick to her stomach and she rolled onto the floor, confirming her suspicion that it was indeed his lackey here.

"Agh…I. won't. Beg. For my life…you fucker. Do whatever…you want-t" she challenged. Knowing that her life was really ending that day. But she didn't felt an ounce of fear or regret over it. Since day one she became a secret operative for the government, she was ready to glare death in the eyes. But what made her so disappointed was that she couldn't drag that man through mud in this lifetime.

The man standing above her cocked his head and without a second thought he pulled the trigger.

Time stopped as the bullet teared into her stomach mercilessly and Arabella's body jerked.

An excruciating pain sliced through her abdomen and she fell back on the floor. Her hand moved to her stomach drenched with blood and she started heaving with pain.

Another shot to her chest and one to her throat, her body finally gave in and everything went dark.