Chapter Twenty: My Saviour

Azania

I am not religious although I know that there is a God. None of this would be possible without one. But there are too many contradictions in the bible to make me religious. Yet as I was clutching my phone in the darkness of the trunk, I prayed to the only God I knew for certain, existed. I prayed for network, and a good enough signal to send my dad my location. To send him any indication of where I was, what was happening to me. And for a while, God wasn't listening. For a moment, I lost faith. But God lives, God hears, and God delivers. My phone started buzzing with incoming texts. I almost squealed in delight, but adrenaline told me I didn't have much time. I had to reach him. I dialled his number; his phone went unanswered. I don't have Jackass' number. The police, stupid. Call the police. What's their number? 112? 10111? Both numbers are engaged. Am I going to die at the hands of this man because the police aren't answering their phones?

I tried to blink away the tears, needing to stay calm enough to think. Ayanda. She'd know what to do. Her phone went unanswered too. She'd be in class, Kevin and Justin as well. I tried the police again, wanting to rip my hair out when I was answered by an automated voice telling me to please hold. The car had stopped moving. No, no, nooo. Remembering something I never knew I needed, I pressed my power button five times in succession, hoping my phone would do what it promised me to do if I was ever in trouble. I kept pressing the button, sending as many SOS's as I could, as a door was shut. I could hear the crunch of the gravel under his boots as he walked towards the trunk. My heart's in my throat again. You have to fight. He will not take you without one.

I stashed my phone in my Doc Martens, surprised it fit, and hoped the psycho would be stupid enough not to search me. I rummaged around the trunk trying to find something I could use as a weapon, my heart falling to my stomach when I came up empty. I mumbled a quick prayer again, trusting God to save me. The trunk opened, the daylight blinding me for a few moments. I let him get his arms around me, hauling me out of the small space. Once he put me on my feet, the adrenaline came surging through my veins and I raised my leg to and stepped hard on his toes. The grunt he screamed out satisfied me, and I immediately drove my elbow hard into his gut, earning myself another painful grunt. His arms slipped from around me, so I turned around to give him a sharp knee in the groin. While he was doubled over, I spun and ran, not knowing where I was. I just had to get away from him.

We were in the middle of nowhere. No buildings, no cars, and no one in sight. I ran in the direction we came from, on the only road in sight. I could hear him cussing behind me, promising to have my neck once he was done with my cunt. I couldn't see past the tears in my eyes, but I knew I had to keep going. I didn't want to imagine what would happen to me if he did. Tata, where are you? Run Azania, run and don't look back.

Instead, I fell. I cried out in agony at the pain coming from my knee where I had scraped it. Tears fell consistently. I yearned to sit there and curl into a foetal position. I yearned for the comfort of my father's arms. I wanted kisses from Kevin, laughs from Ayanda, to be irritated by Jackass. The thought of him breaks my heart. He left me, and I'm here because of him. That was why I was struggling to my feet, trying to run with my knee split open, running to nowhere, trying to escape his brother-in-law. He did this to me. I could have been in school; enjoying the attention. Enjoying my birthday. Ayanda and I had plans. My day wasn't supposed to go like this.

I tried running, the adrenaline not enough to drink up the pain in my knee. Run Azania, run and don't look back. And I did. I ran as fast as I could, doing my best to ignore everything else. But that wasn't enough. He caught me. Dragging me down to the concrete road, yelping in delight as he pinned me with his body. The stench from him suffocated me. I could feel my body wanting to give up. I was hurt and tired. But the fight in me wasn't. I struggled against him, a futile attempt. He was shouting at me to keep still.

I couldn't.

I wouldn't.

My throat was sore, but I would not stop screaming, even though there was no one around to hear me. My head snapped to the left when he struck me, making me dizzy. He pinned both my arms above my head with one of his hands, the other roaming on my body. I tried kicking at him as he squeezed my breasts, fresh tears falling down the sides of my face. The fight in me reignited when he ripped my bodysuit, exposing my left breast. I was still trapped under him, but I wasn't going to make it easy for him. I tried to spit in his face, but the spit came back undisturbed, and landed on my chin. He's laughing at me. I screamed when he violently twisted my nipple, and that alone, was enough to snuff out the fight in me. I laid there, hopeless, as he struggled with my belt.

He's going to rape me, in the middle of a road. I hope he kills me when he's done. I don't know how I would be able to live with this if he doesn't. The time to save me, was now. Before he takes something from me, I can never get back. God heard my prayer earlier, could he hear this one too? Can he see what is happening to me? Is he going to save me? Or will he sit back and watch while this vile creature breaks me? He watched Apartheid happen for years, what's one rape to him? No, God will never forsake me. Not when I need him most.

"I want to hear you scream baby, scream my name as loud as you can. I promise to make it worthwhile." His voice sent insects crawling on my skin. I said nothing, instead averted my eyes to look at the empty field next to us. If I can't feel anything, I'll survive this. Don't feel Azania. Focus on something else. It will be over soon.

The tears fell on their own. He has unbuckled my belt, his breath ragged with anticipation. I was numb as he pulled my daisy dukes over my legs. This is it. This is happening to me. There is no going back. From this moment onwards, I'm dead. I've lived a fruitful and happy life. I had an awesome dad, found a soulmate in my best friend and experienced love with Kevin. I got to play the sport I love and was damn good at it. Sure, there are things I will never get to experience now, but we don't always get what we want.

I didn't hear the car approach, neither did he. A man was shouting, another was barking orders. I lifted my eyes, blinking a few times before I could make out what was going on. Psycho was no longer on top of me, someone else was cradling me, saying something. More cars had arrived, all flashing blue and red. And that was when I knew I was saved. God had not forsaken me after all.

Hearing returned to me all at once, pulling me out of my state of shock. The man who had pulled Psycho off me was Timothy, the security guard at the Matthews' residence. He had him laying on his front, with his knee pressed against his spine and his hands bound behind him. Psycho shouted profanities at Timo, who was replying with his own. Three police officers had their guns drawn, all aiming at the man who almost raped me. Oh God.

I breathed out a whimper, and soon enough, my body raked with violent sobs. A shooshing sound was made against my ear, hands rubbing up and down my arms. It was only then I remembered that someone was holding me. I looked up in alarm, with fear I had only recently come to know. It's Jackass. He's here. He came for me. He saved me.

"I got you, you're safe now. Shhh." He cooed. I wrapped my arms around his torso, wanting to feel safe. He rocked me back and forth while I cried, all the while shouting out demands to the officers. I buried my face in his chest, not wanting to see the psycho as I listened to them read him his rights. It's over. It's really over. Jackass kept whispering reassuring words in my ear, holding the back of my head, pressing me to him. I couldn't stop crying. My entire body was shaking, as flashbacks of what I narrowly escaped came racing through my mind. A blanket was wrapped over me, and a woman was saying something. I couldn't hear her over my sobs. Jackass responded to her; I couldn't hear him either.

"Azania ... We have to go. Are you okay to stand up?" she was kneeling next to me, her hand on my shoulder. Was I okay? I shook my head, face still buried in Anthony's chest, who said something I didn't catch to the woman next to me. Next thing I knew, I was hoisted from the ground. My eyes gave up and fluttered open, roaming around to process the scene. The three police cars were parked behind Anthony's G Wagon, and an ambulance was parked behind them. There were people everywhere, but my eyes searched for one in particular. He was in handcuffs, his face still bloody from Anthony's brutal attack. I wanted to look away, but I couldn't for the life of me tear my eyes away from him. I wanted to kill him. I wanted him ripped apart and his pieces fed to the hungriest pack of dogs alive. I wanted him to burn so I could savour the smell of his burning flesh and chase down my victory with champagne. I wanted him flayed, alive, screaming and begging for mercy. I wanted him maimed, castrated and beheaded. Every cruel thing imaginable, I prayed would happen to him. A shiver ran down my spine, making me bury my face in Anthony's chest again.

"You're okay Azania, no one can hurt you now. I got you." He murmured softly. I stayed silent, listening to the sounds around me as he carried me to the ambulance. I was loathed to let go of him once he set me down on the gurney, whimpering like a pathetic baby.

"I'm not going anywhere, I'm right here." My saviour. He saved me.