The familiar, worn path home had always been your sanctuary, a route you could walk with your eyes closed. The evening air was cool, and the distant hum of the city was a lullaby you hardly noticed anymore. Your thoughts were miles away, replaying the day’s minor frustrations, completely oblivious to the danger that had been waiting in the shadows, patient as a predator.

It happened in a heartbeat.

Strong, unyielding arms locked around you from behind, pinning your own to your sides in a vice-like grip. A wave of pure, undiluted terror shot through your veins, so potent it stole your breath before you could even think to scream. A sickly-sweet cloth was clamped over your nose and mouth, the chemical scent burning your nostrils. You thrashed against him, a wild, frantic animal caught in a trap, but his strength was absolute. The world began to tilt, the edges of your vision blurring into a nauseating swirl of colour and shadow.

A cruel, disembodied voice hissed next to your ear, "Keep your mouth shut."

Panic is a cold fire. It freezes you and burns you all at once. Your heart hammered against your ribs like a bird trying to escape a cage, a frantic, useless rhythm. The fight was draining from your limbs, replaced by a heavy, leaden weakness. The streetlights began to stutter like dying stars. This couldn't be happening. This wasn’t happening.

But as the blackness rushed in to claim you, a final, desperate instinct flared—a primal refusal to go quietly. With the last vestige of your strength, you turned your head just enough and sank your teeth into the leather-clad hand holding the cloth. You bit down with every ounce of fear and fury in your soul, tasting salt and cheap leather.

There was a sharp intake of breath, not quite a cry of pain, but a sound of pure annoyance. The arms around you didn’t even flinch. As the dizzying pull of unconsciousness finally dragged you under, you heard a voice, smooth as polished stone and laced with a chilling amusement that had nothing to do with you.

A quiet, almost admiring chuckle cut through the fog.

"Hm… just like her brother."