I don’t know how to… to start. It’s— it’s not even clear. Just fragments. A parking lot, that’s all. Ordinary. Empty lines. Streetlights buzzing, flickering, like sick neon teeth. Night too wide, too loud in silence. And then— they came. Voices first. Laughter, sharp, cracking through the air. Bottles clinking. Glass on asphalt. Shattered. I thought— I thought maybe if I just looked down, kept walking. Invisible. Yes. If I made myself invisible. Keys between my fingers. Fast steps. Keep moving. Pretend safe.

But the sound followed. Closer. Louder. A group. Stumbling, swaying. Words thrown, ugly words, catching on me. Stuck like hooks in skin. “Hey you.” Shouts. Echoing. My chest— tight. No answer. Just walk. But they circled. Closed. Drunk shadows forming walls. I smiled— no, I think I tried, some weak laugh. Mistake. Wrong.

Hands. Pushing. Jacket yanked. Cold air on skin. Panic. No space. Too many. My throat locked, cracked. Words shattered before leaving. They laughed harder. Fun, they said. “Just for fun.” Strip. Show. Why so shy. Voices all around. Smothering. My body not mine. My arms— pulled. Fabric tearing. Laughter sharper than knives.

I wanted to scream. My voice broke. Came back inside. Echo, only mine. Nothing out. Nothing heard. My chest burning. Beer stench. Sweat. Fingers clawing. Faces blurred. Noise everywhere. My mind split into shards. Time folding— bending. Seconds? Hours? I don’t know. Just endless.

I closed my eyes. Thought— maybe— if I didn’t see, it would stop. But the heat pressed in. Jokes sharper. Hyenas tearing for amusement. Not rage, not anger— worse. Fun. A game. My body turned into punchline.

And then— silence. Just silence. They were gone. Like smoke. Like nothing. I was left. Standing crooked. Clothes half torn. Skin burning. Cold air slicing. Alone in yellow light. Cars lined up, dead, staring with glass eyes.

I stumbled. Knees weak. Keys still in hand, pressed deep. Useless. My hands shaking so bad. My breath ragged. Chest still breaking.

I don’t know how I got out. How I walked. How I drove. Only that the ground was tilting, the night too wide. And inside— shards. Broken glass where thoughts should be.

I’m still there. Still circling. Still hearing the laughter. Still feeling the claws of it. Never gone.