As soon as Taylor stepped into the locker room, another person came out and shined a light directly in Candace’s face.

Security?

“I’m sorry. I’m leaving.”

“No,” a familiar female voice said, but Candace couldn’t immediately place it. There was so much rage in the one word.

The light turned off, but Candace was temporarily blinded.

“You will ruin my life, you fucking bitch,” the woman said.

Fear gripped her. She turned to get away and tried to scream, but the woman behind her grabbed her by the throat and squeezed.

Candace spun her arms around and elbowed her attacker. She felt the hands loosen just a bit. She tried to take in a breath so she could scream, but the fingers dug into her neck, pushing into her trachea. She started to choke.

She flailed. Candace realized that if she didn’t break free, she’d be dead.

“Help! Tay...lor!!” Candace choked out, then couldn’t say anything else. She tried to scream for help, but she couldn’t catch her breath.

You’re an idiot, Candace.

She had never thought that one of her sorority sisters would betray her.

She’d never thought one of them would want her dead.

Candace felt herself being pulled backward. Her eyesight started to return as the temporary blindness faded and she could see shadows from the security lighting. Her head was spinning; her neck ached. All she had left to fight with were her arms and legs, but her strength was waning.

She was going to die.

With renewed vigor born from adrenaline and fear, she kicked back as hard as she could, her shoe connecting with a bony shin.

A grunt told her that her kick had hurt. Candace reached up and grabbed the hands that held her neck, squeezed the wrists as hard as she could, trying to wrench herself free from the tight grasp.

And suddenly, she was free! Candace stumbled, fell to her knees, coughing, knowing she had to get up and run again. Run away as fast as she could...but her body wasn’t responding as quickly as she wanted.

She crawled on the hard pool deck, then took a kick to her stomach, as if she were a soccer ball and her attacker was trying to drop-kick her across the field.

She fell into the pool, its shocking cold water giving her renewed energy. But she still struggled to swim away, gasping for breath, sputtering, spitting out water as it filled her mouth. Her throat hurt when she drew in a deep breath. She tried to scream, but it came out a squeak. Her throat was so bruised she could barely make a sound.

She heard the splash behind her. Candace tried to push herself through the water, but her limbs were like Jell-O, and she made little progress.

She spun her head to see how close behind her attacker was.

No.