Six Weeks Ago

To anybody else, walking alone around the city late at night would have been a frightening idea. Stupid, even. But, Ravi had his routine and he liked to stick to it. He needed the time to let the adrenaline flush out of his system before he even contemplated going home and trying to sleep. Performances always thrilled him, especially when they were in front of a crowd as big as that one had been. 

Of course, sometimes he found himself a little on edge as he feet took him the usual route round the block. The streets in that part of the city weren't exactly well lit and the emptiness of them gave them an eery silence. Just the smallest sound could be enough to make him jump sometimes. But, he never usually dwelled on that- it was easier just to shake those thoughts from his mind and keep walking. 

He shivered as a gust of wind hit him, feeling like a slap to the face as he let out a small sniffle and shoved his hands deeper into the pockets of his hoodie. Goosebumps began to rise on his arms and his toes began to turn numb. Coming out with only two layers of clothing on seemed like a bad idea all of a sudden. He quickened his pace, thinking of the heating in his car; to Hell with his routine. 

"Pretty boys shouldn't be walking alone at this hour."

Ravi froze as a rough, grating voice echoed from behind him.

He made to run but, before he could even take a step, his shoulders were grabbed and he was shoved hard up against the grafitied wall of one of the buildings- a warehouse of somesort. "Very stupid, I have to say."

There were two of them. If Ravi was tall, they were gigantic, broad and bulky; clearly older than him by at least a decade. They wore all black, making them appear all the more menacing. They boxed him in. The first man's eyes lit up slightly when he got a proper look at Ravi's face. "Hello," he smirked, looking him up and down "Look who we have here."

"Leave me alone," Ravi ordered firmly, trying and failing to push past them both. The second man, who was more robust and had a large, upturned nose, stopped him with a hand on his arm. "Woah there, little brother," he mumbled, leaning in as though he was about to tell a secret "We're fans."

Ravi fought not to roll his eyes, great. That was all he needed. But he had to be polite. He shrugged out of the man's grasp and sighed "What do you want? An autograph?" He brushed his hair from his eyes and looked up, holding out his hands for a pad and pen. But they remained empty. 

"Not an autograph," the first man chuckled, shaking his head. 

Suddenly, Ravi was knocked to the floor as a fist impacted his face. He landed with a grunt and cupped his cheek "Wh-"

"Give us everything you have." The second man grabbed his collar and yanked him back to his feet, slamming him back up against the wall. Ravi winced before looking him dead in the eye "Piss off." He tried to move away again but was stopped when the sharp edge of a knife was pressed against his neck. "Try again," his attacker growled.

Ravi's eyes widened and suddenly all traces of bravery vanished as his shaking hands reached down to the pocket of his jeans, pulling out his cell pho