Everything happened so fast that neither Lisa nor Chloe could comprehend what was happening.

Mr. Martinez ran at lightning speed and with a deafening roar.

In an instant, his large hands were wrapped around her small neck.

His eyes glowed with fury as his nose flared continuously.

Slowly, his eyes were bloodshot and filled with an intent to murder, repeating one word in particular as he continued to choke the life out of her.

"It's all your fault!"

He roared, as he increased the pressure of his hands wrapped around her neck.

"A—am s—sorry,"

Lisa choked on her words as she felt her eyes slowly roll to the back.

Her face turned blue as she struggled to get away from his chokehold on her.

"Shut up!" He barked.

"I want you to keep quiet and remain that way permanently," he said, as his eyes glowed once more to kill.

Spit dripped from the corners of her mouth as she continued to struggle.

"L—let go of me."

She coughed, as tears brimmed down the corners of her eyes.

Her airways burned, as she struggled to gasp for air.

"Let her go, you idiot!"

Chloe screamed as she flew to the aid of her choking friend, only to be shoved roughly to the side by Mr Martinez.

"Stay out of this, Chloe I will deal with you later. "  He growled darkly.

"Let go of her right now!" She demanded, almost on the verge of tears.

She glanced at Lisa and noticed her eyes were dropping.

Lisa could not struggle anymore. Her efforts were ineffective against this brute force.

Smash!

She heard the sound of broken ceramics and felt the hands around her airways loosen.

Her body dropped heavily to the floor, as all energy had been drained from her.

Her body convulsed as she tried to breathe freely once more.

She felt the blood rushing back into her body and could not help the sobs that escaped her lips.

"Are you alright?" Chloe asked as she ran to her side, panic evident in her voice, as she helped her sit up.

Mr Martinez took three steps back, looking at Chloe in awe as he held the back of his head.

Seeps of blood gushed heavily onto his shirt and to the floor.

His vision started to smear as he held onto the table as if his life depended on it.

"Did you hit me? With a vase? " He said as he brought his right hand over his face for inspection.

"And so what? You were trying to kill her. It was self-defence. " Chloe yelled at the top of her lungs, her face red with anger as tears smeared her cheeks.

"I will kill you. Both of you! " He clenched his fists as his eyes scanned the office, looking for a weapon.

His eyes settled on a coat rack, and his eyes flashed.

An evil smirk rested on his thin lips as he walked over to it. With each step he took, he left a trail of blood.

"Stand up. You need to stand up!"

"Get up, Lisa!" Chloe's voice raised a little, anger dripping in her words, as she watched every movement Mr Martinez made.

Lisa stood on shaky knees as he grew weary of what was about to happen.

"To the door, Lisa. Run! "

She ran as she nudged Lisa towards the door with all her strength.

Rushing towards the door, they thrust the door open, with Martinez trailing right behind them.

As he tried to keep up, his strides became clumsy.

He swung the rack, as he aimed at Chloe. He missed and hit the narrow passage wall.

"Faster Lisa!"

Chloe yelled as she pushed Lisa forward once more.

Lisa felt drained. Her heart was beating as loud as a drum as adrenaline pumped into her veins.

Her hands were clammy and shaky, and she ran as fast as she could.

Never had she felt this much fear in her life. Tears streamed down her face as she peered at Mr Martinez.

The dark gaze and the blood dripping down his face were enough to give her a nightmare.

Chloe's cry put a stop to her running and her imagination.

She snapped her head back so fast that it would have broken her neck.

"Chloe!"

Lisa cried out when she saw her friend lying on the floor, pain etched over her face, and Mr Martinez hovering over her head, ready to take a swing again.

Her scream was loud enough to attract some employees, who immediately dashed towards the office.

For the second time that day, Lisa's body took over her before she could think of doing anything.

'Running over,' she slammed into Mr Martinez, taking the hit for Chloe, sending them both to the ground.

With one shaky step, Martinez became aware of the fast-moving footsteps heading their way, and with another shaky step, he stood on his feet.

Once more, he towered over them with the rack in his hand, ready to take another swing at one of the girls.

This time, it was Lisa.

"You bitch, this is all your fault from the very start. If only you hadn't worked here, but now you have to die! " He taunted, ready to take a swing.

"Die bitch!"

He swung the rack, aiming at the base of her head with a crazed look on his face when someone stopped him.

"What are you doing?"

A man in a waiter's uniform demanded, a glare on his face as he gaped at his boss.

"Let go, I need to kill this bitch!" He said as he struggled to collect the rack from the waiter.

"Stop, Mr Martinez!" He called, as he struggled with him. "Call the cops now."

He signalled one of his colleagues as he tried to trap Martinez in his hold.

"They are on their way."

One of the colleagues called out as he informed them of the cops' arrival.

"You won't get away with this, you hear me? You won't! Mark my words; I will be back, and when I come back, I will make sure I end you properly. "

Those were the last words he threw at Lisa before he was taken by the cops.

"It's all right," Chloe said as she tried to soothe her.

"Don't worry, he won't be coming out soon. I can assure you, and I promise nothing is going to happen to you. "

"I hope so too," Lisa spoke up, her voice shaky.

"Time to leave." "Sir," the officer announced as he walked into the vehicle.

Lisa sobbed as they all watched the retreating van containing their former boss.

"What will happen now?" One of their colleagues asked as they all stared at nothing with their heads hung low.

"We get back to work. That is the only thing that can happen now." Chloe mumbled as she walked into the cafe.

"It's all my fault," Lisa whispered as she stared at the grim faces of her colleagues, before entering the cafe.

"I wish everything would just take a huge turn for the best for me. Only this once." She begged as she looked at the sky through the glass doors, before going in fully.

Unknown to her was the wish she had just made, which was about to come true.