Predator in disguise

Silence

Rain pattered noisily against the cafe window, joining the incessant chatter, tinkering of plates and silverware, and clicking of nails against laptop keyboards in a storm cloud of clamour. I sipped my coffee and continued to scan the newspaper, undisturbed by the racket. The din was strangely comforting. The constant blaring of traffic, clacking of shoes against the sidewalk and pulsing of hypnotic music was as familiar to me as the steady beat of my heart. Silence was my undoing; it screamed louder than the combined hubbub of New York in its entirety.

I peeked over the top of the newspaper as a girl sitting at the bar giggled too loudly. Her cheeks were flushed as she flirted with the boy sitting next to her. The two couldn't have been any more opposite. She had college student plastered all over her: light brown hair pulled into a messy braid, black rimmed glasses, clad in a body-hugging gray sweater and baggy black sweatpants with a bulging book bag resting in her lap. He wore a black leather jacket zipped all the way to his throat and a pair of frayed jeans. His hair was decent enough; black in color and, despite the slightly longer length, expertly styled into a faux hawk. I found myself rather distracted by the piercing in his eyebrow and the thin streak of black lining both of his shockingly blue eyes.

The boy tilted his head as he talked with her. He flashed a brilliant smile as he reached his fingertips forward and rested them over hers. The blush in the girl's cheeks deepened as she reached into her book bag for a pen and a piece of paper. She scribbled something onto it -- her number no doubt -- and passed the paper to the boy, eyes twinkling. He folded it and tucked it into his pocket, flaunting his million watt smile all the while.

I began to fold the newspaper and reached for my coffee cup. I had seated myself against the wall at the far end of the cafe, giving myself an optimum vantage point. My eyes scanned the shop again and peered through the window, noting every passerby. The dagger hidden in my boot burned against my skin, anticipation creeping up my leg.

A small bell chimed and another boy stepped into the cafe. His clothes were sodden and his blonde hair was plastered to his head. He spotted the boy in black at the bar and approached him as one might approach an old acquaintance.

I took another swig of my coffee. Well, this just got interesting.

The boy in black gently touched the girl on her arm as he bid her farewell and got up from his seat. He opened the door for the blonde to pass through, then followed him out into the rain. I chugged another swallow of my drink and left the half-empty cup on the table with the newspaper. Exiting the cafe, I spotted the two farther up the street and, pulling my hood over my head, began to follow them. I hung back and put a few members of the crowd between us as we came to a crosswalk. The two did not converse as they waited for the crossing sign, but I noticed the nervous twitching of the blonde's fingers.

I pursued them across the street and up three more blocks before they took a turn into an alleyway. After giving them a bit of a head start, I peered around the corner in time to see them disappear around another bed. My feet carried me cautiously but swiftly, my footsteps whispers against the ground. As I approached the corner, I pressed my back against the wet bricks and glanced over my shoulder.

The rain clouds had darkened the sky, but I could still make out the boys in the distance, now facing each other in what looked like a heated argument. The blonde had his hand extended, palm up, but the black haired boy was shaking his head. When the blonde grabbed him by the front of his jacket, the boy in black roughly shoved him back, breaking contact. As the blonde regained his balance, a rippling motion spread across his exposed skin. He hissed something, but the dark haired boy only smiled tauntingly, seeming oblivious to his friend's changing physical appearance. Swifter than a flash of lightning, the blonde grabbed the dark haired boy's arm and hurled him farther down the alley. He ricocheted off a brick wall and landed near a fence made of tall rickety boards, unmoving.