vigilantes

Shadows

The cool evening breeze hits me as I stand on the high rooftop of an abandoned apartment buliding. The sounds of vehicles driving below me. Distant sirens wailing and the shouting of angry New Yorkers is almost calming. This is where I am happiest. I breathe the crispy air and a small smile spreads across my face.

I need to be getting back home now, my roommate, April O'Neil won't be happy if I'm gone for much longer. I take a last glance at my city then swiftly turn around, my long brown hair flipping as I do so, and start running silently across the rooftops. My black sneakers click against the rooftops and my black t shirt flaps as it hangs loosely around my body.

Running over rooftops, I'm obviously getting worn out, I stop for a short break after 25 or so minutes of non stop sprinting and jumping. Resting my hands on my knees and hunching over, I hear a crashing sound, very close to me. I jog to the edge of the old thrift store and peer over the edge just to see a group of young men, I'm guessing, based on the shape of their bodies, wearing ski masks. A smaller figure is also standing amidst the group of men. A girl, she's not wearing a mask and she can't be much older than 10 years old. A hostage. The young girl looks terrified, her face is red, she was crying, she was scared, why do they have her? She probably saw them on her way home accidentally bumping into them, either way, they need to be taught a serious lesson. I crack my knuckles as I jump silently down from the rooftop.

Hiding behind a large navy green garbage bin, I observe what they're doing. They sling garbage bags over their shoulders and whisper to eachother. The girl is mlre terrified now, they probably said something about getin rid of her. She tries to sneak away, tiptoeing as quietly as possible, one of the men grabs her shoulder roughly and pushes her to the hard cement, she looks up at them, tears in her eyes as the man pulls out a knife. He raises it, a glimmer of light reflecting off my shuriken and I hear a shriek. The man staggers back as he stares, mortified at his missing hand, oozing blood. I step out of the shadows, standing up as straight as possible, making me look more fierce. "Don't touch. The girl." I demand as I pull out my tachi. The men burst out laughing, except for one hand.

"Is that a challenge, little girl?" One man taunts.

"Do you really wanna find out, tough guy?" I sass back quickly. That's all the man needs, he quickly attckes, throwing punches. I dodge easily, he's quite slow, automatic weakness. He tries to sweep kick me, but his lack of speed allows me jump over him andhit him with the handle of my tachi. It knocks him out cold.

"Why you little runt, I'll teach you a lesson you won't forget." The next man is also ready to die. This time, there are 2 men circling me, 3, 4. They think I'm intimidated. They all charge at the same time, I slip under one mans leg as he gets close, I'm no longer in the circle, they run into eachother and I laugh, that was a cliche cartoon move on their part, while they're in a daze, I take the chance to tie them up, I can't believe how easy that was. I call the police, who will arrive shortly. I can't risk them escaping though, so one by one, I trigger a pressure point on their necks. They fall unconscious.

In all the fighting, I forgot about the little girl, as I head out of the alley, I feel a tugging at my shirt. My heart stops in my chest. She can't see my face, I remember the red bandana around the lower half of my face and sigh with relief, she won't see the horror. I turn around and kneel to her level. "Thank you miss, but can you pretty please help me get home too?" This kid is too cute to say no to, she would need help anyways and I can't risk her getting hurt again.

"Fine." I sighed in defeat, looking to the ground and shaking my head, disappointed with myself. She squeals in delight as she grabs my hand.

"Thank you so much miss!" She pulls my hand and I stand up, she skips and pulls me along all the while, humming a soft tune. This kid is suprisingly upbeat for someone who almost just got killed.

The kid is home safely and I start making my way back to the apartment. My phone rings and I take it out of the pouch strapped to my belt. It's April, she's going to be very mad. I take a deep breath as I prepare for what's to come. Hitting the green button with my thumb, I hold my phone up to my ear. "Bekka! Where have you been? I called you 17 times and you didn't answer! I was so worried!" She sounds histerical.

"April, I'm fine, I'll tell you about it when I get home, okay? I'll be back in half an hour." I reply as calm as I can. She acts like an older sister to me.

"Oh you better be or I'm not sharing my dessert with you . I'm so mad right now that I'm shaking."

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry I worried you, I have to go now though if you want me back on time."

"Fine, but there better be an amazing explanation for this. Bye Bekka, I'll see you soon." And with that, our conversation was over. I head back to my small apartment with a waiting April and possibly, some ice cream.

Hi kids, I know I have few followers, but I really appreciate that you took the time to read the first chapter. Also, sorry that it's super short, it's more of an intro than anything. Bye kids.