After Dark

1

"Help, I have done it again"

-Sia, Breathe Me

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To all those who dare

~~

I take a drag from my cigarette and look up at the night sky. The stars, spread out like sprinkled sugar on the pitch black sky gaze back at me.

Click - clack. Click - clack.

I drop the cigarette to the ground and extinguish it under my shoe when I hear it.

Click - clack. Click - clack.

The solitary clicking of heels on the ground cuts through the air again and I slip into the shadows, waiting.

Click - clack. Click - clack. Click - clack. Click - clack.

A woman walks past me at a steady pace. She has long black hair interrupted in between by short grey strands.

Everything from the mother of pearl necklace sitting on her neck to her expensive outfit screams about her wealth - a characteristic of humans despised by those that populate the infamous Ridley Place. I wonder what she is then doing here so late at night.

I emerge from the shadows and bump into a middle-aged man who I presume must be her stalker.

I don't bother to conceal myself in the shadows again, he is punch drunk and I wonder if he can even distinguish the woman from the single streetlamp illuminating the road.

She deserves someone better. Someone like me.

With a blow to the temple, the man is out and I drag him out of sight.

The woman walks about ten metres ahead of me, oblivious to the recent changes that will determine her fate tonight.

I easily catch up with her in five long strides . Unlike the clicking of her heels, My feet are light on the ground. She doesn't even notice me as we walk together. Not until I start humming the Harry Potter tune.

It is enough to stop her in her tracks. She turns towards me slowly. Her face is pale and her eyes wide. I give her a grin.

"Eerie, right? No matter how many times I hear it, it always freaks me out." She doesn't make a move and I continue, " I wonder how it may feel in such a setting." I spread my arms wide, gesturing towards the empty street.

Suddenly, it is like a switch is flipped in her and she blinks at me before making a run for it.

I chuckle, they always do that. But they never get too far.

Exactly thirty seconds later the heel of her shoe snaps in half and she tumbles towards the ground.

Her cry of pain pierces through the silence of the night. A satisfied feeling settles in the pit of my stomach. Yet I'm just starting.

The predator stalks the prey.

By the time I cover the distance separating us, she has managed to drag herself into an adjacent alleyway. I smile. So stupid.

"Hello, Ma'am? I think you may have injured your ankle. Let me have a look at it, I'm a doctor."

There's no answer, just a pathetic whimper.

It fills me with glee.

"I think you may be in need of some assistance. I'm only here to help." I can't help the grin from breaking out on my face when I say it. Help myself.

I enter the dark side street. My foot touches something and I pause in my tracks. It's the necklace. Sweet bounty.

I pocket the necklace and look around. She is nowhere to be seen.

The hairs on the back of my neck stand on end when I realise that something is wrong. But it's already too late.

I am flung to the ground when a heavy weight lands on my shoulders. She grabs a fistful of my hair and smashes my head against the ground once, twice, three times before she picks me up by the collar of my shirt and slams me against the brick wall.

My nose is bleeding and I can't feel my lips. I run my tongue across them and savour the taste of my blood mixed with gravel.

"And the predator becomes the prey." I smile.

"Your generation has some severe ego issues, Dear boy." She shakes her head.

A short laugh escapes past my lips. "We all have our strengths," I say and kick her bare feet from under her, sending her sprawling.

I pick her up by the hair before she can sit up and hit her head against the wall. Her body cripples onto the ground.

"Grandma isn't hurt too bad, I hope." I sneer at her as she gets up. The next moment, she has a blade to my neck.

Aw, so cute.

A trail of blood traces down my neck when I duck and kick the knife out of her hand. Her fist catches my jaw but I deflect her next one and grab her neck. Her neck is small - my fingers almost completely circle it. Just like the pearl necklace that adorned her neck not long ago, it looks beautiful.

I see her foot aiming for my face in time and duck. But before I can stand up, she kicks me in the gut and I fall to the ground. She starts walking away and I stare at her retreating back in disbelief. She can't just walk away, I have to end this.

The next moment, I am standing next to her as her legs give out from under her. I catch her before she falls. "Grandma forgot her walking stick at home again?" I chuckle as her face records her confusion and pain.

I drop her and pull out a pack of cigarettes from my pocket. I choose a cigarette from it and place it between my lips. I find a lighter in my pocket and light it. Once lit, I take a long drag from it and blow the smoke up to the stars.

I look down at the woman. She sits with her back against the wall with her right hand bent at an awkward angle.

I can tell that she is not unconscious from her clenched jaw and tightly shut eyes. I still watch her when her eyes flutter open a few seconds later. They travel past my bruised face and land on my hand. I offer her my cigarette.

She reaches up with her left hand. She sucks the lethal wisps of smoke into her mouth before returning the cigarette to me.

"Are you going to kill me now?" Her voice is barely audible, only amplified by the shrouding silence of the night.

"It depends, do you want to die?" I shrug, walking away from her.

She gives me a wry laugh. "What a gentleman, always asks what a lady will prefer."

"I have my faults," I say, holding my hands up.

"In that case, I hope that I never see you again." She says.

"You won't," I say and walk home.

~~