Up Late Reading

{Part 1}

Karlie turned the key until the lock made a soft click before pulling it out and turning to begin the walk home. It was dark and oddly quiet for this neighbourhood. Her long, thick braid was swishing back and forth in perfect synch with her steps.

As she rounded a corner she could distinguish faint voices from the night. Step after step the voices gradually grew louder until she realized the voices came from an alley not twenty meters away. People going about their late night business was nothing unusual and it couldn't have bothered her less. It was only after she heard the sickening sound of skin against knuckle that she knew this was no friendly business.

Her heart rate sped up and concern creased her brow. Her steps slowed and eventually came to a full stop when she was inches from the mouth of the alley way. Karlie heard whispers now, but not the kind that were familiar to her. She heard the shouting kind, the angry kind, the kind that could pack a lot punch in such a quiet tone. Her small hand rested against the adjacent brick building as the war between her curiosity and better judgment fuelled witching her. She couldn't help it; Karlie found herself peeking around the edge of the building to see what was actually happening.

She could vaguely make out the silhouettes of three men. Two of them held themselves in dominant postures while the third cowered away. The two started beating the third again and guilt courses through her when she noticed that she was standing idly by. There were shouts of accusation towards the victim and Karlie began to wonder what events led to this situation and whether or not she could call the third man a victim.

She was too engaged in her thoughts to notice the cold and damp beneath her until it was soaking through to her knees. She had subconsciously gotten closer to the assault and was crouched behind a tin garbage can.

"Please don't kill me," were the four hyper-coherent words that it took to snap her out of her trance and back into reality. The tallest of the men had pulled a gun.