H a l o s and F e a t h e r s

Lesson 00

It had hurt, that was all that she knew. Something sharp had winked in the streetlights as it was driven towards her stomach. It had looked like a knife, sharp and intimidating, but in those moments that seemed all too short the woman couldn't have been sure.

The streetlight nearby had been green when it happened.... At the end it was red....

No one had been out and about and it had unnerved her but she had to get home. Her truck was broken and her phone dead - the perfect combination that forced her to walk in the dark and hope for the best. The street lamps and traffic light had illuminated the darkness around her to some degree but the shadows had still been deep and could have hidden any number of dangers.

She remembered straining her ears for sounds and the distant sounds of cars filling her hearing.

The footsteps hadn't been heavy... I hadn't heard them....

No clear look at the man had been caught. No, it had all happened far too fast and everything during was a blur. Without a word he was on her and she had fought back. She may or may not have caught him across the side of the head with her fist though there hadn't been enough momentum behind the swing to do much damage. The lack of space between them had seen to that.

It had been her downfall.

How many stab wounds had there been? I don't remember.... Over six... maybe?

She had stumbled some ways off, the traffic light turning red as she went, spilling blood everywhere. The assailant and run off leaving her for dead. She wasn't sure she made it far though it had seemed like it as each step had sent more pain and agony flaring from the wounds.

Falling she had laid on the sidewalk clamping her jaw and forcing down the whimpers of pain. Instead she focused on the raw anger she had felt.

Just my luck... phone dead and no one around... Life's a bitch....

The blood had been sticky and there had been so much of it, pooling around her prone body when she had finally remained unmoving. Darkness had gathered at the edges of her vision while she had been running and it was while her vision faded entirely that she found herself admiring the city's lights one last time.

If I'm dead... then how am I still thinking...?