Darkness Rising

Flirtin' with Disaster

As I walked through the abandoned streets of Westfield, Indiana trying my best to get home before anyone, or anything, caught sight of me. I couldn't afford to get caught now, especially with how things ended with Derek. If anything happened to him now I would never get over it, he's just too special to me. Plus we've been together for so long. I just couldn't handle losing him right now, not with how far we've come in our relationship.

All of a sudden there was a noise about 100 yards to my right. It sounded like somebody threw a wine bottle into a cast iron pan. I didn't know exactly what to do. My first thought was to panic but I knew that would do no good in a moment that could mean life or death. I know this sounds dramatic but at this point, anything is a possibility, and if given the choice, I choose life.

I jerked my head towards the direction the God-awful sound came from just in time to see a dark shape dart into the alley. I knew I shouldn't, but I walked towards the alley the thing crawled into. I reached into my dark green duffel bag and produced my tire iron that I carry around in case my Harley got a flat. I hoisted it up like a bat, ready to swing at whatever came at me. I plastered myself to the bricks of the building, not daring to lift a shoulder from them. As I approached the corner leading into the alley, I sent up a small prayer to whoever was listening. I dropped my duffel, which was holding my helmet, to the ground so I could have both hands free. The sudden thud apparently alerted the creature and I heard a deafening screech. It was close. I could feel the sweat starting to bead on my forehead. I quickly wiped it so it didn't run into my eyes. It was time for me to move, but my legs didn't want to work. I needed some courage, real or fake, it didn't matter at this point in time. I leaned in and listened to make sure I didn't hear footsteps, and when I didn't, I reached into the pocket of my duffel grabbing my flask full of whiskey. I took a swig and replaced the cap.

"This should do." I whispered to myself as I put the flask back into my bag.

I held my breath as I lunged around the corner and into the alleyway, my tire iron held tightly in my fist. At first, I didn't see anything as the alley was extremely dark. It took a few seconds for my eyes to adjust, but when they did, I wished they hadn't of.

I was standing face to face with a man the size of a gorilla. His arms were as big as my head, maybe bigger. He stood a little over six feet tall and every bit of it was muscle. But that's not the thing that scared me the most because I could handle big, burly men. You have no idea just how bold these type of men get when they're drunk and see a pretty girl in the bar. It was his eyes. I didn't know what was wrong with them. They were pitch black. Not a hint of color in the iris other than black. No white was visible, just black. They radiated hatred and pure evil towards me. He looked like he could rip me apart in less than thirty seconds. And it seemed he wanted to.

At that moment all thoughts other than 'survive' left my brain. I was frozen for a few seconds, not knowing how to continue with this situation. I knew I was going to have to move at some point, to get away from this man, but just how, I didn't know yet. I could try to fight my way out of it with my tire iron but even with my strength and the added bonus of pure iron, I knew that wouldn't be enough to stop this train. I looked around for another option, an open window, a ladder, even a fence I could climb would be helpful in escaping. To my dismay, I saw nothing. I looked back at the black-eyed man, dropped my tire iron, and stepped forward. I had reached my last option that might not end in certain death.

I flashed a smile. Not just any smile, but the type of smile that could get a sixteen-year-old into a bar with no problems or questions asked. I only used this type of smile when I was trying to convince Derek to take me to watch a horror movie in the cinemas, which he hated. It seemed some smiles on women have what seems to be, magical powers over men. You can bend them to your will in a matter of seconds with a nice flash of your pearly whites.

I edged closer to the man, carefully unzipping my leather jacket. I walked with newfound confidence and, dare I say, sass. I knew what I had to do and I was working it. As I got within ten feet of the man, I noticed his eyes flicked back to their normal color. He had a small smirk plastered on his face. I stopped, not out of fear, but because I had a plan. I let my leather jacket slip off and onto the ground. Underneath I was just wearing a light gray tank top, the one I had worn to bed the previous night. It was a chilly morning so I instantly regretted taking off my jacket.

"Hey honey," I started. Placing one of my hands on my hip and using the other hand to run through my blonde hair. "Why are you hiding out in the dark for? I'd rather you be in the light so I can see you better." I added with a seductive smile.

I cocked my head to the right and puckered my lips ever so slightly, all the while grabbing the tips of my hair with my free hand and twirling it around my fingers. I crossed my legs at my ankles and shot a wink his way.

"Well," He began. "If you were to see me it would ruin all the fun now, wouldn't it?" I could see him cross his arms and lean forward on his feet a bit.

"Now, now, now, let's not get too cocky shall we?" I stepped closer, pushing my chest outwards. As I got within a foot of him I could smell the booze rolling off of his breath like waves at a beach. I had to hold back a gag. "Now honey," I started again, false lust dripping from my voice like venom from a snake. I slowly placed my hand on his chest. "Wow... well built aren't we? Looks like I'm gonna have a good night."

"Why did I say that?" I thought to myself. "What have I started? How am I gonna get out of this now?"

"Not as good as the night I'm going to have sweetheart." And with that he grabbed me by the back of my neck, hands wound into my hair. "Don't know how fun it's going to be for you though." As he said that, his eyes flicked black again.

I could feel his breath on my face. I didn't know whether to scream or try and fight back. My options were limited, as was my time it seemed. As I thought back on my life and to my future, I figured I would rather go out fighting than go out whimpering at the mercy of a man I met in an alley.

I slowly looked up and into the man's face. I was staring him in the eye with a newfound determination and confidence. I jerked my leg so that my knee would end up in his gut. He doubled over but didn't let go of my hair. I swung my fist around and connected with the side of his head. I could feel him wince under my fist but it didn't seem to affect him much so I drew my head back, what little I could, and slammed it into his head. He finally let go of my hair and stumbled backward.

I ran to the opening of the alley and grabbed my tire iron and hoisted it back like a bat. I turned around just in time to see him lunging my way. I swung the iron but it was too late, he had grabbed me and twisted me around so that my back was towards him. He ripped the iron from my grip and twisted my arms painfully behind my back.

"Let me go!" I screamed as he dragged me deeper into the alley. In the distance, I heard the rumble of a car, the first I had heard in hours. It was steadily getting closer but I didn't pay too much attention to it.

"Shut up!" He pushed me into the wall. "Or die!" I quieted down and closed my eyes, hoping this was all a horrible nightmare. Opening them again to realize this was all real, I decided to try one last thing in a desperate attempt to free myself from his vice-like grip. I jerked my head backward and felt it connect with his nose. He merely grunted in response and shoved my head into the wall... hard. He threw me to the ground at his feet.

The next few seconds were a blur, I was seeing stars, then my vision started to get blurry. I could vaguely hear a car pull up and what sounded like two doors slam. I heard muffled voices, more men it seemed. Then I heard a scream, it sounded like the man I had encountered. Footsteps coming closer to me, then voices, two of them. I wanted to look at their faces but my vision was still so blurry and my head hurt so bad, so I closed my eyes. That is the last thing I remember.