A soft pattering of foot steps filled the alley way, betraying the frantic pace of its owner. On either side, high brick walls reared up, amplifying the echos. Water dripped from a running AC, the condensation forming quickly in the cold, humid night. A figure stumbled around in the darkness, seemingly desperate to escape from whatever lay behind. A terrified whimper escaped its lips - soft, feminine. The girl caught her breath in wreaking sobs, clutching one hand to her mouth in an attempt to stay undetected. Leaning behind a dumpster, she slowly sank to her knees, not daring to move.
Louder foot steps echoed from close by, whoever the chasers were, they did not seem at all worried about being stealthy. These men carried torch-lights which cut slim, erratic swathes of light as they ran; feet splashing in puddles that had pooled in the uneven ground. A stray beam lit up the side-alley which the girl was in. The light glanced off a puddle and for the briefest of moments, revealed the girl. She could not have been a day after ten, youth and terror were both reflected on her face. Dressed in a pair of animal-print pajamas, she clutched a stuffed bear in one hand, tufts of fur were missing, showing years of ownership. Her eyes were a pale blue, matching the soft, straight curtains of hair that fell across her back in a splash of light blonde. Despite her age, her face was gaunt, as if having lived a tough childhood. Her blood-shot eyes dropped, she was tiring. Her free hand still over her mouth, she shrank further back into the shadows, afraid to even breathe.
And as that second passed, so did the men. The side alley was dark again. She could hear them cursing none too pleasant words, just like her father whenever he came back home after a laborious day at work. As the men fanned out further from her, the adrenaline for the night started to wear off. She felt a pressing weight on her shoulders and a throbbing in her head as fatigue set in. Without warning, the flood gates of emotion opened up - confusion, fear, anger and a whole lot of other emotions that her ten year old mind had yet to encounter came rushing alongside with her tears. Her sobs turned into lungfuls of gasps and threatened to overwhelm her into all out wailing. Clarity was on her side still though, as she stuffed Teddy into her mouth, muffling her cries.
Eventually tiring out, she curled into a ball and cried herself to sleep.
