I can't stay here. My eyes flicked from person to person. They went about their daily lives quietly, shuffling past each other at light speed. They each had a set objective they needed to fulfill. Night shift at work, last minute groceries, hitting the bars, going home. And they repeated it loudly in their heads over and over so they wouldn't forget. God, I'm gonna die. This is gonna kill me. I pressed my hands over my ears. Not in a 'I'm crazy and I'm losing my mind' kind of way. More so a 'My ears are cold because of New York winter and also I might be losing my mind' way. Keep it together, Robin. You've got this. Just a block or two and you'll be at your brother's house. Then a week and you can go home. Each step meant I was closer to complete and utter peace. Oh, how I'd love to be secluded between four walls. Just a bit silence. But he's well aware about my issue with massive amounts of people. Why would he live here? He was never the brightest, Mack. But he has a good heart. Himbo. A true himbo. The smells of food occasionally snapped me out of my hell. A waft of a pretzel cart. The distant smell of a taco truck. Picking up the gamey hints of hot dogs and their vendors. Food. My temporary saving grace. I-I'm gonna die! Yeah, me too. My head subtly nodded, but then I froze in my tracks. Oh. My hands fell from my ears. That was the loudest thought I've heard so far and it was full of panic. That thought was strong enough to compel me closer to the source. An alley. Wow. Here we go. A woman was leaned up against the wall a gun to her head. I've made a mistake. I made eye contact with her and she grimaced. The man who held the gun snapped his head in my direction. I staggered back.
"Well. What have we here?" He moved the gun from her head and she slid her back down the wall.
"G-Get back!" I warned, holding my hands out.
"Who has the gun here?" He waved it in my face.
"That means nothing. To me at least." I attempted to put on a brave face. "Let her go."
"But the fun just started!" He lunged forward, grabbing my shoulder. "Now I have two to spend a bit of time with."
"No. I'm not doing anything with you." I pushed him away and sent myself against the opposite wall of the alley the other girl leaned against. Her eyes watched me fearfully. "If you let her go, I... I'll stay." I swallowed thickly.
"A hero?" He grabbed my chin and looked at my face.
"No. I won't try anything either. I won't run. I won't yell. Just let her go." My voice shook.
"Get out of here." He turned to the girl sitting weakly against the other wall. She looked up to him and her eyes lit up with a glimmer of hope. "You heard me! Get the fuck outta here!" She stood and limped away as fast as she could. He gripped my arm harshly. His dirty nails dug into my flesh. I could shoot her while she runs. He slowly lifted his gun.
"No!" I tried to pull it away from him as hard as I could and we fell to the ground.
"Let go!" He slammed his fist into my cheek.
"N-No!" I tried to push him away using my legs. I can't wait to get my hands on this bitch. I slammed the handle down onto his nose so he would weaken his grip. He squeezed the trigger and it fire off into the brick wall. I ducked but the ricochet hit me in the arm. I yelled out in pain. He swung the gun at me and it hit me in the eye. I quickly brought my arms up to protect myself.
"You dumb bitch, I-" He was cut off by a loud thud.
"Hey! Are you okay?" A gruff yet soft voice asked. I moved my arms and his hand quickly covered my eyes. "Ah. You don't wanna see me. I'm just here to ask if you need any medical help and get going."
"Hey, man. Y-You saved me... I don't care what you look like." I shakily reached up and moved his hand away. My eyes trailed up his body and caught his. It was shocking but, he helped me when nobody else did. A gasp caught in my throat. Ouch. He rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.
"If you want to scream I don't blame you."
"N-No. I didn't expect this, but you still helped me." I sat up and leaned my back against a stack of egg crates. "Thank you."
"You... You're bleeding." He pointed to his eye.
"I might need medical. I did get shot." I lifted my hand from my upper arm.
"Oh god." He squatted next to me. he took a wrap from a side bag and ripped off a bit. "I'm gonna try and band this up, because you're bleeding a lot more than usual."
"Oh. You're trained in this type of stuff?" I lifted up my arm.
"My brother is pretty much a doctor." He put my hand on his shoulder as he tied off my upper arm. Why is she being so nice?
"Oh jeez." I put my hand to my forehead.
"You're shaking pretty bad. You sure its not me?"
"It could be the blood loss or the fight I just had." I chuckled. "I couldn't be any less afraid of you or we'd be best friends."
"Oh. Right. Thanks." His face flushed.
"For not being afraid?"
"You'd be surprised how many people run away screaming when they see my ugly mug."
"You're a big green Clint Eastwood."
"Haven't heard that one before. Usually it's 'monster!' or 'freak!' or them calling for help even though I just helped them." He tore off another piece of the wrap and some medical tape and pressed it to my eyebrow.
"Glad I'm the first." I tried to sit, up using my good arm as support but it felt abnormally heavy. I gasped in shock, but then it occurred to me that it was hard to breathe in general. My bad arm suddenly didn't feel as bad and I used it to clutch my chest. "Help, please."
"What's going on?" He asked me, scanning my body.
"I can't breathe!" I choked out, just as a sharp pain pierced my chest.
"I-I'm bringing you to my brother!" He lifted me up. I opened my mouth to protest but nothing came out. To blink suddenly felt too taxing. I closed my eyes. Everything felt distant.
