Doorway to Darkness || 5 Seconds of Summer

2:16

FLASHBACK - ABANDONED STREET - NEW YORK - 1957

It's a cold, dark and wet night. Teenage Eric walks around with his back hunched over. He wears only a pair of black trousers which are now too big for him, a shirt that used to be white and a black cardigan with holes all through it and carries a small backpack. He tries his best to warm his hands as he shelters himself from the rain. As he passes people in the busy, bustling street, they simply do not acknowledge him. If I were them, I wouldn't care either, he thinks. People suck. 

He turns a corner into a quiet alley, scanning the surroundings for any suspicious behaviour. He thinks clearly he is the only suspicious one. He takes his backpack off his back and throws it on the only slightly dry part of the ground next to a dumpster. He sits down in a ball and opens his bag, taking out a small blanket. It's warm and soft, and that's all that matters.

He wraps the blanket firmly around himself and shivers. He breathes in, then out, repeating the process a couple times to try and relax and stop the cold getting to him. Nothing could stop the cold from reaching his body, but he was used to it by now. He looks into his bag for one last thing: a mouldy sandwich. He gags as he unwraps it from the wrapping but eats it regardless because he'd learned that food was food. If he was sick from it, at least he was sick from eating something.

He finishes the sandwich, which slightly helped his empty stomach and decides to finally attempt to rest. But just as he shuts his eyes, he hears a lot of yelling coming closer to him. He sees it's a group of men who you could smell from a mile away with their greasy hair, unwashed black clothes, breath that reeks of alcohol and some sort of smoke. It sounds like they're arguing about something. They're following someone. They're following a girl.

She looked like a literal angel. Eric lifts himself off the ground when he spots her to get a better look at her. She's dressed in a simple, white dress and her brunette hair fell perfectly into place, her curls blowing gently in the wind. What intrigues Eric the most about her was that the rain seemed to have no effect on her whatsoever. She didn't appear to be cold even though her dress, although it floated past her knees, was very dainty. She also had nude pumps on her feet, and she walked with such authority and confidence.

Eric watches from a distance what the guys yell to her.

'Excuse me, honey?'

'What's a tiny little thing doing in a place like this?'

'You must be soaking,' Then they all chortle ferociously. Eric cringes in disgust at the filthy, sexist innuendo.

'She sure ticks everything on my "To Do List"!'

She casually turns the corner and walks straight past Eric in the alley. He can't take his eyes off her for a second as she floats by. The men continue to follow behind and Eric glares. They get closer to her and one of them attempt to grab her.

Immediately, as Eric sees this, he's up and attempts to pry them away from her as the group all form around her. He's also a lot smaller compared to these big, burly men as they sway with their alcohol levels and their large bodies create a barrier between Eric and the girl.

'Hey, get the fuck away!' Eric tries to yell, using up all his energy as he tries to push and shove his way through them. 'She doesn't fucking want you, get lost.' It's as though he isn't even there, as they continue to mumble disgusting words to one another. Eric can't even see the girl anymore and grows worried. He stands aside for a moment to gather what he should do next, then impulsively kicks one of them to the ground. 

As the others freeze and stare at him - more than likely just realising he was there in the first place - he jumps on the man he kicked. He throws a couple punches before the other two men jump in and before he knows it, they all crowd around him and start kicking, punching scratching and spitting on him until he is in a ball, attempting to shield himself.

Just as Eric feels as though he'll pass out, a huge white light suddenly shines through the dark alleyway, almost blinding him. He freezes, panicking that the police have arrived at the scene. It's far too light to look right into it, but he sees the girl with her arm outstretched and rage appearing on her face. The light was coming from her, she was making it happen.

The light vanishes back into the palm of the girl's hand and Eric glances sheepishly around to see no sign of the gang. Eric remains frozen in place, too stunned. After a moment, he stands and walks toward the girl, taking his time as he was in so much agony, slightly scared but eager to find out more about her.

'Hi.' Eric smiles nervously, twiddling his fingers, 'um...' he gestures to where he had just lay and been attacked, 'thanks for that. I think. I'm Eric,' he offers his hand for her to take, 'Hunter.' The girl smiles up at him playfully.

As she takes his hand, 'The name's Lucia Knight, and as you can probably tell, the name lives up to its expectations,' she chuckles.

'Pardon me for asking. Like, not to sound rude or anything,' Eric glances around, 'but what in the world just happened?'

Lucia sighs and looks him deep in the eyes, 'Just... don't freak out please. I'm not a bad person.' 

Eric raises an eyebrow questioningly. 'Um, yeah. Okay.' He smiles as an attempt to reassure her. This is how I get myself into bad situations, Eric thought, a pretty girl walks by and I lose control.