A man sprinted through the dark alleyways breathing heavily with each step, his pursuer taking slow, rhythmic steps behind him. He knocked down trash cans and old wooden boards in a desperate attempt to lose his stalker. Unfortunately for him luck wasn’t on his side as he ran into a dead end. He faced the mysterious figure with fearful eyes. “W-Who are you?! W-W-What do you w-want?!” the male said, his eyes wide with fear. The being continued walking at a steady pace, lightly dragging their blade across the stone wall. The man threw a desperate punch towards the being who simply dodged the strike, palming the man in the face. A sickening crack could be heard upon the impact. The man stumbled back holding his nose as blood leaked from it onto his hands. He looked back up at his assailant just as a flash of silver crossed his vision.
It was a warm autumn afternoon, I was currently on my way to pick up my girlfriend and take her out to celebrate our one year anniversary. As I was flipping through the stations on the radio one of them caught my attention.
“In other news, the mysterious vigilante strikes again! Police find the body of Travis Dunn was found dead in an alleyway near west Moore street. The thirty two year old was wanted for kidnapping eight year old Susie Thompson a week ago. Susie’s parents found her in their backyard, she was shaken up but fortunately she was unharmed. Although some people find this vigilante as a savior the police disagree, saying that their methods of dealing with criminals are unlawful and that whoever they are will be brought to true justice. More coverage of this story will be on later tonight at eleven. Now onto today’s forecast.”
A vigilante huh? Sounds like something straight out of a comic book. I’m glad that the little girl is safe. I cut the engine off as I parked in front of my girlfriend’s house. It was a simple home with a light blue paint, white paneling, and a gray roof. I looked at myself over in the mirror one last time before calling her.
The two of us spent our special day eating out and going to the movies, my treat of course. When we left the cinema the sun had set and the moon had just started to rise. “I think the movie was pretty good, don’t you?” Marissa asked.
“It was okay, I guess. Some of the jokes weren’t all that funny,” I replied. I’m not particularly a fan of rom coms but Mari was so I happily obliged. Truth be told, I wasn’t really paying attention to the movie as a feeling of being watched consumed me. It started after we left the restaurant and my uneasiness increased at the movie theater. Even now as we were walking back to my car apprehension crept up my spine. I held Mari closer as I looked around.
“Hey Landon, you okay? Why are you so nervous all of the sudden?” Mari looked up at me with a look of concern.
“I-It’s nothing. Everything’s fine.” Everything’s fine. I repeated the words in my mind a few times to reassure myself.
We were just about to enter my car when I looked at my girlfriend and my body froze with fear. There, right behind Mari, was a hooded figure, their face covered by a ski mask. A gloved hand clasped over her mouth as the unknown attacker aimed his gun at her head. “Hand over your wallet now!” From their voice I could tell they was a male. I swallowed thickly before slowly reaching into my pocket with one hand, the other above my head.
I placed my wallet on the hood of the car. “H-H-Here! T-Take it!” My eyes were locked on his as I hoped, prayed, and begged to whatever god there was that he let Mari go. He kept his gun on her as he picked up the leather pouch. To my slight relief he released his hold on Mari but he still had her in his gun’s line of fire.
“Don’t try anything stupid. You wouldn’t want your girlfriend’s brains splattered all over your car would you?” He started walking backwards but as I watched him retreat I saw another hooded figure behind him, their face completely hidden by an all black wolf mask. Their body covered by an all black cloak, though I thought I caught of a royal blue shirt underneath.
In a swift motion the masked person embedded their knife in his neck. I almost threw up as the tip of the blade poked out the other side. They yanked their knife out, making a disgusting sound as they did so. They then pushed the body to the ground before picking something up. Mari instinctively ran to my side as the killer walked towards us. I held her close to me as we prepared ourselves for our soon to be end. I placed a kiss on my girlfriend’s forehead one last time before squeezing my eyes shut. We stood like that for what seemed like forever. I could still hear Mari’s whimpers. I cautiously opened my eyes and to my surprise the masked killer was gone. On the hood of my car was my wallet.