Kevin watched, as his cousin took off down the street, after Andrew. He stalked across the court, and picked up the ball Brian had dropped. He dribbled it from his right hand to his left hand. By accident, the ball hit his shoe, and went bouncing out of his control. Kevin sighed, feeling stupid, and chased after it.
It was like there were tiny explosions going off beneath his skin. A restlessness was creeping up on him, and biting on his neck. Maybe it was just a vampire or something. Kevin glanced over at Nick. His friend was staring intently through the chain-link fence surrounding the court. Nick's hands grasped the chain, as he leaned forward to get a better view.
Kevin rolled his eyes. "Nick, what are you doing?"
Nick turned around slowly. He mouthed ‘shut up!' to Kevin, and waved his hand downward to indicate the need for silence.
Kevin raised an eyebrow in suspicion. He walked over to Nick slowly, and peered into the darkness. "What are we looking at?" he inquired nonchalantly.
"Just shut up," Nick told him, in a strained whisper.
Kevin strained his eyes to spot what Nick was looking at. Nick's eyes seemed to be watching the entrance of a dark alley, between two of the old brick buildings which lined the street. Kevin could make out figures just beyond the place where the yellow glare of the streetlights quieted. There were three of them, looking to be two men and one woman, although Kevin couldn't make out any features. Two trails of shadowy smoke floated out of the alley, and became visible in the harsh glow.
He could hear Nick's controlled breathing beside him, and he stole a glance at his friend. "One of them has a gun, maybe they all do," Nick whispered quickly.
"We should get out of here," Kevin told him, turning his back on the suspicious scene. "This is a creepy part of town; we were stupid to come here without security."
"No," Nick answered quietly, "something's going to happen. She might need help."
"That woman?" Kevin asked. "She can probably look out for herself better than we can . . ." He scratched his eyebrow. "Nick, this is stupid, and pointless."
"They were hurting her," Nick returned. "We can wait till they leave."
Suddenly, a cry broke through the night. It was the woman. Kevin watched as she pushed the men away from her, and ran on to the street screaming. Her wildly curly hair flashed in the glare from the streetlights. There was a gun shot. The woman fell. Nick sprinted out of the basketball court and on to the street, in an automatic reaction. He realized his error only seconds too late, as he reached the woman's side. Blood was gushing from her shoulder.
"What the fuck?" He heard one of the men mutter. "Who-"
Nick didn't stay to hear what they were saying, he sprinted away from the scene, back in the direction from which he had come. The men made no move to follow him. Once Nick was on the other side of the park, he looked behind him. Kevin was nowhere to be seen.
Still within the confines of the basket-ball court, Kevin remained silent and motionless. The men were staring blankly across the park, the direction Nick had run. One of them shrugged, and they began to converse once more. Time seemed to stand still for Kevin. He stared at the motionless body of the woman lying in the street. He didn't dare move, or make a sound.
A flicker of darkness caught Kevin's eye, and he turned to see Brian and Andrew walking up the street towards him. shit,Kevin agonized to himself. He shut his eyes tightly, and dared his mind to think. They had let Nick get away, without seeming to care very much. Perhaps they would let him go as well. He could just look disinterested; then he could get back to the hotel and call the police.
Kevin took a deep breath, and began to walk slowly out of the basketball court, attempting to look casual. He took a few steps, then wondered if he had made his last mistake.
Her heart pounded in her ears as she ran. She couldn't think clearly, but a sense of dread filled her. She should have called the police, and she should have, at the very least, brought some security along with her, but she didn't, and now she was running alone in the night.
"Tori, wait!" She heard Cora call from behind, but she couldn't wait. She had very little choice in the matter.
As she neared the basketball court, she saw why she had to run, and even faster. Brian and Andrew were walking quickly toward Kevin, oblivious to the danger lurking just out of eye sight, in the shadows. But she still had time to reach them before the . . . the threat has seen them.
Victoria sprinted, trying to keep her feet light on the sidewalk. She reached Brian and Andrew just before they reached a place where they could be viewed by all parties. With the strength of one thousand womyn, Victoria clamped a hand over both their mouths and spun them around, so they could see her.
‘Shut up!' She mouthed quickly, and yanked them forward. "Don't move, you're in danger. They can't see you yet. Go back to the hotel and call the police - no wait - call the police and get security. Don't ask questions, just do it." She instructed quickly, in an urgent whisper. Brian and Andrew exchanged a glance. "The gunshot," Brian started.
Victoria pushed him hard. "Go!" She ordered quietly. The two guys exchanged another uncertain glance, and hurried past Victoria, back in the direction of the hotel.
Victoria could now hear the voices of the threat. They were addressing Kevin.
"It's a little late to be strolling about," one of the shadows told him. "Don't you agree?"
Kevin nodded slowly.
"Was that your friend?" The man asked. "Who took off?"
Kevin looked back in the park, then turned back. "Yeah," he spoke quietly. Kevin glanced at the woman in the street. Her hand twitched slightly.
"She's still alive," Kevin said softly, in realization.
"I think she was probably mugged," the man replied. "And I think that someone else might mug you t-" The man let out a cry, as Victoria leaped from the shadows, disarming him with a quick kick to the hand, and silencing him with swift kick to the stomach. She made a dive for the gun. Her body rolled on the cool pavement.
"What the hell-" the second younger man cried. Victoria jumped to her feet, and pointed the gun at him with both hands.
"Freeze, I want your hands up - where I can see them," she ordered. "Come into the light."
"Victoria? What are you - Oh my God!" Cora cried.
"Stay back Cora!"
There was a swift noise, followed by the bang of a gunshot. Behind Victoria, Kevin dropped to the ground.
"No!" Victoria screamed. And she fired the gun. Bang, bang, bang, BANG!
The men in front of her dropped to the ground. Then, sirens filled the air, along with bright blue and red flashes.
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