He stepped into gray-scale. Rain slickened the city, deepening the darkness. He strode quickly, keeping to the street edges in an attempt to avoid the downpour. The narrow alley funneled the slosh of his steps, blending it into the metallic drumming on the gutters, the plinking on puddles and walls.
"Hello." The shadows slid off a woman soaked through, her dark hair plastered to her skin. She looked at him with pale green eyes, curiosity across her face.
"Hello?" He echoed, halting. He furrowed his brow as he tried to think who she might be. She smiled unnervingly in response to his confusion, a strange laughter dancing about her features.
"What are you doing?" She shook her head at him in scolding. He raised an eyebrow, trying to prompt a response to his questioning look. She came closer.
"Uh, I'm going to my car. It's a little drier this way—."
"Oh no." She interrupted, closing the space between them. "You're interfering."
OOMF. Her fist slammed into his gut. He doubled over. An elbow crashed against his back. His knee crunched under her foot. Splash. Muddy water ran up his face. She snarled, spat. He caught up to his breath.
"I told you to leave me alone." She landed a vicious kick to his stomach. He grunted. She aimed again, swung; he intercepted. He pulled her off balance, scrambled to his feet. He slammed into her. They fell. Her fist smashed across his face. He pushed down her shoulders, pinned her to the ground. She kicked his stomach, chest, threw him off. Jumping up, she stomped on his head; his skull collided into the concrete. He groaned. Her boot dug into his side over and over. His breath was gone, his vision clouding, spotted. She stopped, panting.
The woman let out a peal of laughter. Smirking, she rolled him onto his back with her foot and straddled him.
"This will remind your friends not to stick their noses where they don't belong." He said nothing, gasped for air. Beaming, she took a blade from her pocket and held it over her head. He was frozen. "I do hope you're fonder of martyrdom than I."
A flash, the knife came down. A choking sound, a weight was ripped off him, and the knife plunged into his chest.
Pain jumped through his body like lightning, scorching under his skin. There was nothing but the acid now coursing through him. An explosion was ripping through his chest, splinters of shrapnel in his lungs. He was vaguely aware of sounds of skin scraping water, bodies slamming into each other. Sticky warmth spread across his chest, taking the place of cold, slippery water. He rasped.
A shadow crossed his face, blocked the rain. There was a voice, closer and louder now. If he could just close his eyes, he could block it all out.
"FOCUS." His eyes snapped open, jarred by the shout. He followed the voice. The blur in his vision dissipated slightly.
A drenched woman knelt over him, her red hair falling over her shoulder. Her eyes were a sky blue, the eye of the storm. She seemed familiar, but there was no place in his memory. She rummaged through his pockets, pulled out his phone. Dialing, speaking, hanging up, dialing, speaking, pocketing phone. He couldn't make out what she was saying. She looked back at him.
"Hold on. Keep breathing." He concentrated on her, trying to place her. He could see her hands moving over his chest. "Stay awake." She ripped his shirt in half, peeling it off his chest. Taking off her jacket, she began mopping up the blood, a gentle pressure around the knife still protruding from his ribcage.
Then there were sirens, a swarm of faces, shouting. They were both swallowed by the frenzy. He was inside an ambulance, a calming coolness running through his veins. He remembered no more.
A/N: This is a WIP, so updates will be irregular. Any theories?