Prologue
Colt ran down her street, her own breaths loud in her ears. Her feet seemed too loud as they slammed into the pavement beneath her, and the cold air stung her cheeks like knives. Stumbling, she turned right, realizing that she was completely lost. "Shit!" she panted.
Suddenly, as she walked in a circle trying to work out where the hell she was, Colt heard voices behind her. Cursing furiously, she ran down a side road and turned left. It was a dead end. The voices were getting closer, and she sprinted out, taking a right. It was yet another dead end. She was trapped. Turning around, she faced her pursuers.
In front of her stood six boys, probably 18 or 19, around her age. They were all tall and muscular, with light hair. She was outnumbered.
"What do you want from me?" Colt asked, standing taller despite her shaking.
The boy who was presumably their leader stepped forward. "You ever thought about killing yourself, freak?"
Colt flinched at the insult. This was always how the fights started. "No." she lied.
"Well, you should. Of course," he said, turning and grinning at his colleagues, "we're here to do that for you."
Colt raised her fists and tensed as the boy stepped forward, bringing the rest into a shield behind him. As Colt backed up, he lunged.
Colt barely had time to react before he was on top of her, swinging. She flipped, twisting her whole body so quickly he didn't have time to counter her. Kneeing him in the crotch and digging her thumbs into his eye sockets, she flew off of him, knowing the rest of the gang would be behind her.
Sure enough, they were. One boy, the biggest, slammed her up against the alley wall. All of her breath hissed out, and she struggled to breath in again. He grabbed a knife off of one of the smaller boys, and held it up against Colt's throat. She wriggled, trying to get away from it. He pressed harder, and she immediately went stock still. "That's a good slut." he muttered, pressing closer to her. She trembled in terror.
The boy holding her turned, nodding to his friends. They all went to tend to the injured leader, leaving Colt and her captor alone. "You know," he said, turning back to her, "if you weren't so pretty you'd be dead by now."
Colt made an effort to snarl at him, curling her lip in contempt. His eyes darkened, and he dragged the knife along her jawline, drawing blood. She shrieked in pain, and he smiled. "You're feisty, too. I think I'll keep you." he murmured, bringing his mouth close to her ear. Her breath quickened with her panic.
Suddenly, as he slid a cold hand up her shirt, yells echoed from his friends. He cursed, dropping Colt to the ground. "Stay here, or you're dead." he yelled, running off.
Colt lay there, panting, blood dripping slowly down her neck. The yelling continued, and she tried to stumble to her feet. As she used the wall to help her up, her knees gave in, and she collapsed. "Fuck!" she said, pounding her fist against the asphalt.
After several more unsuccessful tries, Colt gave up, lying flat against the cool ground, listening as the yells grew less and less. Finally, they stopped, and she heard footsteps coming in her direction. Curling into a ball, Colt covered herself.
"Are you alright?"