Prologue

Such an awful way to die...

When you fantasize about your death you kind of imagine it to be pretty epic and just a tad romantic. The love of your life holding you close while a very clean shot wound in your chest (not too bloody of course, 'cause that would be gross) takes your life slowly and with your last breath you whisper a very dramatic 'I love you'.

So color me surprised, because I am lying in a dark alley and some jerk just slit my throat without warning. I'm lying on the floor in a large pool of my own blood, gurgling and making very unattractive sounds. The love of my life is present but a little bit preoccupied because the second jerk has his paw around her throat and is lifting her up. She's crying dramatically alright, her eyes are bloodshot and the vein on her temple looks like it's going to burst any second. Also not very attractive/ romantic/ epic. There is snot involved.
So I think to myself while my vision begins to tunnel and the sounds around me turn to nothing 'welp this was kind of anticlimactic'. No Florence and the Machine Song to play me out.

Good thing I am already dead though. When my eyes reopen a few seconds later they immediately focus on the way one jerk unbuckles his belt. My vocal chords haven't finished healing yet so what leaves my mouth is a gurgling growl. They don't hear me yet, too focused on harming her. Her. Blue eyes lost their sparkle and begin to dim. I jump to my feet and the man who holds her up is the first to go. His neck snaps easier than a brittle twig. She falls to ground gasping for air. Her blond hair shielding her face from the damage around her.

Hands still on a nearly unzipped jeans and try to reach for the knife that he so carelessly dropped to the ground before. What a mess he made of my favourite dress. I grab his throat just beneath his jaw line and feel the blood pumping to his head. His heart quickens its pace trying to deliver much needed oxygen. It will taste all the better. Without further much ado I sink my teeth into his throat and begin to suck him dry. Sexual innuendo not intended. Like, gross.

It just takes a few moments and I drop him. My vocal chords are healed but my voice is throaty nonetheless. 'You okay?'I don't look at her but at the two men who ambushed us, unceremoniously killed me and tried to rape her. My head tilts slightly when she doesn't answer but begins to sob again. I lick my lips. He tasted like burger and cheap whiskey. I finally look at her, she's lying on her side with wide eyes full of terror. She's so young, she doesn't know what humans are capable of doing to each other. She got a glimpse now. She still won't talk and she starts to sob even harder. My eyes dart to the entrance of the alley where I hear footsteps approaching mingled with worried voices. If we don't leave now I will never hear the end of it. She won't budge though when I tell her exactly that.

I consider the possibility of leaving her here but I don't think that would be very gentlewomanly (it is a date after all). A decision is made when someone is about to enter eyesight, I gather her in my arms and jump on a fire escape ladder. With one hand I'm pulling us up while the other is secured around her waist. Halfway up she finally comes to her senses and puts her arms around my neck. When I hear shouting below I jump up again and we land on the roof. She's clinging to me now. I move us further across the roof when she decides that she still has to answer me. 'I'm all sticky now...'It comes out as a whisper but I feel her pouting against my neck, it's kinda cute but what the hell!?

I take a step back and see (and smell) what she means, her front is covered with a sticky dark red liquid. My blood. The way her lower lip still trembles and the occasional tear trickles down her cheek takes me back to when I first saw her. She was covered in a very similar liquid, shell shocked and still as a statue 'till her emotions got the best of her. It feels like a lifetime ago.