It was the 2nd of April, a year after she'd defeated her grandfather and returned home. This day last year she'd woken up in the garden of her home next to Dennis, feeling like they'd woken from a horrible nightmare. Only it hadn't been a dream and she still had to live with the fallout.
As soon as Dennis's sister, Linda, had heard the news, she rushed back from Africa. Without her mother, Alyssa had been adopted by the Owens and went to live with them in their humble townhouse right in the centre of Tempton. She'd been given the option to return to boarding school, or even to live in her own house, but she hadn't wanted to be alone after what happened. And she hadn't been, until now.
Her birthday. She'd known Dennis was faking being ill so he could surprise her after school. In the year since she'd gone back to Tempton high school, he hadn't been sick once. So she knew something was happening. Linda would make a big fuss; she had when it was Dennis's birthday.
She was hoping they would have forgotten her birthday, but it was stupid to think that. Dennis had written to her every year when she was at boarding school, there was no plausible way he could forgot which date it was. She sighed and then smiled; she couldn't change what happened, but she could at least distract herself from it.
Speeding up on her way home, she realised just how far of a walk it was. Usually they'd laugh and joke the whole way home, but it was quite boring on her own. Tempton wasn't the most picturesque town, it was grey and drab, although the further out you went, the prettier it got. Settled in the heart of the English countryside, it was surrounded by fields and forests, so the view was much nicer from the edges of town than the centre. Unfortunately the Owens lived right in the middle, though Linda made them go on walks in the countryside when she wasn't working at the hospital a few towns over.
Alyssa turned to go down an alley that would lead to the house. She could see the street at the other end, and was that a balloon at the end? The alley always made her nervous, she'd told Dennis on more than one occasion and he'd always reassured her. She smiled and started walking through, focusing on the balloon and trying her best to ignore the shadows around her. Towards the middle of the alley she began to falter, and slowed down.
This was the first time she'd gone through here alone, and her senses were screaming at her to run, or hide. She swallowed and stopped; if she wasn't careful then she'd start panicking, and for no reason too. She wondered if Dennis would come and look for her if she took too long, and seriously considered heading back and waiting. But if she was strong enough to defeat Burroughs (and the subordinates), then surely she could walk down an alleyway.
The concrete had cracks from neglect etched into it, and bumps from where the roots of trees broke the surface. The trees themselves were covered in vines that hid most traces that there was even a tree there. It almost made a long tunnel, with the trees growing taller and touching at the top in their desperation to escape the parasitic vines that chased them.
Alyssa reached into her pocket and took some lavender water. She always carried it with her, especially since she'd struggled with anxiety over the past year. She quickly took a sip and slowed her breathing, before carrying on through the alley.
As she got closer to the balloon, she smiled. The balloon was green, with red writing that said 'you did it!' across the middle. Definitely Linda's handwriting. She reached out to take the balloon, and someone pushed her backwards.
"You did it!" The voice mocked, as Alyssa stumbled over a tree root. She steadied herself and looked at the attacker. Which she couldn't see properly because the setting sun was blinding her, and obscuring the other person. "Walked down an alley, you must be so proud!" the figure stepped forward and Alyssa weighed up her options.
There was a longer way home, back through the alleyway. She could run most of the way, and even if the attacker caught her they'd be in the open where people could see. It was either that or try and get past the figure, but she didn't think she could without them grabbing her. As quickly as she could, she turned around and started running back through the alley, being careful not to trip.
She didn't think she was being chased, but then he spoke normally.
"Come on Alyssa."