Just another night. Get the drug. Sell the drug. Don't make eye contact. Go home. Easy.
A quiet, suppressed moan of pain sounded from the shadows. Graverobber edged in to investigate. He pulled out a mini torch and flicked it on. Harsh white light illuminated the area. The glow picked out the shape of a young woman, lying prone on the ground. Her chest rose and fell convulsively as she pulled in desperate gasps of air. Her skin was chalk-white and she was bleeding profusely from a nasty wound on her chest.
"Hey," he whispered, crouching down. Her eyes landed on him. They were a bright, clear shade of blue. Like Zydrate.
"I'm gonna help you."
"No." She struggled into an almost sitting position.
"Don't call for help," she insisted. "It's too late for that."
"Don't talk like that. You'll be okay." She shook her head.
"No," she said again. "I've been running…too long. It has to end eventually, somehow." She fell back, and he held her up so her head didn't hit the concrete.
"What's your name?" he asked softly.
"Alessandra." He gave her a smile.
"That's a beautiful name."
"Thank you." He noticed that her breathing was quicker now.
"Listen, there's no time. I want you to leave me here now. Come back tomorrow."
"What?" That didn't make any sense to him. She gripped his wrist urgently.
"I need you…to promise me something."
"Anything." He was afraid to raise his voice above a whisper.
"Put my body someplace…safe. Where it can't be harvested for Zydrate. Do you promise?" It was a while before Graverobber could bring himself to answer her.
"I-I promise." She smiled very faintly.
"Good." The movement of her chest was barely visible now. She finally released her grip on his arm.
"They say…you never get a second chance at a…first impression," Alessandra murmured. Her brilliant, piercing eyes bored into his.
"I hope we do." He gently lowered her back down, kissed her forehead, and as a final measure, draped his coat over her. He turned and left silently.
As promised, he returned to that exact spot the next morning. Alessandra was still there, right where he'd left her. Her Zydrate-blue eyes were wide open. He very gently closed them. He lifted her stone-cold body into his arms, and carried her away.
