"Thanks for eating gluten free pasta with me at the restaurant," Hazel said gratefully to her friend as they walked back to their hotel. Daisy laughed, "It's all good. It wasn't the best I've ever had but I'll take the bullet for you," she joked. "At least the wine was normal," Hazel laughed, "So, what do you think about DC so far?" she asked her friend, as it was Daisy's first time to visit the city. "I love it!" Daisy exclaimed excitedly, "But I would love any historical town, you know that," she said as she continued to look around the town. "I bet there are historical towns in Germany that wouldn't be so fun to visit," Hazel said with a frown. Daisy glared at her friend silently before turning her attention back to their path, "Are you sure we're going the right way?" Daisy asked nervously as she eyed a dark alleyway. Hazel slapped Daisy's shoulder playfully, "Of course! This is a shortcut," she finished confidently. "I dunno," Daisy said hesitantly as she mindlessly grabbed at her shoulder where Hazel had just slapped. Hazel grabbed a hold of Daisy's wrist and dragged her into the alley, "I promise it's safe. Don't you trust me?" she asked, showing Daisy her best pouty face. Daisy grimaced while giving an unsure nod and following Hazel down the alley. As Hazel walked through the alley confidently, Daisy eyed her surroundings watchfully, but neither girl noticed when two men appeared from the shadows. Hazel stopped in her tracks since she was the first to notice the two men. Daisy immediately stopped as soon as her friend did, "What's wrong?" she asked Hazel nervously. Hazel remained silent as the men crept closer to the girls. Daisy glanced in Hazel's line of view to find the two men almost right in front of them. Hazel grabbed onto Daisy's arm in fear as Daisy let out a gasp. "Feeding time," one of the men whispered causing the silent man to smile. Hazel spoke, her voice shaky, "If you're hungry there's a restaurant right down the block," she suggested. The men laughed eerily, then one replied, "That won't satisfy us," he said as the two men moved closer to the girls. One man reached out to gently stroke Hazel's face while the other stepped closer to sniff Daisy's hair. Both the girls closed their eyes as they waited for the worst, but nothing came. Their eyes shot open as they heard a loud commotion to find two new men fighting the creepers who were about to attack the girls. Hazel reached over and grabbed onto Daisy's arm again and pulled her friend away from the fight. "What's going on?" Daisy whispered in a panic. "Either those guys are here to save us or they want us for themselves. I wanna run but my legs are frozen," Hazel whispered back. Daisy nodded as the two girls watched the fight intently. They noticed that the two new men separated the attackers and took them on, one on one. "Is that an...ax?" Daisy asked in shock as the taller man blocked a punch with the wooden handle of the ax. Hazel nodded, her eyes facing straight ahead as the men engaged in a fierce battle. As the battle continued, the original attackers realized that they were overpowered and fighting a losing a battle. They gave the girls one last glaring glance before retreating into the night.
The two girls silently shook with fear as the new men approached them. "Are you two ok?" the shorter of the two asked as he extended his hand to Hazel; the taller followed suit and extended his hand to Daisy. Hazel quickly accepted his hand while Daisy stared at the taller man. A chill was sent down Hazel's spine as she felt the cold touch of the man. "It's ok," the taller man said to the still frightened Daisy. She hesitantly accepted as Hazel answered, "They didn't do anything to us, we were just scared. Thank you for showing up when you did because you saved our lives," she finished gratefully, as she found herself gripping the shorter man's hand extra tight. "You're welcome. To make sure you stay out of danger for the rest of the way, how about we escort you home?" the shorter man asked to Hazel. Hazel nodded in reply, "You ok with that Daisy?" Hazel asked her friend. Daisy eyed the two men before answering, "Please," she said softly, more to the taller man in front of her rather than her friend beside her. "After you, Daisy," the taller man smiled down at her. Daisy nodded as she walked next to the tall gentleman and Hazel walked with the shorter. "What's your name, love?" the man accompanying Hazel asked. Hazel glared back at the man, "I don't know, what's your name?" she asked with attitude, causing the man to grin. "My name is Henry now your turn," Henry said. Hazel smiled, gratefully, and went to extend her hand and realized she still had a firm grip of his hand, "Nice to meet you, Henry. I'm Hazel," she introduced herself. While Hazel and the shorter man walked, Daisy walked silently next to the taller man. "Thanks for saving us," Daisy said softly to the man next to her. He smiled down, "You're welcome," he said simply. "I don't even know your name," she noted outloud. The man paused before answering, "Abe," he said, now avoiding her eye contact. "Abe is my favorite president," Daisy said mindlessly to herself before embarrassment washed over her. "That's our hotel!" Daisy exclaimed, trying to hide her random confession. The two girls then moved next to one another as the men stood in front of them, "Now," started Henry, "we don't want to see you two out after dark anymore. Understand?" he questioned the girls. Daisy nodded silently as Hazel spoke up, "I can't guarantee it," she admitted with a grin, kinda hoping to see the man again. "I mean it. It's not safe out here," he scolded firmly. Daisy grabbed her friend, "We'll be safe," she said as she began to pull Hazel towards the hotel. "Maybe we'll run into you another time then, when it's safer," Hazel commented trying to stop Daisy from dragging her away. The two men let a grin creep across their faces, "Until then," Abe stated with a tip of his ballcap. The two men then quickly disappeared into the night.