Kyra jumped as one of the customers pinched her ass.
"Hey, what the hell do you think you're doing?" she asked the pot-bellied truck driver who had committed the deed. He obviously had a death wish.
"Just admiring those sweet buns of yours." Kyra rolled her eyes and resisted the urge to splash the hot coffee she was carrying in his face. Turning her back on the trucker Kyra delivered the coffee to the next table over and collected the check. Her last for the night. Thank god, I'm exhausted. She had just finished a nine hour shift with a half hour worth of overtime at the all night diner. Taking off her apron and throwing it behind the counter, Kyra was pocketing her tips when Angie, her replacement, walked in. As she put on another apron, Kyra leaned over: "Watch out for the trucker at table three, he's the touchy-feely type." Angie only nodded. She had dark circles under her eyes. Poor thing, with that new baby I bet she's barely getting any sleep. Kyra breathed a sigh of relief as she walked out of the diner. She couldn't wait to get home to her bed. Or couch. Whichever she came to first.
The walk home was the only remaining obstacle. Since all her classes were in the morning, Kyra had to work the afternoon and night shift, which meant she had to walk the streets of Gotham's slums in the darkest part of the night. The time when all Gotham's creatures came out to play. She was just a few blocks away from her apartment when she heard a high-pitched voice call out in the dark.
"Hello there, my lovely lady, would you like to dance?" Keeping her cool, Kyra scanned her surroundings. She couldn't see anybody, but that didn't mean there wasn't anybody there. Crouching down, pretending to tie her shoe, Kyra slipped out the small switchblade she kept in her sock. 'Just in case.' She had thought when she'd put it there before work. She was glad she had it now. Picking up her pace just a bit, Kyra continued on her way, avoiding alleys and dark corners, anywhere someone could lurk.
She made it to her apartment without any other problem. She slipped in and shut the door, checking twice to be sure it was locked. She set her keys on the table by the door and tramped through her bedroom into her bathroom. She took the ponytail out of her long blond hair, brushed it, changed into her favorite shorts and a t shirt, wiped off her makeup, and climbed into bed.
Kyra had just begun to doze off when she heard her bedroom door open. She froze. She heard heavy steps coming closer, wondering how anyone could have gotten into her apartment. She feigned sleep, hoping whoever it was would just take some stuff and leave. She didn't have anything nearby she could use as a weapon, not even a damn lamp. All she had in the way of self defense skills was tae kwon do, something she hadn't practiced since she was fourteen. She was twenty-two now. Everything suddenly went very still. Then, she heard the voice again, this time right by her ear, whisper "Glad you decided to dance, lovely." Kyra shot up, swinging her foot in the direction of the voice. Her foot connected with something soft, and she heard a grunt. She bolted for the door, making it to her entranceway before she was tackled. She hit the hardwood floor with a painful jolt. The body on her back wrapping its arms around her to keep her from moving. She struggled to get her arms loose, but her assailant was stronger. She looked up towards the door, still trying to free herself and saw her keys were gone, and then she saw that one of the small windows that framed the door was broken. Well, that was stupid of me. Her assailant took this moment of realization, grabbed her head, and slammed it into the floor.