Perched on a low branch of the old warn out apple tree, he had a perfect view of the sidewalk without being seen by others. He had been there for nearly 10 minutes already waiting for her. Rubbing his fifth apple on his pants, he inspected it for wormholes. Even though it was dark out, except for the old lamp that hung loosely on its wires and flickered every now and then, he was able to see well. Since he was not allowed in bright lights especially the sun, his eyes had grown accustomed to the dark and now he was able to see better in the dark then most people could in the day.
Finally, he heard the clicking of her black shoes walking along the sidewalk. Grinning, he set the apple on a junction in the tree where the branches were close together, then leaned over them to get a better view. He caught site of a glint of auburn color from her hair, that was set off when the light flickered overhead.
She thought she was fearless, but he would get her. She would not know what hit her. He watched her and pictured the big scene:
He'd jump out of nowhere from the blackness of the trees, frightening her enough to scream bloody murder. Then he'd laugh at her huge scared eyes, the size of saucers on her face.
He was not afraid of her, but she should be afraid to walk alone at night, again.
Snapping out of his thoughts, he realized that if he wanted to do this, he had better do it now. His timing was ticking by and it had to be good. He ruffled the leaves making a weak branch crack. He watched as she stopped suddenly and looked around.
"Hello, is anyone there?" she asked her strong voice echoing through the silent night air.
He remained still. After a few seconds she shrugged it off, believing it was a noise from an animal. Just as she turned around to continue walking, he jumped down in front of her.
"Hello, Jessica."
Jessica gasped, a tiny scream escaping from her lips. Her eyes grew huge as her foot got caught on a raised part of the sidewalk, where it was starting to get covered by overgrowing weeds. She fell back using her arm to brace herself.
"Michael!" he heard her exclaim before he heard the sickening sound of a bone cracking. Michael went to her side quickly.
"Jessica are you alright, man I'm sorry. I didn't mean to freak you out like that."
Jessica was gripping her pain throbbing wrist. "Yeah right Michael I'll bet." she grated out from between her teeth.
"Jesus, what the hell am I suppose to do? We gotta get help." He stood up and looked around helplessly.
"Just take me to the hospital I can take care of the rest." she ordered, trying to get up. Michael was at her side instantly.
"But Jess..."
"Don't argue just do it." She leaned her head onto his shoulder when he lifted her up in his arms. The pain was too much and she passed out before he got her to the hospital.