It was overcast, and I worried that it would rain again, so I resolved to be back before twelve.
With this decision in mind, I pulled on my shoes, slipped into a light jacket and left.
I walked briskly to keep warm, and was soon in an unfamiliar part of town, and looked nervously around for a landmark. This definitely wasn't where I had planned on going.
I became more uneasy as I heard distant laughs and jeers becoming louder, and noticed multiple footfalls behind me. My heartbeat quickened, I stopped and heard the footsteps spread out as they moved to surround me.
A scream caught in my throat as I turned and saw my pursuers.
They were dressed roughly in work uniforms from one of the nearby factories, and were disheveled and unshaven, but it was their eyes that scared me. Predatory, like a lion on discovery channel.
Acting on instinct, I ran.
I didn't get far.
"Come on honey, we only want to play." The tall one cajoled as he pinned me against the alley wall.
The others laughed as they closed around me. Unbidden, a whimper slipped between my lips as a hand slid under my shirt.
"Put her down and turn around. Slowly."
The steady, dangerous voice came from behind the men, so I couldn't see it's source.
"Oh, yeah, and who are you?" The leader smirked disdainfully, and made as if to push him aside.
He didn't last long after that. A savage mouth was at his throat in an instant, and, almost immediately I saw him turn pale and bloodless. Finished, the apparition cast the limp body aside and took a step forward, his mouth stained with blood.