Chapter 4
I couldn't believe how beautiful she was. Especially in comparison to the dark, empty street we were on. Her beauty was like a light to me, radiating from her body. It was like staring into the eyes of an angel. I couldn't tell exactly how tall she was from where I stood, but her body was perfectly symmetrical. She wasn't so skinny that you could see her ribs, but she was fit – almost athletic looking. Perfect. As she started walking towards me, her bright, almost platinum blonde hair danced in the wind. It was straight about halfway down, then it became wavy as it reached the top of her chest. It looked like something out of one of those magazines you see at a salon. But what caught my attention the most wasn't her perfect hair or her flawless skin. It wasn't even her subtle, but pronounced curves, or her supermodel body. But set into the pale skin of her face were intense golden brown eyes. Their ocher color was amazingly vivid, and the contrast from the purple rings underneath her eyes made them appear to be burning.
I hadn't entirely forgotten about the man behind me, but I was stunned by the sight of this girl. I didn't want to turn around to see if he was still stalking me, too afraid that she would disappear if I looked away. She was still walking towards me, and as she got closer I felt my heart pounding in my chest – even harder than before – and my breath came in ragged gasps.
I heard a snarl come from behind me, and I spun around in a sort of curious fear. The man was crouched down low as if he were about to pounce. The fury in his eyes, which was directed to me, made me involuntarily shiver.
I wished more than anything that the beautiful girl wasn't here. I'd never been very brave, but I now hoped that this crazed man would be satisfied with me and leave her alone. I wanted to tell her to run, tell the man to spare her and take me, but my voice was stuck deep in my throat. The fear had paralyzed my vocal chords and not one sound escaped from my mouth.
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed her walking past me. My eyes followed her graceful stride as she came within feet of the man and stopped directly in front of him, apparently oblivious to his psychotic state. I reached out to her, my hand grasping air, to try and pull her back, but I was frozen in place and she was just out of reach.
I don't know how long they stood like that, face to face, but it seemed like an eternity to me. The man's lips were moving as if he were talking to her, but I didn't hear him say anything. I wanted to turn and run back to Ben and the car, but out of fear of something happening to this beautiful angel, I stayed. I was no coward...but I certainly wasn't getting any closer to this man. I had no idea what was wrong with him, but I was positive I'd seen him eating another man, and I was pretty sure that the victim hadn't been alive.
I was just about to work up the courage to say something – anything – when the man turned and disappeared back down the alley impossibly fast. Maybe he was on high on PCP or something, I thought to myself. I didn't know what, if anything, she had said or did to him, but whatever it was, he was gone now and that's all the mattered. I wanted to go to her, talk to her, thank her, admire her...whatever. I just felt this strange urge to be close to her, as if she were a star and I was a planet, and gravity was pulling me towards her. But before I could say anything, she turned and came towards me. I was more nervous than I'd ever been. She was so close I could touch her without even extending my arm all the way. Her gaze was more intense up close, but my eyes were locked to hers.
"Get out of here," she said to me, with a voice that almost sang out. It was just as beautiful as her appearance.
I waited for her to add something else, but she didn't, and just continued to stare at me. I was thinking of different ways to be charming because I needed to know this girl. Whatever the cost. I wanted to ask her about the man, about what had happened, but I didn't want to bring up the fact that I had been scared shitless during the whole encounter.
"Who are you?" was all I could manage at the moment. I felt stupid immediately after the words left my mouth. Why did I ask her that? I could be so bad with girls sometimes. But this wasn't just any girl, and I was almost intimidated by her presence, while at the same time I felt comfortable and safe. Like I was meant to be here, with her. I tried to recover from my previous blunder quickly.
"Can we take a walk...and talk, maybe?" Ugh, what was with all the questions? I should have been coming up with some good lines, things that would charm her. I wanted to tell her how beautiful she was, but I had little doubt that someone like her wouldn't already know that. Much to my surprise, she actually agreed.
"Okay," was all she said. But that was enough for me. She walked away from me, back towards the main road, and I jogged a bit to catch up to her. As we continued past the bar, I saw Ben standing outside (obviously drunk) talking to two girls that looked to be around twenty-one. He saw me but didn't say anything. He simply smiled and nodded, probably impressed with my present company. There was no need to say more. Over the years, we'd learned to communicate with each other, without the need for vocalization.
When we made it to the main road, I followed my mysterious savior to the left, the lights of shops and cars in front of us. It was getting later now and the pedestrian traffic had thinned since Ben and I had first arrived.
I had to walk quite fast to keep up with her. Her stride was so graceful and elegant, and her feet made no noise on the sidewalk below us. I must have looked very scared still, because I saw her head turn to look at me, and a half-smile spread across her face as she chuckled under her breath. I could see a pier and the dark water ahead of us. We walked in comfortable silence the rest of the way.