January 15, 1967 - New York - Hospital
A chilly breath swept into the room from the window. Helplessly, I trembled. The overwhelming feeling of dread flood into my system clogging senses, making everything fuzzy. "Out." The masked man's hands strangled into fists, then glanced back at me. "Go." He didn't have to tell me a third time. I was out of the window onto the fire escape just as the man from the alley started to try and turn the door handle. Finding it locked he took out the keys to unlock it. I stopped and looked back at the masked man, but his back was to me. He was going to fight this man. That fact sobered me enough to hesitate to leave. I wanted to help, but I knew I would just be a burden.
Just as I was about to turn away, the door burst open, and the man who almost raped me walked in with the man from the alley. Both men were breathing heavy, excited to see both the masked man and I together. They looked at us with crazy eyes, ready to kill. The surprise I felt when seeing them, together and free, and merely fifteen feet away made me freeze. They were here kill me. I wished at the moment that I was less of a coward. I wished that I could be Silk Spectre, and not have to be afraid of big bad men. But at that moment in time, one of the few moments in time where time seemed to stop, I got a good, long look at the man who had tried to strip away my purity. His very presence made my gut twist tightly, but I made myself face him, look at him. He looked back, and took pleasure in my fear. He was a monster. If the masked man didn't, I vowed, I would kill him.
No one said anything, but the two men merely glanced at each other, and then stepped forward. And before I knew it, they all were fighting. The masked man's fist smashed into man from the alley just as the rapist's arms came down in a powerful swing on the masked man's back. Needless to say, he fell like a rock to the ground. It was over like it started. In a flash. With the masked man temporarily out of order, the two men's attention snapped onto me. I let out a scream when they moved towards me, and looked around for something to defend myself with, but there was nothing. Only chilly night air and the sound of passing cars on the street.
Their noses scrunched as if they could smell the dread I felt. The man from the alley asked, "What do we do with him?" He kicked the masked man in the side.
The other one sneered, "Kill em." His voice was nauseating.
The man from the alley laughed as he pulled out a knife. "He will be pleased."
"Yeah, not as pleased as when we bring her in," the rapist said. He licked his lips. My knees shook. My screamed for me to run, but I was locked in place. "Maybe we still have a bit of time-" Before he could get another word out, there was a growl, and the masked man kicked the knife away from the man from the alley. Then he kicked the man right in the chest, making him shoot back into the wall. His head made a loud cracking noise as it hit.
With that guy out of the way, the masked man went for the rapist. They both swung and missed, but the masked man grabbed the rapist's arm and twisted until it made a nasty snap. The masked man pushed the rapist down, then turned just as the man from the alley ran at him. Somehow, he'd managed to pick back up the knife, and he swung at the masked man. The masked man, after dodging a few swipes, knocked the knife out of his hand and made to punch him. The alley creep caught his arm and gave him a yank to get him off balance. In a blur the man from the alley's knee was shooting towards the masked man. The masked man grunted as the knee smashed into his core. His body bent unnaturally inward and unable to help it, I let out a scream, and stumbled backwards until my back hit the railing of the fire escape. A loud groan came from the metal seconds after I hit it. Then it shook. All three men's eyes found a way to me and just as another loud groan sounded from the fire escape, I glanced behind me to see another fire escape on the building behind me. I can't make it, I thought. But then I looked down and noticed a level or two down had a larger, wider platform. Without a second's hesitation, I ran to the hole in the metal and, as quickly as I could, stepped down the ladder leading to the next floor.
I had made it halfway down the second ladder when the fire escape shook fiercely. Not expecting such a rough shake, I lost my grip on the ladder. I landed on my back with a bang, and I lost all of my breath. The world spun and I was unable to move for a moment, but the sound of thundering feet and squeaking metal made my pulse spike. I was quickly back on my feet, unable to stomach the thought of meeting alley-guy or the rapist again. But as their feet thundered, a small groan slowly got louder as the fire escape slowly lost the ability to support so much weight. Knowing I only had a few seconds of stability left, I bolted for the side. Before I could second guess myself I launched myself over the railing.
My fingers spread with the anticipation of catching the metal. My hair blew into my face, and I slammed my eyes closed, thinking the worst. My heart dropped because I knew this wasn't going to end well, but with a loud bang and serious amount of pain in my chest, I hit the other fire escape, and my hands wrapped around the bars, even as my chest bounced against the rail. I let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding and peeled my eyes open. I hung for a moment, wrapped in my own bubble of relief. But the moment was fleeting because next there was a boot next to my hand and a rough shake as someone jumped onto the fire escape. I jumped out of my skin, my hand coming off of the railing for a second before it slapped back on. I let out a scream of effort.
But I didn't have my grip anymore.
My fingers fought to keep from slipping, but the more I adjusted my grip, the easier they slipped until I finally lost all friction and my hands slipped like water. I let out a cry as I fell down, and another as someone's hand snagged my wrist. My body slammed into the railing and then I was hauled up and over and thrown into the brick wall of the building beside the hospital. I let out a sob as pain seemed to buzz all over my body for different reasons. It felt good to cry, to let tears drip down my hot cheeks. My chest ached, my face pulsed, and my arm felt like it was bleeding. I looked up to see who had pulled me up and over, and frowned when I saw the masked man. He was looking down at me, hesitant to help, to say something, to do anything. This was his fault.
"You suck at your job," I hissed. "This is your fault." The man said nothing because he wasn't given a chance to. There was a growl, and a hiss from the other side of the street, the other fire escape, and both of our eyes widened as we watched the man from the alley run, his boots smashing down on the fire escape, to the edge and jump. The masked man stepped back, putting himself between me and the man, but then winced when the other guy fell a few feet short of the fire escape and dropped down into the alley. I let out a choked scream when I heard the nasty, wet thud that followed only a few seconds later. "Oh my God," I breathed. The masked man hummed and looked over the railing. He didn't look away from the street below for a while. After a few tense moments, I blew out a large breath, but it only soothed my anxiety for a few seconds. I tried to speak, but my voice wouldn't come. I waited a moment, letting the site of him missing the rail sink in before I tried again. My voice was louder this time, and it shook. "Is he...is he...?"
That snapped him out of it. He glanced at me, then back down at the street below before he walked over and pulled me up. I clenched my jaw to keep from yelling at him and gave him a look as he dragged me to the railing. I looked up at him, begging him with my eyes to not make me see this, but he let out a small growl and focused on the ground below. So I looked, too. At first, all I saw was what I thought was a sleeping hobo, and I felt better, but then I noticed that he was too still and there was...something flowing...blood. So much blood. With a horrified gasp, I looked at the masked man before more tears filled my eyes. "Why?"
The man didn't respond for a long time. Minutes, or seconds, I couldn't be sure, but the time dragged on painfully slow as I watched him think about it. "He deserved it."
I choked on a breath and hugged myself. Unable to control any of my emotions anymore I let out a cry. "Thank you," I whispered. I looked back down at the dead man below knowing that could have been me. My insides shook. "I'm so sorry. Thank you." Somehow I knew he didn't want my thanks.