Shaggy the Vampire
Chapter 3 – Saved
It was after a few minutes that Daph began to feel uneasy and chanced a look behind her. There was a man there, silently following her. He was some distance away but it was still unnerving to know he was there.
She kept walking through the alley, looking around for some sign of Scooby, hoping he would show up so they could go. She chanced another look behind her; the man had acquired a companion and the two were walking along, side by side. She turned back round – and nearly stopped dead. There were two guys ahead of her (who knew where they'd appeared from) and they were standing on either side of the alley, leaning against the walls. They were looking down at the ground, not paying any attention to her, but they were standing absolutely still as if they were waiting for something.
Daphne's heart went cold and she could taste panic rising up her throat. She kept walking while watching the two in front and trying to listen to the two behind. You're okay, she thought to herself. You're okay. Just remain calm. Maybe nothing will happen. And if it does, you're ready. Remember your training. Martial arts. Defensive positions…
As she closed in on the two in front, both stepped away from the wall and blocked her way. Daph slowed but refused to stop moving. Then it all happened so fast! The two in front launched and tried to grab her arms but she kicked out at one and punched the other before facing the two behind her. She did all right, at first. But fending off four people all at once is difficult and she began to struggle: one managed to grab her hair and, distracted, she immediately reached up to make him let go; he grabbed her wrist and twisted her arm up her back. One of the four pulled a knife and a wave of terror flooded Daphne – she elbowed the guy holding her in the ribs with her free arm, making him let go, but the other two grabbed her and threw her against a wall.
Holding her wrist and wincing, she looked up at the guys as they came closer and stared hopelessly at the knife. Now what? she thought. But it seemed help was at hand as there was an angry shout and something dark suddenly whipped past at lightning speed. The five in the alley turned but it had already disappeared. The four men looked at each other, confused and worried.
It happened again. This time, the dark shadow flew about five feet above them in the opposite direction. "What is that?" asked one of the men.
Before he could get an answer, the dark shadow came again and the man who had spoken disappeared with a loud cry. The three remaining looked around for their buddy – and suddenly saw him flying through the air, screaming, until he hit a wall of boxes and lay lying in the mess. They were all looking around now. One of the men, obviously either the bravest or the most stupid, stepped forward and called out "Who's there?"
There was silence for a minute…before a large shadow slowly emerged. Turning to see who was casting it, they all saw a tall figure in a long, black cloak that totally shrouded the body and head. The figure raised its head to reveal a pale chin and mouth underneath the large hood and the mouth opened to show two large fangs. The two men standing closest to Daphne started quivering while the one who had stepped forward gulped but defiantly took another step forward. The figure snarled, showing more of its fangs, before it launched at the man who'd stepped forward – the two hit a wall where the figure pinned the man by his throat. It bent its head over the side of the man's neck and the man let out a scream. One of his buddies picked up a bar of metal that was lying nearby and ran to help his friend. He hit the figure over its back as hard as he could but it didn't seem to hurt him – instead, the figure simply flung out an arm and sent the man flying into his friend, narrowly missing Daphne who had to hug the wall to avoid them.
The figure let go of the man he had trapped (who just crumpled to the ground, looking only half-conscious as he took pained breaths and held a hand to his bloodied neck) and walked into the centre of the alley, staring down the men as if silently challenging them. The two by Daphne had righted themselves and the first one, the one sent flying into the boxes, had now got back onto his feet; with three against one, they felt more confident and so took the challenge. Each grabbed a nearby object as a weapon and the three charged upon the lone figure – he did not move until the last second, in which he suddenly jumped and just kept going up, out of sight. He landed a couple feet from Daphne, who was still leaning against the wall. She gasped and the figure turned his head slightly towards her.
But then he was distracted by the attack of the three men. They couldn't touch him: he was too fast and too strong. At one point, he grabbed two of them and threw them nearly half-way down the alley before grabbing the third and throwing him high up into the air – when he finally hit the ground, there was a loud crack and he grabbed his arm with a cry. The one he had pinned to the wall, the one still holding his bleeding neck and apparently oblivious to everything but the pain, crawled slowly away towards the alley entrance.
Daphne, who hadn't moved due to shock or wonder, abruptly came to her senses and decided to run whilst the going was good. The warring men were blocking the entrance so she had to run in the other direction but one of them noticed her retreating figure and went after her, leaving his poor buddies (one now with a useless arm) to fend off the strange figure. Her shoes weren't designed for running so he quickly caught up with her and grabbed her arm but she kicked his shin and fisted his nose, breaking the bridge of it – his hold loosened but refused to let go entirely and they struggled. Then something hit them. Literally. Daph fell to the floor whilst her attacker suddenly found himself flying down the alley and knocking over his two limping, retreating friends.
Daph stared after him, pleased he was gone, but then realised what had happened. She slowly looked behind her and saw, all covered in black: two boots, two legs, a waist, two arms, a chest, shoulders, and a hood. The lower half of his face could be seen and the pale skin made a stark contrast to the black; frighteningly, there was blood centred around his mouth and on his teeth. Glancing back at the alley, Daph saw that the men had now all disappeared and fearfully looked back at the figure: Who was this? Was he here to save her? Or saving her for last?
The hooded figure stood still for a moment before holding out his hand. Save her? She took his hand but let go almost immediately – it felt rock solid and was ice cold. She decided to take a chance and took his hand, ignoring the cold shiver than ran through her, and he helped her up. They stood and stared at each other. Daphne went to speak but the figure looked away to the alley's entrance. Daphne looked, too, but there was nothing there. She turned back to the figure but he was gone…
Notes: The idea for this chapter came from a mixture of the 1st Spider-Man movie and the 1st Twilight movie – which I saw recently. Hope you enjoyed and please review.