WARNING: Contains violence and sexual content.
Chapter Forty-Eight
In the Shadows
The following night, just as the sun was setting, some partygoers were heading out to enjoy Chicago's nightlife.
In one area of the city, two girls walked arm in arm together.
One was a skinny girl with white skin and long black hair in a ponytail and wearing a blue sparkling jumpsuit whilst her companion was curvy and had wavy red hair and wore a gold dress and white boots.
"Looking forward to a fun night eh Helen?" the red headed girl asked.
"For sure Kim!" the black-haired girl replied, "After a busy week of lectures and homework, I can't wait to let loose!"
It was a typical Friday Night for the two young girls, as it would be for any student, and they were excited to finally let their hair down.
"Man! I swear!" Helen crowed "Any more talks from Mr Barnes I think I could have died of boredom!"
"He's not that bad!" Kim said, "I think he was just as tired and ready to start the weekend as much as we were!"
"I suppose!" Helen said "But I wish he'd be a bit more upbeat in his classes rather than talking in that robotic tone! It's like every day is Monday for him!"
Kim laughed and the girls continued to walk on towards the nightclubs which from where they could hear, was getting closer.
"Shall we start at the Blue Bear Club? Then we'll head to the Hip Joint?" Kim asked.
"Sure!" Helen replied, "Then we'll see what else we can enjoy before the night is over!"
The two girls giggled in agreement and walked together down the street yet as they passed an alleyway, a dustbin lid rolled out in front of them, and the girls jumped back in shock.
"Whoa!" Helen jumped back and Kim investigated the alleyway, yet she couldn't see anything with it being so dark.
"How did that happen?" Helen asked.
"No idea." Kim replied then shrugged "Meh, must have been a stray cat or a bin fell over."
"More than likely." Helen said also shrugging, "Come on, lets…."
But she didn't get to finish her sentence as she suddenly felt a hand grab the back of her jumpsuit and she was pulled back.
Helen cried out in fright, then as Kim turned around to her friend, she saw a trio of young men wearing street clothes and hoods covering their heads.
Once of them who wore a dirty grey one stepped up and Kim gasped as she saw a glint of something sharp in his hand!
A Knife!
"Get in the alley!" the man ordered "Now!"
Kim cried out as the man waved the knife in front of her and she looked over at Helen who was being held in a bear hug, one arm around her middle and the other around her throat.
She was frozen in fear and wasn't sure whether to scream or even run for help.
"I said get in the alley!" the first man shouted.
Kim was snapped back into reality, and she quickly moved backwards into the dark alleyway, the three men following her and holding Helen hostage.
"What are you going to do to us?" Helen wept as she struggled.
"Shut up!" her captor snapped and he along with his fellow thugs marched her and Kim deeper into the alleyway and around a corner, so they were around the back of the houses.
"Please! Don't hurt us!" Kim pleaded "Please! You can have all the money you want! My phone, anything! Just please don't hurt me or Helen!"
"Shut the fuck up!" the first thug snarled brandishing the knife again, "Just do as we say!"
The two girls whimpered and cried as they were marched to an area behind a house and some large dustbins.
It was then the thugs stopped and the one holding Helen let go of her and pushed her forward, so she fell on her knees.
Kim instantly knelt beside her to help.
"Helen? Are you okay?" she asked.
Helen nodded and they both looked up to see the thugs standing before them smirking and holding up weapons, a shiny sharp knife, a machete, and a baseball bat.
"What…What do you want from us?" Helen asked.
The thugs glared at the two girls and looked at their purses.
"Empty the contents!" they barked.
At once Helen and Kim did as they were told, and a couple of small purses and their cell phones fell out along with a couple of sets of keys.
"There!" Kim said pointing to their goods "Happy now?"
"No!" the first thug snarled then looked the two girls up and down.
"We want to see all the good you own!" he smirked "Remove!"
The two girls looked appalled.
"NO!" Helen cried "You…You can't!"
"Don't fucking push me!" the first thug growled "Strip! Or we'll cut them off ourselves!"
"And trust us!" the one holding the machete "We won't be so careful!" he cackled.
The two girls wept and sobbed, and they slowly began to remove their clothes and the three men smirked.
"Ohhh yes…the boss will love this!" the one with the baseball bat licked his lips and took out his cell phone to video it.
"Keep going sluts!" the first one said, "Keep at it!"
The girls continued to weep, and Kim muttered "I want my mum…"
But the thugs just laughed and sniggered as well as videoed the action.
Just then, a loud thud was heard, and the three men looked up, as did the girls.
"What was that?" the first man asked, then they all heard a scratching noise, almost like claws against brick.
The three men then realised that there was something behind them and they looked over.
The two girls froze on the spot, also scared and curious at the sound, Helen had half of her jumpsuit down around her middle with her bra showing whilst Kim had lowered her dress in the same manner.
Both were also wondering if what or who was behind the men was there to help them or cause more trouble.
As they along with their attackers watched the dark alleyway behind them, a face soon appeared in the light.
It was a painted face, brown, with three red stripes over the cheeks and a thick black line going over the eyes like a mask, the figure had long dark brown hair with a couple of red and orange feathers in it and its eyes were flashing and its teeth were bared, a growling animalistic noise was erupting from its throat.
The thugs were terrified, as were the two girls.
"What…What the fuck is that?" the first one cried.
"A monster?" the second one asked dropping his phone and it landed screen down.
"Or…something else…" the third one whimpered.
Just then, the figure stepped forward more into the light, and crouched and it was then they saw it was a female, wearing a full body tan nylon catsuit a light brown loin cloth and crop top, as well as brown elbow and knee pads.
But what concerned the thugs as well as the women was that she wore metal claws on her fingers and behind her was a tail with a blade on the end!
The three thugs as much as they were shell-shocked, they got into action and brandished their weapons.
"Alright!" the first one side "You dressed up bitch! Come and have a go!"
The tribal woman glared and let out a growl before leaping for him and knocking him down onto his back before snarling in his face like a leopard before driving her claws into his side making him scream in agony!
His two comrades jumped back in horror as the tribal woman wrenched out her claws then lifted her hand and slashed him across the throat!
As she did that the girls stepped back screaming and she looked up.
"GO!" she barked.
The women stared at the tribal woman in shock.
"GO! RUN!" she barked again, and the two girls quickly grabbed their belongings and turned to run away.
"Bitch!"
The tribal woman turned and saw the second thug try to bring his machete down on her, but she used her tail blade to stop it.
The thug was stunned, and he saw her smirk then push his machete, so it was wretched out of his hands.
She then jumped off the fallen thug and turned to him, yet the third one went for her with his baseball bat.
"Die slag!" he shouted but the Tribal woman turned to him and ducked as he swung his bat and he tripped over his fallen comrade who was choking on his blood.
She then did a backflip over him and placed her foot on his back so he couldn't get up again then looked up smirking at the second thug.
"What are you?" the thug cried as he picked up his machete and pointed it at her.
The tribal woman said nothing but licked her black painted lips.
The third thug meanwhile struggled under her foot.
"Get off me!" he demanded "Get off me!"
But the Tribal woman pushed her foot further and harder on his back making it impossible for him to move.
"Keith!" he gasped "Do something! Get this slag off me!"
Keith shook his head bringing himself back to reality, and he held up his machete before glaring at the tribal woman.
"I don't know who you are bitch!" he snapped "But I'm gonna hack you to bits!"
The tribal woman smirked.
"Please…try…" she hissed as she got into a fighting stance.
Keith glared and lifted the machete before bringing it down on her head, yet before he could strike her, he felt the blade get grabbed and he saw the tribal woman holding it between her hands!
"What the?" he gasped as he looked at her smirking face, then she lifted her foot and kicked him back into the wall making him loose grip of his machete and she caught it.
She then spun the weapon in her hand triumphantly.
"Three perverts down!" she hissed "One dead, and two others pissing themselves in terror!"
The thug who had been pinned down quickly crawled away and joined his comrade and they looked at their fallen leader.
"Roy…" he said, "Oh man, what's the boss going to say?"
"Boss?" the tribal woman asked glaring at the two men, "You mentioned a boss?"
"Oh shit!" Keith said, "Now you done it, Cliff!"
Cliff stood up and he pulled Keith to his feet "Run!" he shouted.
The two thugs shot off like rockets and the tribal woman glared before chasing after them leaving behind the thug she had attacked earlier bleeding in the alleyway.
Meanwhile, around the corner, the two women had been watching the whole thing and they couldn't believe what they had seen.
"Oh my God Kim!" Helen cried "A superhero, or rather heroine came to save us!"
"Looks like it!" Kim said, "Oh my God!"
"You don't suppose it was one of those vigilantes they talk about on the news, do you?""
Helen asked.
"Huh?" Kim looked at her friend.
"You know! A lot of witnesses or even the perpetrators of crime themselves say that vigilantes dressed as animals appear when there's a crime happening!" Helen said.
Kim thought for a moment.
"Hey, I think you may have a point! Yet, I've never seen anything like this!"
The two girls watched as the two remaining thugs ran off with the tribal woman chasing them.
"I think we should get out of here!" Kim said pulling Helen with her "Forget tonight, I don't think I could face going to the Nightclubs now."
"Agreed." Helen said "Look, as you know my folks are away this weekend, you want to come back to mine, and we can watch some movies with popcorn and drinks?"
"Sounds like a plan!" Kim said "I…I don't think I could face tonight alone." She added in a shaky voice "After what's happened."
"Me too." Helen said, then she heard the sound of sirens.
"Crap!" she said "I think someone might have heard the fight, come on! Let's get out of here!" And she took her friend's hand, and they headed back home as fast as they could, unsure of what had just happened that evening.
So two girls on a night out were attacked by three thugs, but then a costumed woman appeared and saved the girls and attacked the thugs, killed one and is chasing the two others! I think a few of you can guess who it was!
Also, a very Happy Thanksgiving to my American Readers as well as a belated birthday to my dear friend Meian16 who celebrated his birthday yesterday! Hope you had a great day!