Skylar screamed and thrashed as a second set of hands held her firmly around the waist.  Her back smacked against a brick wall. Stars glittered beneath her lids, her head throbbing at the impact.

"Don't scream," a male voice growled out. His stale breath puffed in her face. Nausea crept up on her.

Her eyes flung open upon the release of her mouth and she gulped in a deep breath.  Two men stood in front of her.  One still held a bottle of Jim Beam in his fist as he swayed before her.  Both of them were slobbering drunk, barely standing upright in the alley they'd pulled her into.

"What's a pretty girl like you doing by yourself?" The one who had grabbed her arms slurred out.  He was short, taller than her, but still noticeably short for a man.  His head was only a few inches above hers and she was just five foot two.  He scratched at his dirty red hair, rusty brown in the glow of street lamps, and gazed through glassy eyes at her.

Skylar's throat was dry.  Her mouth opened and closed, searching for anything to say to get her out of the situation. It wasn't the first time she'd been mugged, and it wouldn't be the last if her parents kept up the way they had been. "I was-" she began and received a harsh slap that knocked her to the side.

The man holding the bottle knelt over her.  "We don't give a fuck what you were doing.  But let me tell you what you're going to do." He snatched up a handful of her hair and dragged her to her feet. The light from the street flickered out of sight as they dragged her farther down the alley. If the man's breath hadn't been bad enough, the smell of broken trash bags and old food was sure to make her puke on her assailants.

Skylar cried out in pain when he tossed her head to the side and pressed sloppy kisses to her neck, his beard scratching at her skin.  "Help!" she screamed and doubled over in pain when a fist collided with her stomach. She gasped for air, heaving at the red hot pain in her abdomen.

"Stupid bitch!  Shut the fuck up!" the red head bellowed.  She couldn't move or catch her breath when a hand snaked up her shirt, groping at her bra. Not a single care for the adolescent pink and yellow smiley faces on the cups. She figured they didn't have an age limit with the way they were behaving. She wouldn't put it past them to have their way with her and leave her in a heap behind one of the steaming dumpsters.

She tried to make her mind go blank and find a mental hiding place from her impending doom.  "Don't hog her!" The other man shoved at his friend and fumbled with the zipper on her pants. 

As if a switch has been flipped she bolted upright and pushed at the man trying to pull her pants down.  "Get the fuck off of me!" she shrieked and kicked him in the groin.  He groaned and fell to his knees.

"Fucking bitch!" The other lunged at her but she dodged him, running further down the alley.  Heaps of garbage littered the sides of the buildings that encased her.  White billowing plumes of steam rose from them along with vents that lead inside.

When Skylar looked behind her she could see the man gaining on her at a fast pace, his friend limped behind.  "Somebody help!" she cried out as panic began to set in.  She ran down the long alley, the street coming closer in front of her.  Just as she was about to reach salvation, the same hands snaked around her and threw her backwards.  She screamed as she hit the cold, wet ground.  Not one person walking around have her a second glance. There was no way in hell they didn't hear her.

Tears streamed down her face when her situation truly sank in.  No one was going to help her. She was going to be just another dead body found mutilated on the streets. "That's it!  I'm done playing nice!" She sobbed as her shirt was ripped over her shoulder.  This was it, she was going to die in this shithole city.

"Hey!" The two men paused at the sound of a voice. 

"What the fuck do you want?" The one over her gritted through clenched teeth.  "Go back to your lab, rich boy." He turned his attention back to Skylar's trembling body and resumed tearing at her clothes.

She cried when his jagged fingernails nicked her skin near her collarbone--a thin red line left in its wake. 

"Is this the only way you can get off?  Rape?" The new voice was smooth and calm with a touch of sarcasm.  "Guess I can't blame you, I wouldn't be able to get a good fuck if I looked half as ugly as you two either." He pulled out a cigarette and lit it between his full pink lips.

Skylar stared, horrified, at the presence.  She couldn't decide whether he was helping or not.  "Why don't you fuck off!" the man shouted and stood up, leaving her on the concrete.  She frantically tried to cover her exposed shoulder, scrambling back and clutching her knees to her chest. "If you need a good lay then you can wait your turn." He went to bend back down when the man stopped him.  Skylar blinked and he was thrown to the side.

His friend charged at the stranger and reached out to grab him.  Before his fist got halfway through the air it was caught and twisted.  The stranger used his free hand to stub his cigarette out on the extended arm.  The man howled in pain. "Now, that's not very nice." He brought the arm down hard on the corner of a dumpster.  The sound of screams and bones breaking echoed through the alleyway. Skylar clamped a hand over her mouth, eyes bulging.

"Fuck!" he sobbed and held his arm.

The man dressed in a casual black suit came over to where she lay stunned on the ground and offered his hand out to her.  "Are you okay?" His giant green eyes peered sympathetically at the frightened girl.  Even his tone was strangely calm under the circumstances.

Skylar couldn't find her voice.  She stared dumbfounded at the man in black.  Her eyes flickered back over his shoulder to the two men who tried to rape her.  Both were sneaking up on her temporary hero.  "Look out!" she yelled when a shiny pocket knife flew through the air towards the man kneeling in front of her.

He turned and in a flash had both men by their throats.  The knife dropped into a puddle at their feet as their hands clawed at the grip on them.

"Look at me," he commanded in a growl, and both men slowly trailed their eyes to his.  "You want to fuck someone so bad, then you can fuck your friend here.  I want you to get that limp dick of yours up and shove it up his ass.  And you," he glared at the man who'd wielded the knife, "bend over and take it."

He dropped them gasping for breath and walked back to Skylar.  She had pulled her knees deeper into her chest and shakily wiped the tears from her face.  Her eyes burned from the mascara that had smeared from her crying.

She gawked as the men listened to him and dropped their pants, but she looked away before they began.  The man stepped in front of her view, blocking it, "Miss?  Are you alright?" he repeated once more, taking her hands and blowing hot breath on them.  She hadn't even realized how cold she was until he did that.

"Who," she shook her head.  That wasn't the question she wanted to ask.  "What," she fumbled. That wasn't the right way to start either.

"Let's get you out of here," he breathed. He helped her up and they passed the two grunting men.  She kept her eyes downcast to avoid seeing the act, but she heard the skin on skin slapping that chased her ears all the way to the street.

Skylar hugged the torn fabric to her body as the chill fully consumed her, raising goosebumps all over her arms.  "Is there somewhere I can take you?" he asked trying to get her attention.  "I mean, give you a ride somewhere you needed to go," he clarified when she gaped at him.

"No," she whispered.  Her throat was raw from screaming. Her words felt strained, hoarse. "Thank you, but I- I should just go home." Her voice cracked and her head slumped forward.  

"Listen," he placed a hand on her shoulder but quickly took it away when she flinched, "I don't think it's a good idea to be walking out here alone in the dark.  Where were you heading? I can drop you there or at least walk you the rest of the way," he offered.  Something in his tone seemed genuine to her, but the lack of emotions behind his pale face made her ill at ease.  He was right, nonetheless though.  The last thing she should be doing was walking alone after that episode.  She vowed it would be her first and last time.

Skylar sighed.  "I'm grateful that you helped me back there, but I don't want to be a burden.  I was just going to grab some dinner at Romulus real quick and," she paused and slapped a hand over her back pocket, "oh shit!  My wallet is gone!" Fresh tears glistened at the final straw.

"Hey, hey, Romulus is just right there.  Let me take you there, I swear I'll keep a five foot radius around you if it makes you feel better." He put his hands up in mock surrender and stepped back.  "I'll buy you dinner, it's the least I can do after the night you've had."

She looked up at him and truly saw who he was under the amber lights.  His eyes looked a dark forest green under the night sky.  The height he possessed towered over her and she estimated him to be well over six feet tall. He had a slightly upturned nose and sallow cheeks that rested above a sharp jawline.  His plump lips had a small splotch of blood on the inner corner.  "Your lip is bleeding," she commented with guilt. 

His brows pulled together in confusion as he wiped a thumb to clean himself off.  "They must have hit me during the fight." He wiped the blood on his pants.

Skylar nodded, though she couldn't recall seeing the two men ever land a hit on him.  "I-" she started, looking back at the bar and grill.

The man in black stopped her, gently holding up a hand to silence her.  "It would be my pleasure if you let me escort you there.  And, so we aren't strangers anymore, I'm Bear." He held out a large hand, his short fingernails had been chewed down.

"Skylar." She hesitantly took his hand.  It felt warm despite the cold outside.  "Bear, huh?" She smiled small, her panic subsiding when she began to feel safe again.

He shrugged his broad shoulders.  "If you want to be technical it's Berach, but I hate it." He scratched the back of his dirty blond head nervously.

"That's different, I like it. Like a military barrack. Well Bear, I was going to just order a cheap burger or something." She hated taking things from people, even if it was offered, but her growling stomach was growing louder by the minute. 

"A burger does sound pretty good," he agreed with a smirk.  He stuffed his hands into his suit jacket pockets and went to move forward, with her following close behind. 

They crossed the street in silence and headed back up the block to where the bar and grill was.  Bear held open the double doors for her while she walked under his arm.  She hadn't any need to duck to avoid smacking her head on him.

The place was crowded and loud.  A live band played on the stage while they took their seats at the bar.  "Bear Cruor, didn't expect to see you slumming it here tonight." The man behind the counter approached with a smile.

Bear returned it, "Oh come on, Tom, I'm craving a good burger tonight." He looked over to Skylar and the man's gaze followed.

"I get it.  She's  the one craving a burger tonight." He picked up a glass and started rinsing it out.  "You want your Two Olives special to start?" he asked Bear.

"Yeah, sure."

"And you?" He glanced at Skylar, setting the clean glass down.  She quickly shot a look in Bear's direction.

"She'll have a Malibu sunset, Tom," he ordered.

"I'm not much of a drinker," she confessed and was met with a smirk.

"I figured as much.  It's good, fruity, and it settles the nerves," he assured her with a wink.  Tom pushed two drinks over to them.  Her drink had swirls of vermillion and scarlet while his was a deep amber.

"What did you get?" Skylar inquired as he took a long gulp.

Bear set the glass back down and looked at her with that same expressionless stare as before.  "Just a rum and coke." He passed it to his right, "Want a sip?" He raised his brows in challenge.

Skylar took one sniff of the beverage and gagged.  "I'll pass. What's Two Olives?"

Bear laughed and took another swallow.  "It's an acquired taste," he quipped and set it down.  "Two Olives is an upscale bar on the East end.  Tom works there part time when he isn't here," he explained.

Skylar sipped at her fruity concoction, hoping it would dull her mind enough to forget what happened in the alley. Truth be told, Skylar never even drank that much at parties.  Maybe one or two drinks in one night at the most.  But tonight, as long as she wasn't being carded, she wanted them to keep coming.

"So, Skylar," Bear began, "you're new here.  When did you move to Roman Ridge?"

Skylar gave him a suspicious glance, toying with the frayed yarn poking out from the spot that man had torn her sweater.  "How did you-"

"It's not hard to see you're new.  A true born and bred Ridger wouldn't go walking the streets alone at night.  Also, I've never seen you around and there's only so many people that live in this dump," he scoffed at the comment he made.

Skylar sipped carefully before answering.  "I moved three weeks ago," she admitted, avoiding bringing her parents up.  "How long have you lived here?"

Bear flashed her a devious grin, his full lips thinning out  from the wide smile.  "All my life.  My parents owned this town and made a name for us, now it's mine."

"Oh, so are you like the mayor or something?" she asked. She felt stupid the moment the question left her lips. He was too young to be a mayor, too old to be in high school, but he had an oddly mature aura about him.

"Or something," he replied coolly, shaking his empty glass to get another.  "Two deluxe cheeseburgers with onion rings," he ordered when Tom came to collect the glass.

"Sure thing." He nodded and went back to tell the cook.

"You know the CDC building that everyone calls Gore Palace?" he queried casually.

Skylar had heard the title being thrown around at school, but she never knew it was what people called the CDC.  "Yes," she answered with narrowed eyes.

"Well I run that building," he finished, catching her off guard.

"Wait, you own that whole place?" she asked in disbelief.  "No way, that's where my dad works.  He's the head maintenance worker."

Bear smiled, "Really?  What's his name?"

"Erik Carrow."

"I'll have to make time to meet him.  I'm usually not part of the hiring process, I leave that to the board to take care of." Two steaming baskets of food were set before them and it was all she could do not to grab it and devour the burger like an animal.

Skylar dug in after thanking the server.  Her stomach had begun to growled mercilessly by the time she swallowed her first bite.  After the initial taste of hot food she cleared her throat.  "Can I ask you something?"

Bear nodded his head, popping an onion ring in his mouth.  He washed it down with a long swig of alcohol.

"How are you so calm? My hands are still shaking." Skylar lifted a hand to show her quivering fingers.  "There were so many people on the street just ten feet away and no one listened when I was screaming." Her voice dropped solemnly.  "I don't understand this place.  But you...you helped me like it was nothing.  You didn't even flinch when they pulled a knife." Bear didn't react, not even a shrug.  "I guess what I'm trying to ask is, why did you bother to help me when you could have gotten yourself hurt or worse?" He kept his eyes locked on her while she spoke. His eyes--they were completely different in better lighting. They weren't as dark green as she first thought, now, in the light of the hanging lamp between them, they sparkled like emeralds. Bright and as green as bottle glass.

It looked as if he expected her question.  Lowering his drink he gave her a quick smile.  "You aren't the first girl I've seen in that position at night, and you won't be the last.  This place," he leaned in closer, "it does something to a person. Fucks them up in the head.  Men act like animals and women, well they're guilty of it too but they have a little more couth." He took another swig and Skylar joined him as she polished off her first glass.  "I was just walking to my car parked up the block and I saw those two fucks and what they were doing to you." As if in afterthought, he added quietly, "I have a sister, she's gorgeous, I'd want someone to help her."

Skylar absorbed all the information and furrowed her brows, remembering the events.  "How did you get them to...you know?" She shifted in her seat uncomfortably, flashes of the two men having sex in the middle of the alley passed through her vision.

Bear's gaze faltered ever so slightly.  He looked to Tom and ordered another round for the two of them.  Skylar felt a little pathetic that the drink was already affecting her. Usually she didn't feel anything until the second or third, but then again it was usually beer in her hands.

"I just made a suggestion is all.  They were so drunk off their asses that they actually went through with it.  Sick bastards," he mumbled and  they finished off their drinks and food with little conversation.  Bear handed a gold card to Tom to pay for their meals and turned back to Skylar.  "Now that you got some food in you and a few drinks, do you feel better?" He took back the card and stuck it in his wallet.

Skylar bit her lip and nodded.  "It was a good distraction, thank you." She wiped her hands with a napkin.

"Let me take you home.  That way you don't have to worry about anyone else ruining your night," he offered chivalrously.

The offer was tempting; it was cold outside and other men like her assailants could be lurking.  She thought about her options.  Bear had saved her in the moment, but he was still a stranger to her.  She contemplated taking him up on the ride as she drummed her nails against the side of her glass.  Her palm still had the number from Jake.  "Actually," she smiled at the memory, "I have a ride.  I just need to make a call."

Bear concealed his frown poorly, but reached into his coat to pull out his black iPhone.  "Here, you can use mine." He pressed his thumb on the scanner to unlock it. 

"Thank you." Skylar took it and dialed the number quickly.  The buttons were much smaller than her android block buttons.

After two rings Jake answered.  "Hello?"

"Jake?  It's Skylar." She bit her lip nervously.

"Skylar!  Hey, what's up? It's pretty loud in the background I can barely hear you."

Skylar sighed and gave a small giggle.  "Well, I'm at Romulus, it's super loud in here right now."

Bear's ears perked up as she talked more--twitching ever so slightly as if he was focusing his senses on overhearing her conversation. "Oh yeah?  How do you like it?  Friday and Saturday nights are pretty crazy.  They have live bands and tons of people that come in off the streets," Jake drawled on.

Skylar looked up at Bear, his eyes were on the condensation around his glass.  "It's cool.  Listen, I hope this isn't a bad time or anything..."

"Nope, I'm just sitting at home watching TV," he interrupted.

"Perfect!  So, I know it's getting late and all, but you gave me your number and said to call if I ever needed anything." Skylar turned away from Bear, cupping her hand over the phone and her mouth to muffle her words.  "I need a ride home."

"Sure...wait, you walked there?  Alone?" he asked in disbelief.

Her cheeks heated up at his shocked sound.  "I know, it was stupid.  But I really don't want to walk home in the dark," she continued.

"I'll be there in three minutes."

"Thank you, Jake." She breathed in relief and hung up.  She handed the phone back to Bear who took it without glancing up.  "Thanks for letting me use your phone."

"No problem." He went to put the phone away, but guilt crept up in her mind. Why--she didn't know, but she snatched the phone back before the screen dimmed.

"Here," she said, punching her number in and storing her name, "so we aren't strangers." His somber face lit up at the familiar phrase.

"I take it everything is all set up for you, so I'm going to take off." He set some cash down on the counter as a tip and straightened his suit jacket.

"Okay." Skylar rubbed her arm uncomfortably while he began to walk away. "Bear!" He stopped a few feet away from her.  Skylar got up to walk closer so he could easily hear her over the loud music.  "I just wanted to say thank you again.  For everything." She tucked a piece of long dark hair behind her ear.

Bear's expression softened.  He placed a warm hand on her shoulder.  Her instincts wanted her to pull back but he held her gaze and she suddenly felt immobile.  She was trained on the kelly green orbs before her.  "Get home safely, Skylar.  I'll see you around."

It was as if time stopped when he spoke to her.  She blinked and he was gone.  In his stead was a confused looking Jake.  "Skylar?" He was snapping his fingers in front of her face.

"Sorry." She furrowed her brows and rubbed her temples.  "I had a few drinks, I must have zoned out for a second."

"A second?  I've been trying to get your attention for two minutes." Her brows knit further together.  "Are you okay?" He bent lower to get to her height.  "What did you have to drink?"

Skylar shook the weird feeling from her mind and focused on the boy.  "I'm fine.  Sorry, I was just zoning out on the band.  It's been a long day," she lied smoothly. 

Jake nodded and looked around at the room.  The band was playing at a deafening decibel with strobe lights flickering on stage.  "Alright," he shifted into a smirk, "ready?"

"Yeah." She grabbed his outstretched hand and allowed him to lead her out to his car, her sweater dangling off her left shoulder.  The ride was quick and not as awkward as she had anticipated.  Jake made small talk and told her he'd sneak her free drinks if she ever came in on his shifts.  He dropped her off on the sidewalk in front of her house and bid her a goodnight.

Her parents were still gone, but her mind wasn't on them.  All she could think about was the man in the black suit with eyes of brilliant green amplified by the contrast of crimson blood.