7 years later....

It was a busy evening at Monte's café, and Daniel was at his wits end. He was walking to and fro inside the kitchen, with his phone in hand trying to reach Cole, the waiter for the next shift.

My shift was already over and so was Marley's. She had already left, running late for a date. Seeing Daniel this way, I decided to stay a while and help him out. I didn't have any plans for the night anyway.

I was wiping the counter when my phone pinged with a message.

Cheryl : staying at Will's for the night. Will u be alright alone?! XO

Sighing, I typed out a reply.

Me : No worries. Have fun :) X

Flipping my phone shut, I reached for the towel, but pulled my hand away with a gasp, when I touched something cold and clammy instead.

Looking up I saw a man standing on the other side of the counter. One of his hands were on the counter top and I realized that I had touched his hand instead of the towel. He wore a brass ring, or maybe it was gold. He withdrew his hand before I could get a better look, but the large red stone that the ring held, was hard to go unnoticed.

"Uh, ca-can I help you?"

Clearing my throat, I grabbed my pencil and notepad, ready to take his order if needed.

The stranger wore a trench coat with the collars turned all the way up, along with a beanie pulled low over his forehead so his face was partially hidden. The dim lighting favored his intentions of anonymity.

All that could be seen was a faint shadow of a beard. Maybe I was being paranoid but he seemed to give off weird vibes that made my skin tingle.

He grunted for a glass of whisky, and I had to bend all the way towards him to hear him over the music.

"Anything else?"

"Just that. And make it quick."

Oh, somebody's in a rush. After making the order he looked around, almost as if he was expecting someone to pounce up behind him and yell boo.

Nodding to myself, I walked off to grab the rocks glasses. They weren't there in their usual place. Frowning to myself, I walked into the kitchen and asked Santos, the cook, about it.

He just pointed out to where they had been relocated. Grabbing a pair, I walked back to my hasty stranger, hoping he hadn't gotten too impatient.

"Sorry about that, the glasses just went....missing."

He wasn't there anymore. No trace that he was ever there. Shrugging to myself, I placed the glasses on a shelf under the counter top, and went back into the kitchen.

Cole had finally made it for his shift, although exceptionally late, and Daniel was yelling his ears off. With a grimace on his face, he quickly put on his uniform shirt and shoved past me, muttering an apology.

"So does this mean my services are no longer needed here?"

Heaving an exasperated sigh, Daniel turned to me.

"Yes, Lena. Thank u so much for the extra hand, I owe you a raise."

Now that's what I wanted to hear and my face lit up with a grin.

Chuckling, Daniel pushed me towards the changing rooms.

"Now get on out of here, and go do whatever it is you kids do these days for entertainment."

Oh Danny, if only you knew.

It was 9:45pm, by the time I was a few blocks away from my apartment. I missed the last bus and decided it was a good time to catch up on my walking.

Well it seemed like a good time then, when the sun was at its lowest, giving off just enough light. Not so much now, the shadows looked darker and loomed taller. Pulling my coat tighter around my body, I walked as fast as my feet could carry without making it look like I was sprinting with fear.

My eyes darted nervously towards every alley I passed. Just as I reached my apartment steps, I heard a low guttural growl, which sounded a lot like an animal. A dog perhaps? Or maybe a wild animal that probably broke out of the zoo?!

Walk straight ahead, Lena. The door is right there, I said to myself.

Shaking my head at my over active imagination, I ran up the steps and pushed my key into the lock. My hands were shaking so bad that I had to use both hands to try and unlock it.

"No please! Don't do this!"

I froze. It was a man's voice.

Don't be a hero Lena, walk away.

But I couldn't listen to my rational mind. Instead curiosity tugged me towards the commotion.

Tiptoeing to the alley right next to the building, I peeked, making sure my body was hidden and only part of my face looked into the alley way.

It was dark, but I could make out the silhouettes of two people. Two men, judging by their built. One guy was pinned against the wall by the other.

A little light shone on the guy pinned to the wall and with a gasp, I recognized him as the jumpy guy from the cafe.

My gasp was pretty audible and I hid behind the wall, just in case the other guy turned around.

"I'm just following orders! Let me go!" I heard the trapped man say, his voice dripping with panic and sounding strangled.

Then there was a loud throaty scream, and I closed my eyes. Braving a look, I saw a pool of the blood on the floor,and lying in the middle of it was the guy from the cafe.

Well, part of him at least.

His left hand was missing, which explained all the blood. Standing opposite to him, was the other man.

His back was to me and I could only make out broad shoulders, heaving up and down. In his hand he held the severed hand of the stranger, the ring on the finger glistening in the faint streetlight.

His opponent was twitching on the floor, his limbs twisting at unusual angles. Cowering in fear of the other guy, who stalked up towards him and picked him up by the collar, like he was handling a dead piece of meat.

A snarl resounded from the man's throat as he opened his mouth and the stranger's eyes widened in pure fear.

But there was something else happening on the stranger's face. The skin on his face looked like they were peeling off and I swear I saw something poke out of his forehead, which looked like some sort of horn like growth.

And that very exact moment, a cat decided to jump out of a garbage can next to where I stood, making me yelp in fright.

When I looked back up, the stranger was on the floor, and the other guy was facing me this time. I could only stare back, my heart beating wildly.

The only thing that stood out in the shadows were a pair of eyes, like liquid gold, glowing menacingly back at me. I had obviously interrupted something important.

He began to walk towards me but the stranger was now on his feet, his face more angry than scared now, as he grabbed the opportunity and lunged at his enemy. I watched with horror as the stranger bit into Golden Eyes' neck. He yelled in pain and it sounded more animal, than human. 

Seeing that both men were too distracted to notice me anymore, I took it as my cue to leave. My legs felt like jelly as I jogged up the steps and opened the apartment door.

After locking up every single bolt on my door I slid down to the floor, overwhelmed by what I had just seen. I sat there for a while until my nerves settled. Picking myself up, I walked into the kitchen and poured myself a glass of whiskey, downing it in one go.

I walked into my bedroom. What I needed was sound sleep and tomorrow, it'll probably just be a dumb nightmare that my over worked mind conjured up.

Changing into my pajamas, I checked for anymore noise from down in the alley. I didn't risk looking, so I drew the curtains and made sure my windows were bolted too. It was a bit scary because Cheryl wasn't here, but the events of the day soon caught up to me and my eyelids began to droop.

Just before I slipped into a peaceful sleep, a crash sounded, and my eyes shot open. Sitting up in the bed, I reached for the baseball bat under my bed.

No, I was not a softball player, I simply used to have a boyfriend who was one, and this was the only thing of his that I don't regret over.

Padding over to the door of my bedroom, I turned the knob, praying that I had remembered to oil it earlier. Thankfully, it didn't creak.

Poking my head out, I saw light in the room opposite to the hallway. Maybe Cheryl had decided to come back?

Lowering the bat a little, I stalked towards her room as silently as I could and halted right outside the door, trying to make out if it was a burglar or simply my nocturnal roommate. The sound of drawers opening and closing, along with someone grumbling under their breath was all I could hear. And it definitely didn't sound like Cheryl.

I'd never encountered a burglary before. But I watched enough movies, and I decided to put my Movie Buff skills to practical use. I flattened myself on the wall nearby and taking a deep breath, I tightened my hold on the bat and turned towards the door. Raising my bat behind me, I opened my mouth for a war cry but before I could, the door swung open, and what I saw made it come out like a strangled scream as the bat came down on the person's head.

"Ahh!" 

Hopefully that had given him a minor concussion. Dropping the bat, I ran towards the nearest room, but before I could even reach the doorway a pair of hands wrapped around my waist and lifted me off the ground.

"Oh no you don't!"

I twisted and turned, but his hold just tightened. Why can't it have been a normal burglar? Turning around as far as I could, I saw that his eyes were no longer golden but a stormy grey.

"You might want to close your mouth while you're at it, darling" he said, smirking at me.

I flailed my legs wildly, refusing to back down, and one of my legs landed a kick on his shin. He let out a pained grunt, but his grip just tightened.

"Let go of me!! I'll call the police on your ass, you murderer!"

I guess that was the wrong thing to say, because his hands unwrapped from around me, and he threw me on the couch unceremoniously. Placing his hands on either side of my head, he leaned in close, "You. Have no idea what you're talking about. So I suggest you keep that pretty little mouth of yours shut, or I'll do it myself."

Blinking up at his close proximity, I almost blushed at what he said. As he spoke through clenched teeth, his grey eyes shone with gold specks but it was gone just as soon as it appeared.

I nodded mutely.

Too caught up with his eyes, it was when he backed up that I noticed that the left side of his neck and shoulder were bleeding as he sank into the couch, right next to me, wincing slightly. I gulped at the amount of blood dripping out from the wound, suddenly feeling my dinner coming back up my throat.

"You're hurt" I croaked.

"Yes, thank you, Captain Obvious" he bit out, placing his hand on the wound, to stop it from bleeding any more.
It wasn't working, the blood just seeped through his fingers, and his face now looked more pale than it was, as he closed his eyes and lay back on the couch. Maybe I was crazy, but hey, I have a heart. Hell I'd even regret this later, but something told me he wasn't at fault here and I should probably hear him out, preferably before he bled to his death. And if he was a murderer, I wouldn't still be here, about to make some irrational decision that was going to cost me my life later. I rushed to my room and grabbed one of my old tee-shirts and a first aid kit.

"Here, use this to put some pressure on it."

Sitting at a reasonable distance from him, I placed the tee shirt on his wound and placed his hands on it. His hands were soaked with blood, and he looked like he would pass out any minute.

"I thought you called me a murderer", he muttered, hissing at the burn as I dabbed the wound with a cotton swab, soaked in alcohol.

"Well consider this your trial before the death sentence, so get talking." He sat up to let me get better access to his neck, laughing a little at my comment.

"Oh I kinda like this trial" he smirked at me. Scowling I pressed the cotton a little harder than I intended, earning a yell from him.

"Oww! Watch it!" He grabbed my hand.

"I'm just trying to help! Would you stop squealing like a girl?!"

"Careful with your accusations there, or I might be obliged to show you what I'm really capable of", he said still not letting my hand go, giving me a challenging look.

"Whatever!" I pulled my hand away, trying to quiet down my heart that was going berserk.

What a jerk! I knew this was a bad idea. Who knew what he would do, especially after what I witnessed in the alleyway. And really?! I could have come with something better than "whatever"!

He was smirking at me almost like he knew how riled up I was, as I wiped the blood off his neck.

"Wipe that smirk off your face, you douche. Now coming to the matter at hand. Who was that guy in the alley? And why the hell did he bite your shoulder off?!"

At that his face turned grave and his eyes looked even more stormy.
He rolled his lips into his mouth and looked at me. The intensity of his gaze made me catch my breath for a moment.

"That. Person, he was sent by someone...here..to umm" he seemed to choose his words carefully.

"To what?" I urged him.

"This is going to sound crazy, but" I snorted at that.

"I just saw you rip off a guys hand, who bit you back for it, sounds crazy enough so far."

I deliberately left out the part where I saw his eyes glow and the pair of horns on the other guy's head. Maybe it was my imagination. Hopefully.

"That guy. That thing, was sent here for you. Its all my fault, I should have been expecting this, and when it's so close too. Stupid! "He banged his head against the back of the couch, and then winced.

"Woah! Sit still! What are you talking about? Who sent him for me? And why?"
Nothing was making any sense, someone sent a guy after me? The cotton swab was long forgotten and I was unconsciously seated much more closer to him now. My thoughts running a mile per second.

Would they go behind my family? Did my brother get back home safe?! Where was my Dad? I should probably call home. I must have spaced out when I heard him calling my name.

"Hey! Elena?!"

My eyes went wide at the sound of my name from his mouth.

 "Yeah I know your name, and it's not all I know. That thing you saw in the alley was an assassin sent to kill you. But, personally, I think He wants you alive. I was supposed to be watching you, but I let slip. We need to get you someplace safe, and....."

"Woah wait, what? Are you stalking me? I don't even know who you are! And who is He?! I'm not going anywhere with you unless you explain, mister!"

By now, my head was swimming as I slowly got to my feet and began to back away. Who was this wacko, and what was this about an assassin?! I needed to get my phone, I had to call the police or somebody!
He got up from the couch as well and walked towards me, his left arm hanging limp as he did.

"I'll explain everything. It's a little hard to digest, I know!" He said with his hands held out in surrender.

"A little?! Are you hearing yourself? You need to leave now." 

 But as I said it, something within me felt more scared at the thought of him leaving, but I pushed it away.I started to gather up the bandages and the blood drenched cloth, when he suddenly went rigid. He turned his head like he was trying to listen to something.

"Wha.." I started but he cut me off. 

"Shh!" Then he suddenly whipped his head towards the front door.

"Shit," he muttered, his eyes were wide and he visibly gulped.
Just before I could question his weird behavior, the doorbell rang, followed by three loud bangs.

************************************
VOTE. LIKE. COMMENT.