Secrets of Night

Chapter 1

To the ones who know, or care to know, I am Tori Welsher. I'm your average high school student, another sophomore at Oak View High, appearing in the student population like a molecule of oxygen. But after saying that, my school has a population of 4,000 students, so I mean there's only like 200 people that stand out and most of them are athletes, shocker of shocks. Though at school I'm practically invisible, there are many who know me as Shadow. Why? Because that's what the news decided to call a person dressed in black who "heroically rescued two damsels from the clutches of the filth of the city". Blah blah blah, people, especially reporter people, are annoying. They always make things seem so much worse or better than they were and this case is no different much to my disappointment. How did this happen you may wonder? Allow me to enlighten you!

T'was Friday night, many moons ago. OK, it was two months ago, but anyway! So, I was walking home from seeing the Avengers because it's fantastic and why not? I was wearing all black because if you look "tough", criminals typically don't mess with you or at least, that's what my foster parents tell me. Don't ask me how all black indicates toughness because I have no idea- it just makes it harder for people to see me which is why I prefer it. There were these obnoxious women walking a little way behind me, sounding rather intoxicated and laughing loudly about the stupidest things like whose shoes were better and if they should get their nails done again this week. After a while, their voices suddenly disappeared into silence. Wondering what was going on, I turned around to see three guys trying to drag them into the woods, but the drunk women appeared to be attempting to struggle, the men's hands covering the mouths of the terrified women. A hot rage flooded through my veins as the heat that resides in me began to warm, fueled by my anger as I ran towards the cowards and bellowed.

"Hey! Leave them alone!"

The three guys glanced over at me briefly, one of the guys holding one of the girls hands her to his friend and nods at the other two punks who continued hauling the girls away into the woods. His black hair shimmers in the moonlight as his empty black eyes lock with my own glasses covered eyes, his mouth curved in an expectant smirk. Raising my fist, I swung as I charged, missing him as he sidestepped and latched onto my fist. Grinning to myself as he twisted my arm behind my back, he whispered into my ear, the smugness dripping from his voice.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?"

Without wasting another second, I whipped my leg out even with my hip and pulled it in hard, striking him in the side of his abdomen, making him release his grip on my arm and collapse to the ground in pain. Double checking that he wasn't going anywhere fast, I had pulled my phone from the back pocket of my black jeans and quickly dialed the cops under an app I had downloaded, allowing you to make a completely untraceable call by bouncing the signal from tower to tower. As quickly as I could, I dialed the police, lowering my voice an octave when the lady on the other end prompted me to speak.

"911, what's your emergency?"

"Hi, two girls are currently being attacked by three men. One of the attackers was suddenly attacked by someone- I think he's unconscious, but I-I don't know who attacked him; he was wearing a black hoodie. The guy in black took off into the woods after the boys that have the women."

"Okay, sir, just stay calm. Where are you now? I need to know your exact location so I can send a team of officers out to assist these girls."

A small smile spread across my face when I heard her call me sir, but I kept it from my voice, knowing I still need to focus on the task at hand. Turning myself towards the woods I launched myself into in pursuit of the idiotic men, but I knew the road by heart.

"Near Cleveland and Military Drive."

"Okay sir, stay calm; we have someone enroute to your location. Whatever you do, don't go after those people; it could be dangerous."