Up in Flames

Wrong Place Wrong Time

Note: ***May seem like a cliche but  I promise you it's not you read it till the end! lol***

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The shimmering light from the full moon overhead barely reached the abandoned alleyway as Kila made her way towards her car. She always hated being the last one out at work, leaving her to drudge her way alone in the dark. It's not as if she was a sheltered princess by any stretch of the imagination, but she was still a smaller-framed, white girl, walking alone in a bad area--just not a very good combination! A loud smash of a trashcan echoed behind her, making her spin quickly, whipping her pocket knife out in the process. Kila had never considered herself paranoid, but she always had some sort of protection just in case. Cursing the broken street light, she squinted in an attempt to see what had caused the trashcan to fall over. Relaxing her shoulders, she let out a small chuckle at herself for being so jumpy.

"Those damn hairless rats," came a smooth English accent out of the darkness, "They always cause quite the racket, don't they?"

Before she could say a word, another voice came from directly behind her. "Ah yes, but this one won't cause a racket, now will she?" it teased, breath making the hair on the back of her neck stand up straight. "'Because she knows that if she screams, she'll be hurt more than she's already going to be, doesn't she?"

Her hand started to tremble but held tight to the knife. Come on Kila pull yourself together! She couldn't see the first man, but she knew the second was within arm's reach. If she was going down, then damn it, someone was at least going to get hurt in the process! Quick as she could, she swung her arm towards the stranger behind her, feeling the knife sink into thick muscle. It took her a moment- after being super proud that she did, in fact, hit him- to realize that she wasn't hearing a scream of pain, but instead, laughter.

"Ha! Denis, look at this! Kitty's got claws." He grabbed the very confused girl and spun her around so her face was inches from his, causing her to let go of the knife still buried in his arm. With two fingers, he pulled her pocket knife out like it was a little toothpick. "Small claws, apparently," he chuckled, flicking it to the side of the alley.

His breath had a strong metallic smell, mixed with liquor that made her scrunch her nose at first, but she knew his breath was the least of her problems right now. The man's deep blue eyes were almost glowing in the moonlight, flawlessly pale skin, contrasting against his dark hair and clothes. The grip on her arms was so strong for such an average sized guy! Where is he hiding all his muscles?? she thought as she struggled to pull away from him, but her athletically built body was nothing in comparison to this man.

"Oh, no you don't, you little bitch." The man growled before punching her so hard she hit the wall across the alley. A bit delayed, her eyes shot open as the pain in her chest finally registered. Having the wind knocked out of you kind of gives you an excuse to not quite put two and two together for a minute. Each attempt to suck in precious oxygen, caused her chest to hurt even more.

"Fucking A, Sean! Must you always punch your food?" Barked the other man, that she assumed was Denis, as he finally stepped into the light beside Sean.

"Yes, I do, matter of fact..." Sean bluntly stated while popping his knuckles, "tenderizes the meat, I like to think."

Food? Meat? Who the fuck are these guys and why am I on the menu?! Looking up she saw that they were just far enough across the alley that she might have a chance to escape. If she ran now, she might be able to make it to her car! Three years of track don't fail me now! Without wasting time thinking it through, she bolted from the wall - only to run into Sean's chest a few feet from where she was. Her brain just couldn't understand it, he had to be at least a hundred feet away exactly one second ago! How did he not only catch up to her but pass her without even seeing him?