Portal.

A Death, and a Stranger

In other situations, uttered by other figures, those words may have been comforting. But in those situations, those figures would have been distinctly less unsavoury than the one that stood before Ashley now.

"What, you don't speak English? What. Are. You. Doing. Here," he said again. As if that would help a non-English speaker, Ash thought. "Just passing through," she said, forcing carelessness into her voice.

"Ain't nobody 'passing through' here that isn't stupid, looking for trouble, or both. So which is it?"

"As much as you may disbelieve me, I am, simply, passing through. If you would just let me?"

The man shook his head. "I don't think so." He then turned slightly to face away from Ash and yelled, "Oi! Mates! We've got a trespasser down 'ere!"

Ash's hopes sank as one by one, thugs came out of the surrounding buildings, until there were four in total. The last one to come, who seemed to have some sense of authourity, spoke first.

"So, what have we here, Tom?"

Tom replied, showing off a little, "Just a little girl who's 'just passing through'."

"Nobody 'just passes through' here."

"That's what I told her--" Tom said, but he was cut off by the leader, who had evidently lost interest in him. "Shut up, Tom."

He turned to Ash with an insincere smile on his face. "So, where are you going? We could escort you there? After all, it's not safe on those streets, for a young girl like yourself." The smile faltered for a moment.

Ash saw the veiled threat for what is was immediately. "Thank you, but I can find my way on my own. I'll be perfectly safe."

"Oh, but we insist."

"No, I'm fine." Ash took a step forward, trying to appear more comfortable than she felt. "Just let me through and I won't be bothering you any longer."

"Oh, I don't think you'll be a bother at all. We'll even escort you back home if you like. All we need is a little payment to help us on our way."

"I don't have any money on me," she said, voice trembling but firm. [--] None you could use, anyway, she thought.

"Oh, I thnk you might have a coin or two on you," Tom said, stepping forward. Ash clenched her fists, preparing to run away.

The group began, one by one, coming forward. Ash was feeling herself beginning to panic when she saw something dash across the alleyway behind the group. It was so quick that she hardly noticed it.

"I'm sure that, if you don't have any money, your family would be willing to pay to get you back."

"I'm.. I'm an orphan. My, uh, my parents died." She tried to come up with a convincing story. "In a fire. Um, it was in the newspaper."

"Can't read, never cared to learn. Sounds a likely story to me. Now tell me, where do you live?"

"I, um.." Ash drew a blank. "I live.."

She didn't have to finish her sentence.

A black-clad figure leapt out of the shadows behind the men. Ash realised dimly that he was the man she'd seen earlier. He drew a wide knife from his belt and positioned himself behind Tom, who was hanging behind the rest of the group. Ash watched, on the edge of screaming, as the figure stabbed Tom between the shoulderblades with surprising vigour for someone with such a slim physique.

Tom screamed in agony. His legs collapsed underneath him, and he fell forward on his face with the monumentum carried by the knife. As he fell, his attacker held fast to the knife, so it slipped out of the man's back.