But Edmond was still there, as real to me as anyone else, as he said, “You could hurt someone, including yourself. This was completely reckless.”
“Leave me alone.” I shoved the door open and rushed out of the room.
I smelled, I had a gun, I just wanted to go home, take a shower, shove this revolver back under my bed, and never think of it again.
Test day over.
I knew with certainty that I was not a gun person.
Before Rachel stopped me, or worse, made me do something else, I waved to both her and Josh. “Good night! See you guys tomorrow.”
Unlocking the door and pushing it open, I didn’t hear any arguments.
With one last look to the both of them, I waved slightly, then shut the door, locking it behind me.
All I had to do was get home in one piece.
Easier said than done.
I sighed in disgust at myself. Racing out of the store wasn’t my best move, but I needed to get home.
The bulk of the gun rested against the small of my back from inside the backpack. I couldn’t wait to stuff it under my bed and never look at it again.
I tried to comfort myself in the fact that I had two real conversations with Josh today, and I was excited to gush about it to Grandma. It was a big night for her too, and I wondered how her date had gone with Buster. Most likely amazing, considering how they were with each other. It was something out of a fairy-tale book. Love at first sight. My parents always claimed it had been the same for them, and like the sap I was, I believed it. I still believed it. And seeing Buster and Grandma together only reaffirmed my faith in the idea. After all, when I’d first laid eyes on Josh, I had felt some kind of energy rush through me, something deeper than simple attraction. And today’s conversations only solidified it for me. I had no idea how Josh felt about me, but I wasn’t as scared when thinking about talking to him.
That was something, right?
Almost home.
Approaching the alley, I instinctively tightened my grip on my pack.
I had conquered a fear today by talking to Josh, so I knew it would be out for blood.
A dog barked from inside the darkest depths, then turned to snarling as my steps brought me closer and closer to the blackened walls of brick. The darkness inside swirled like fog ready to suck all the light out of the world. I wondered how a place like this existed without the neighborhood wanting to tear it down. But I knew the answer to that question. Something like this couldn’t be torn down, it had to be defeated. And my gut told me I was the only one who could, because somehow all my fears had created it in the first place.
My senses sharpened as I slowed down in fear. Halfway past, I searched inside the darkness, and footsteps headed toward me, loud and close, just like the night before.
Someone was in there.
Again.
And they were coming out.
A champion for the alley to finally materialize and take me down for good.
Maybe it was a good time to have that gun ready.
As I kept walking, I pulled the straps off my shoulders and began to unzip the backpack.
Almost past.
A man materialized out of the alley right next to his Wanted sign plastered to the side of the brick building. His expression matched that of the picture, cruel and hard, and his name had been torn off at the bottom.
This was the moment.
The alley was finally fighting back.
My biggest fear coming to life.
What happened to my parents was about to happen to me.
Every nightmare I’d imagined all wrapped up into one man.
And he was coming for me.
Moving fast now, I barely cleared the alley as I searched frantically inside my bag for the gun, but my hand kept hitting my sweater and sketchpad.
The sharp point of a blade pressed against my back, not enough to cut but enough for me to stop in my tracks.
“Give me your backpack,” he demanded, his voice eerily gravelly.
You mean the backpack with an enormous revolver in it? My hand shook, still inside my bag.
“I said give me your backpack, bitch!” he yelled in my ear, and this time the tip of his blade punctured my skin.
“Okay, okay, don’t hurt me,” I cried.
Shakily, I began to hand him the backpack.
I can’t give this man a gun! I can’t give this evil a weapon!
The knife left my back as he reached for the pack.
I slammed my foot on his right toe with every ounce of force I had in me.
He grunted in surprise and pain, dropping the knife.
I pulled my backpack closer to my chest and kicked his knife, sending it flying into the street.
Where were the cars? Where were the people?
It was as if time had stopped and everyone had been plucked out of existence, leaving only me and this criminal, this warrior of the alley.
He recovered quickly from my attack and tackled me to the ground before I could run.
My hand was inside my backpack as I desperately searched with my fingers for the weapon that would save me from this monster.
The man yanked on my hand, trying to pry the backpack from me, and the way I kept the bag from him, he probably thought it held diamonds.
Panic threatened to overwhelm me, and it took all my power to stay conscious. After I kneed him in the groin, the man yanked his head back in pain, slamming it against the side of the brick wall. Anger renewed, he wrenched my hand out of my bag and pinned both hands down, blood trickling down his cheek and onto my shirt from the wound on his head.
Shaking his head in short bursts and blinking rapidly, he appeared to be trying to regain his focus. I took advantage of the moment and pulled one of my
