Jeans I barely even got to zip... I think, worrying for a minute that the seat of my pants may burst open on top of everything else.
“Somebody, please!” I scream again, but the streets are abandoned.
The mugger continues to search me, not caring about my cries. He struggles to pull out my vintage cell phone, more like a brick than a phone, from my front pocket while still keeping me pinned on my stomach.
Stupid thing isn’t even a smart phone. I grimace. Guess it’s not his lucky day either if he’s planning to sell it....
When he flings me over onto my back, the streetlights cast dense shadows to veil his face.
“Take whatever you want!” I beg, desperately looking for help, for anything I can use to defend myself. “Please don’t hurt me!”
My mind darts back to horror stories I’ve heard about women found violated and killed while they had been walking around in the middle of the night. I can’t stop shaking, and it’s not just from the cold. Light flashes in the corner of my eye. Light on something metallic and black. I freeze, no longer struggling.
A gun?!
Tears trickle from my eyes.
“The jewelry,” my attacker says, no longer slurring, his breath noticeably free of alcohol. “All of it. Now.”
“O-okay, sure,” I mutter, slipping off my costume rings and earrings and tossing them into his hands.
Stupid! I berate myself as he shoves them into his pockets. I should have thrown them. Then maybe he would have gone after them....
“Let me hold that for you,” a lighthearted voice says behind the mugger.
A tall, thin man snatches the gun away before the mugger even has time to turn around. The newcomer’s face is hidden by a thick black hoodie. His open palm strikes the back of the mugger’s neck, and though the blow itself makes no sound, a cry rings out in the night.
The mugger collapses on top of me, his eyes rolling back in his head, one long sigh leaving his lips before his eyes fall closed.
Seconds drag by like minutes. The hooded man casually tucks the gun inside his jacket. Using his booted foot, he pushes the mugger off me, extending a black-gloved hand down to me.
“Can you stand?” he asks.
His eyes shine red through the shadows hiding his face. I blink, but the red dots peering back at me don’t disappear.
How hard did I hit my head?
“Um, I...I don’t know,” I mutter dumbly, hesitating to accept his hand.
While I’m not too overweight, I worry that this twig of a man won’t be able to help my one-hundred-and-sixty-pound, food-loving self up off the ground.
He did rescue me. And my pants haven’t split yet. Maybe there is some luck waiting for me tonight after all.
Taking his hand, I’m surprised by the steady strength in it as he lifts me, as though I weigh nothing. I find myself caught in his burning ruby gaze, warmth spreading over me. Dropping my hand, he turns nonchalantly in the direction of the café.
“Let me get that purse back,” he mutters more to himself than me.
“No, wait!”
I grasp his sleeve without thinking, not wanting him to face another potentially armed mugger for an empty purse. He turns to me, an unspoken question hanging in the air.
“It’s no big deal,” I explain, shuffling my feet, shivering in the cold. “It’s empty. I never carry stuff in my purse.”
An awkward silence stretches between us.
“Thank you,” I say at last.
He’s probably wanting a reward or something....
I quickly slip my hand inside my bra, grabbing the plastic bag with the few cash tips I scrounged up this evening. I hold it out in front of me. The bag shakes in my freezing, scraped-up hands.
“Here, for your trouble.” I thrust all the cash I have out to him.
He doesn’t move. A long moment later, he nods to me and turns to resume his walk back in the direction of the café. The cash he leaves in my hand flutters in the wind.
“Well then,” he says, offering me a salute, “take care.”
“You too...” I say, unsure what else to do.
A groan behind me reminds me of the mugger still on the ground. Searching around, I find my cell phone. I click it on, only to see the shut-down screen immediately, the outline of an empty battery flashing twice before snuffing out entirely.
“So much for 911,” I mutter.
I glance at the man. A brief desire to kick him good before leaving flashes through my mind before vanishing and leaving guilt in its wake.
I’m not like that. Just let it go.
Taking a deep breath, I return my plastic bag to my bra and hurry the rest of the way home in the cold. My bones ache, and my face is puffy and burning from where it hit the ground.
At least, I was wearing contacts.
Splitting Dusk: A Splitting Worlds Novella
A Newsletter Subscriber Exclusive
Sign Up At www.katherinedgraham.com to read it for free now!
About the Author
Katherine D. Graham is a self-published Fantasy author from Tennessee, USA. Katherine has been writing as a hobby since childhood. She self-published two YA Novels (Y.P.C. Agent 99.0 and Age of the Vampires: A New Age Rises) as a hobby while refining her craft, which are no longer on the market.
Katherine's debut self-published Fantasy novel, The Vow That Twisted Fate, launched her writing career as a Fantasy author and placed as one of five Fantasy finalist in the Next Generation Indie Book Awards as well as received a five-star review from IndieReader, making it an IndieReader Approved book.
Katherine holds a BA Foreign Language/Lit: Japanese from the University of Memphis in Tennessee. She worked for the Memphis Public Library and Information Center in her college years, and is still a vocal supporter of the Friends of the Memphis Public Library.
In addition to the library system, Katherine actively raises support for the St Jude Children's Research Hospital, The House of Mews cat sanctuary, the Memphis Zoo, and Swim Across America.
When she’s not writing, Katherine works as a developmental editor and pitch coach for AutoCrit Editing. She also enjoys reading and reviewing Sci-Fi and Fantasy books for Reedsy as an official Reedsy Reviewer.
Katherine loves adventures, especially traveling. She also enjoys cooking, reading, and spending time with her family and three cats.
https://www.katherinedgraham.com/
Down Falls The Queen: A Splitting Worlds Novella (The Splitting Worlds Series) Page 7