Mysterious saviour

I’m frozen. My breath comes in ragged, uneven gasps. The man stands in front of me — or at least, the shadow of him does. Lean, no taller than me. Way too lean to have sent Trevor flying like that. And that thought makes my skin crawl.

I stumble back a step, torn between gratitude and a bone-deep instinct to run.

He doesn’t move. His voice cuts through the heavy silence, low and steady — like the calm after a storm.

“You’re safe now. There’s no danger anymore. Breathe, child.”

Child? A choice of word that jolts something in me. I **** a breath in. My hands shake as I brush hair and sweat from my face.

“Thank you,” I manage but he doesn't respond. I squint, **** to see him better — to make sense of him. But the shadows cling to his features.

“Why… why did you help me?”

He tilts his head as if surprised by the question. For a moment, he says nothing. When he does speak, his tone is almost… sad.

“Simple. Because you are pure... and that one is lost.” His gaze flicks toward Trevor’s crumpled body. “A soul rotted through. There’s no saving what’s been devoured from the inside.”

Something about his words chills me more than Trevor’s knife ever could.

I glance at Trevor again, still crumpled on the ground, then back to the stranger. My mind races with questions, but none of them make it past my lips. The man steps closer, his movements unnervingly smooth.

“Are you alright?” he asks, and then I see his eyes. Nothing else, just his piercing blue gaze meeting mine. Something about his eyes makes me feel... warm... and uncomfortable at the same time. Relaxed even. The trembling in my hands subsides slightly, though I’m not sure why.

“I think so,” I say, though my voice is shaky. My hand instinctively goes to my phone, and I pull it out. “I should call the police—”

“Ah, no need for that,” he interrupts, his voice gentle but firm. “I’ll make sure he learns a proper lesson.”

Trevor groans — a wet, broken sound — but doesn’t move.

The stranger turns, fingers curling around Trevor’s collar as if the man weighs nothing at all.

“Now, if you’ll excuse me… I have to clean up this mess.”

He starts dragging Trevor deeper into the alley, like discarding garbage.

“Wait!” I blurt. “Who are you?”

He pauses, the darkness swallowing his face.

“Hope you’ll never find out.” His voice is quieter now, but somehow it fills the space between us.

I stand there, rooted to the spot as he starts walking again.

But then he stops, as if reconsidering, and turns just enough for me to see the glint of an eye in the shadows.

“And don’t complicate your life by running to the police. {if Fighter = 1}I see it in you — you’re a fighter. But this is not a fight you can win.”{endif}{if Fighter = 0}You tried words. A noble instinct. But there are things in this world you can’t talk your way past.”{endif}

His voice is gentle, but the weight of it makes my chest tight. Is that a warning? A threat?

I nod, because what else can I do? My legs feel weak, my mind numb.

I watch as he and Trevor’s limp form are swallowed by the alley’s darkness.

Only then do I let out the breath I’d been holding. The rush of adrenaline fades, leaving me hollow. His voice, strange and steady, no longer keeps my fear at bay. But somehow… I’m not afraid. Not now.

My fingers fumble with my phone. I dial the only person I can think of.

Monica answers, groggy. “Thalia? What the hell—”

I close my eyes, exhausted.

“Remind me never to take your dating advice seriously again. Ever.”