VICTIM

            Nikki hurried down the street, taking back alleys and shortcuts across the town to avoid people and make his way toward Casey’s house. He was beginning to shiver, and noticed a sick feeling in his stomach. He was exhausted and dizzy. He stopped to lean against the side of a building in an L-shaped alley, resting in the dark where he would remain unseen.

            He moved his hand to look at the deep gash in his wrist. Cold blood had soaked the washcloth. “Shit…” He sighed heavily. 
He felt a wave of drug-induced numbness overtaking him, and he paused for a moment to succumb to the feeling. He started to doze off.

            He snapped awake and turned his head around to look when a sudden clatter rang through the area. The dull street lights cast long shadows into the alley, and Nikki could make out the shapes of two people, struggling against each other. He quietly leaned forward, holding his injured wrist in his opposite hand and peeked around the corner of the building he had been standing behind.

            A man held a slender woman by the arm. In a hushed voice, he threatened her. Something about money, but Nikki was too far away to fully make out what they were saying. The woman broke free and balled up her fist, quickly swung with all of her might and punched the man hard in the side of the head. She took off running in Nikki’s direction, but her high heels made it difficult to maneuver the cold, rocky pavement.

            The man quickly recovered from the blow and began to chase her. He was much faster and caught her with what seemed like only a few strides. He grabbed her roughly and threw her to the ground. Verbally attacking her as well, he landed several hard punches to the woman’s face. As she tried to shield herself from his fists, sobbing and pleading, the man struggled to quickly unzip his pants. He ripped off the bleeding woman’s panties, tearing the delicate lace with ease. The man leaned onto his victim, thrusting roughly.

            Nikki’s heart sank and he began to panic. He hid around the corner, breathing heavily. He shut his eyes tightly. He could hear the woman screaming. The sound of a few more blows landing reached Nikki’s ears. Looking around quickly, he found a broken piece of concrete and picked it up. The hard rock numbed his already cold fingers almost immediately. Letting the bloody washcloth fall from his wounded wrist, he flew around the corner of the building and leapt on the man, smashing him in the head with his makeshift weapon. The man fell forward and Nikki jerked the woman to her feet. “Run! Go!” he shouted, looking at her attacker, who was already pulling himself to his feet.

            He flew at Nikki in a rage and backhanded him with all of his strength, knocking him off balance. Still drunk and drugged, Nikki easily fell to his knees. The man didn’t let up, kicking him repeatedly with brutal force in the side and stomach. He felt sharp pain clawing at him, and was sure that the man had broken at least a few ribs. Nikki knew that he had to buy the woman some time to escape. Lying weakly on his side, he grabbed the man’s leg with both hands and sunk his teeth deep into his calf. The man cried out in pain and kicked Nikki in the face with his free leg. Already numb from the cold, Nikki felt burning pain from the force of the attack. His head was splitting and his vision blurred.

            The man crouched down, gripping the painful bite mark. A few small dots of blood darkened his pant leg. Seizing the opportunity, Nikki lunged forward with all of his strength and knocked the man back. The disgusting vision of what he had seen clung fresh in his mind. Nikki screamed furiously and began smashing his fists into the man’s face, one punch after another. Pain wracked his fists and injured arm, which had started bleeding again.

            Using one hand to try to block Nikki’s barrage of enraged fist strikes, the man reached his other arm out to feel for anything he could use to defend himself. At first all he felt was the cold ground, but then his fingers touched some large, hard object. It was the piece of broken concrete Nikki had bludgeoned him with when he had been caught off guard.

            The man quickly pulled it into his hand and swung upward, smashing the rock piece against Nikki’s temple. Nikki cried out, his head screaming with pain. His vision darkened for a few seconds, and the man took the opportunity to strike him again. Nikki staggered and dropped to his knees, disoriented and losing consciousness. In a frenzy, the man climbed on top of him, smashing the heavy concrete against Nikki’s head again and again, until his arms began to burn from exhaustion. Nikki tried feebly to grab the man’s wrists, to push him away, but his strength drained and soon his vision began to blacken and his body fell limp. His long hair was matted with blood, and he lay perfectly still on the dirty ground.

            The man was panting and sweating, despite the dropping temperature. He looked down at the motionless body beneath him with a hateful scowl. He leaned in close and screamed in Nikki’s face. “Fucker!” He wiped the blood running from his nose and pulled himself to his feet. He looked down at Nikki, breathing laboredly at his feet. He angrily kicked Nikki once more in the ribs, then turned and stumbled quickly out of the alley. Looking around to make sure no one had seen the assault, he hurried down the street and into the darkness.