Guardians - Sara's Submission - Part One

Believe it or not, submissions for the first topic "Guardians" are due in a week. And believe it or not, I've finished mine! I've been writing it over the past few days and it generally came pretty fast once I got started. I'm posting it now because I'm gonna be just getting back from BotCon the day it's due and may well forget. I'm posting it in free parts because it splits that way naturally and it's more fun that way.

Obviously I've been thinking about this one for a while, though I still only managed to kind of answer maybe one of the questions I put forth. (I hope I didn't give you the impression that you had to answer them all, Jen.) I actually know a good deal more about these characters, but that's another story for another time.

Anyway, I welcome any comments, constructive criticism or questions.

Maya leaned against the concealing wall of the building’s entryway and watched the others from work leave. They had left in a large group, like always, chatting and laughing amongst themselves. Even the few who weren’t joining in on whatever tonight’s activity was were sent off with lots of waving and disappointed “awws” from the crowd they were leaving behind. Maya kept a careful eye on them and pulled back into the shadows if any of them showed the slightest sign of turning around, noticing her, and possibly asking with more than a little awkwardness if she would like to join them. Once they were safely out of sight. Maya started down he stairs and around the corner, on her way home.

She’d been working late. They all had. The big shareholder presentation was next week and there were charts to printed, numbers to be finalized, caterers to deal with, and any number of other last minute things yet to be done. So it was dark by the time Maya actually started her walk to the subway station. It didn’t matter though. Even if the street hadn’t been lit, she would have known the way. She had walked this route so many times that it was automatic for her. She though over what she needed to do once she got home. The laundry was starting to pile up and tonight was as good a time as any to take care of it. There were a couple of bills she hadn’t paid yet because work had been so busy. Friday night, so nothing on television she’d want to watch. If she caught the train in time, she could rent a movie before the video place closed. But she had no plans for the weekend, so maybe it would be better to save that for tomorrow.

Maya was about halfway down the second block from work when she heard the noise. She had walked home late before, so she had learned to ignore the sounds of car doors slamming, trashcans falling over, and people arguing just a little too loudly to avoid being heard from the street. But this was something different, something she’d never heard before. It was weak and faint, but still recognizable as a cry of pain. Maya realized with growing unease that it was also unmistakably human.

“Don’t look,” she thought to herself. She knew she shouldn’t. Though she’d never run into it herself before, she knew there had been muggings in the area. One of her coworkers had just been telling his friends about how one of his neighbors got mugged a few weeks back. She knew should just keep walking. But curiosity, combined with the faint hope that it was just someone’s TV turned up too loud, won over. Maya looked.

If she had been standing just a few steps back or ahead, Maya wouldn’t have been able to see down the narrow alleyway between the two buildings. It was too dark to make out much detail. The shadow from one building was keeping out most of the light from the street. But Maya could still make out the figures in the alley. A group of people, their identities completely inscrutable in the darkness, were standing over what Maya could just see was a prostrate form, almost certainly the source of the cry Maya had heard. One of the standing figures snarled something at the downed victim and kicked viciously at the person’s side. The person moaned and curled up defensively just as another of the gang lashed out with a second kick.

“Go,” Maya’s sensible inner voice commanded. “You’ve seen way more than you should have. Get to the subway, tell someone there what you saw. They’ll call the police and everything will be fine.”

But Maya didn’t go. She stood transfixed, just staring at this bizarre scene. It seemed almost unreal and she couldn’t quite believe that it was actually happening. She had read and heard about muggings and people being attacked. She had more experience of her own with the randomness and the aftermath of such attacks than she had ever wanted to. But actually seeing it firsthand was still different. Even though the plan she had laid out for herself was sound, got her to safety, and brought help to the person being attacked, she just couldn’t bring herself to put it into action. There was something in her, something that she couldn’t seem to ignore, that was convinced she needed to stay here and do something. What exactly she should do was unclear, but this part of her felt certain that if she left, the person being attacked would die.

Maya gasped in sudden realization. One of the thugs in the alley was staring directly at her. She had been watching the whole time, but she’d never seen him turn his head. One minute he had been completely focused on the gang’s injured victim, the next he was looking right at Maya. She still couldn’t see him well, but the streetlight gave a flicker of reflection to his glaring eyes. He shouted something at Maya which she completely didn’t catch. She took a hesitant step backwards, and then slowly began to walk away.

It was just seconds later that Maya heard them come after her. They were still yelling and their rushed footsteps were almost as loud. They didn’t seem to care if she or anyone else heard them. Maya started by walking just a little faster, hoping that she was wrong and they weren’t following her. But before she really even made the decision to, she was running, counting every step left before she reached the subway and wishing she had followed her own advice to leave while there was still time.