The time was ten o'clock, near midnight, and the streets were mostly empty. Only a few cars passed once in a while, their headlights briefly cutting through the dark before vanishing. The street lights were far apart, leaving long stretches of road swallowed by shadow. Jack's footsteps stumbled and his body tumbled, the pavement beneath him seeming to float and shift. His breath carried the sharp scent of alcohol. A golden watch sat on his right wrist, and he wore a suit with a red tie. His eyes looked as though they had never rested.
From an alley a few yards away, a woman's scream cut through the stillness.
"Help me, a robber is trying to rob me…"
She clutched her bag fiercely, her heart beating faster with each passing moment. Her grip was losing its strength. Tear drops fell from her eyes. Her teeth gritted against each other, and her legs barely held onto the ground beneath her.
Jack's ears caught the sound of a familiar voice. Even drunk and barely able to walk, his mind and body rushed toward it automatically. When he looked at the woman, he saw a familiar face.
The fog in Jack's mind cleared in an instant. His body moved the way it normally did. His eyes opened wide, his heart skipped a beat, and his eyes stood on the brink of shedding tears.
When she saw Jack, the woman loosened her grip a little. Her heartbeat slowed.
"Why are you just standing there? Please help me."
The robber's eyes widened with fear and shock at the sight of someone else. He began tearing the bag away from her hand with even more force. His right hand rushed into the right pocket of his jacket. He pulled out a knife and pointed it toward Jack.
Seeing this, Jack rushed at the robber with full force, a hostile glare on his face. The robber let go of the bag and stepped back. He sliced at Jack's face, but Jack narrowly dodged it. The swing passed just above his head, slicing off a few strands of hair.
Jack tackled the robber to the ground. The knife that had been in the robber's hand now lay on the ground right beside Jack's right hand. Jack tried to pick it up, but the robber kicked the knife away with his left leg. Both of them now had one goal, reaching the knife. The woman noticed this. She picked up the knife and tried to pass it to Jack, but Jack was still locked in the fight and had no chance to take it.
Finally, both the robber and Jack managed to stand. The robber instantly drew another knife and went after Jack. Seeing this, the woman passed the knife to Jack. He narrowly dodged one of the robber's slashes, but he could not maintain his footwork and fell. The robber seized the chance and stabbed Jack in the right hand.
A jolt of sensation shot through Jack's body, so heavy that he could not even scream properly. His eyes barely stayed open. His teeth clenched together as if they were about to break. His consciousness began fading, but he still did not let go of the knife. He grabbed the robber's bloodied hand and stabbed his wrist. The robber could not hold onto his knife and let out a scream of pain. Jack lay on the ground while the robber, barely holding himself together, tried to stand by using a nearby dumpster for support.
The woman's eyes were wide with shock. Her hands covered her mouth in fear, and her legs could barely support her own body under the gravity of the situation. Suddenly, at the end of the alley, she saw the light of a car driving by. The vehicle was just a few yards away from reaching the mouth of the alley. She gathered all of her strength and rushed toward it at full speed. With each breath, she could hear her own heart pounding faster. She did not dare look back into the darkness of the alley and kept running toward the light ahead. The moment she saw the vehicle, she felt a sense of relief. But she knew no one would notice her in this dark alley, so she shouted with every single fiber of her being.
"Help me. Help me, there's a person who got stabbed."
The person in the car noticed and stopped the vehicle. To her surprise, it was a police car. The doors opened, and an officer came rushing toward her.
"Hey, are you okay? What happened?"
She could barely catch her breath. She felt as if her heart would pound out of her body, but she pulled herself together and took a few deep breaths. "I'm fine. There's a person who tried to save me from a robber and got stabbed."
"Okay. I want you to please wait here and catch your breath while I go check the situation."
"Please hurry."
The officer took out his flashlight and rushed into the darkness. He reached Jack, but the robber had already escaped. A print of the robber's bloodied hand marked the dumpster, and a trail of blood led farther into the darkness. The officer noticed the trail, but his eyes went to Jack's bloodied hand resting on the floor. Jack himself had lost consciousness. A bloodied knife lay near the dumpster. It belonged to the robber, who had forcefully pulled it out while trying to escape.
The officer's face changed expression the moment he looked at Jack. He lost his cool for a second, but he maintained his composure and called for backup.
They rushed Jack to the nearest hospital. The doctor noted that Jack was not at risk of dying and that he had made a good choice by not pulling the knife out of his arm. Doing so would have worsened the bleeding and made the situation far more critical.
The woman and the officer let out a sigh of relief. The officer looked at her and asked about the situation.
"I'm sorry, I forgot to ask about what happened and if you were okay. But are you okay? And what happened back there? I'd like to know all the details, if you don't mind, right now."
They shared what had happened, and the officer assured her that he would look into the matter and try to find the robber.
The woman thanked him. The officer put on his cap, ready to leave, but he noticed the expression on her face. Her eyes were fixed on the ground while occasionally glancing up at his face. Her hands held each other, both index fingers twirling together.
"Umm…"
The officer understood the situation well enough. He smiled and asked, "Yes, do you want to ask me something?"
"Umm, if you don't mind me asking, are you always this worried about all the people you see in danger, or do you know this man personally?"
The officer gave her a serious glance and said, "No, I don't mind the question. I personally care for nearly all the people I see in danger, but in this case, I do know this man personally."
"Oh, I see. Umm, so…"
Just as she was about to speak, the officer's phone rang. He looked at the number and a worried look crossed his face.
"Umm, yeah, I'm sorry. I'm really sorry, I will be there soon."
"No, no, I'm getting there right at this moment. I just had some pretty important case to deal with."
"No, I'm not lying. Just trust me, I will be there soon."
He put down the phone and spoke. "Sorry, I've got to go. I have some pretty important business to take care of. But we can talk about this tomorrow."
"Yeah, okay, no problem."
The officer left in a hurry.
The woman sat down on the bench near her and reflected on everything that had happened. Slowly, without even noticing it, she drifted into sleep.
Chapter 1 End