The NightRaven

Chapter 1

All I see now, is the alley where a girl around 14 was getting beat up by some gang members. I was heading home from my fighting classes. My name is Allie, and doing what I did before was the biggest mistake of my life. I live alone. I work two part-time jobs to pay rent at a motel. I signed up for summer fighting-classes that are free. I go to a public school, called GreenWood highschool. It has one of the most battered up reputations but it was the school that provided lots of free programs, they also let me work part-time. I was passing an alley while I was walking out from my fighting classes. Not gonna lie, the area was pretty sketchy. I couldn't stand by, so I ran down the alley and shielded the girl, before she was about to get hit. She was covered in bruises. Her lip was bleeding, there were tears streaming down her face. She covered her face, ready for the full blow. "Leave her alone!" I shouted, countering a hit a man in a red bandanna tried. "Don't meddle in our business! This rascal's father owes us money!" the red bandanna guy hollered angrily. "Well, it's not the kid's fault is it?" I replied. The girl was whimpering. The two other men standing behind the bandanna guy were cracking their knuckles. I was no match. Just as the bandanna guy raised his fist, the girl got up and kicked him where it really hurt. "Run!" she yelled, grabbing my hand. "Get them!" the bandanna guy wheezed. His two henchmen began thundering after us. "I know where to go!" I told the girl, running ahead of her, and leading her instead. I ran towards the long route to my motel. We went through a backstreet, until we came across a big fence. It was chained with a rusted lock. There was a stack of old boxes to boost yourself up, over the fence. I stepped on each towering box like it was a staircase, I hopped onto the fence and gripped onto the holes. I then jumped over to the other side, then landed on the ground on two feet. "You can do it!" I told the girl, as she struggled to climb onto the stack of boxes. She looked really scared, so I stood on the dumpster that was nearby. I saw the two men, charging after her. "Don't worry, I'll help you get over it, you just need to get a grip!" I said, opening my arms wide open. The girl nodded, took a deep breath, then jumped over, and grabbed the top of the fence. The boxes toppled on top of the two men, who almost climbed up to the girl. I leaned over, and helped the girl steady her feet onto one of the holes in the fence. Then I jumped down to the ground from the dumpster. "I'll catch you!" I told the girl. She squeezed her eyes closed and jumped into my arms. She was way heavier than I thought. I ended up being a landing pad for her, but nothing serious happened. I fell onto my back and had a backache. My school uniform was covered in dirt, but I didn't care. "Thanks," the girl said, glancing over at the two men buried in the boxes. I smiled. "No problem." I said nonchalantly. But inside, I felt like I was a superhero in those comics. "Here, come with me." I said, grabbing her by the arm gently. I led her around the back and to the front door of the motel. I strolled through the glass doors, the girl tailing behind me. We both probably looked rather dirty or looked quite strange because the person at the front desk looked bewildered. "Hey, Bobby." I said casually. He adjusted his glasses, as if to see if he was imagining things. "Allie?" he asked in a hoarse voice, full of disbelief. "Yep, that's me." I replied awkwardly. I turned down a corridor with the girl behind me. It was a long hall with a bunch of rooms that needed a key room to unlock it. I caught a glance in the dirty hallway mirror of me and the girl. We looked like we were some dirty blobs scraped off of the gross streets. Not just that, we looked like we were some delinquents after a fight. I picked up my pace, until we got to room 17. "This place may not be much but it's all I have for now" I warned the girl, trying to conceal my embarrassment as I opened room 17's door. It was a shabby and cramped motel room. One bed, a bathroom, a dining table for two and a sofa facing a large window. Curtains were draped over the window. The room was full of boxes of clothing and items I may need later on. I flicked on the single lightswitch, a single lightbulb flickered on. It was still pretty dim. "Do you want to stay the night? It's too dark out now to drop you off back to your house" I offered, kicking my shoes off. "Sure," the girl replied, following my lead by kicking off her shoes too. "You can sleep on my bed, I'll sleep on the sofa" I told her, patting my bed. She carefully walked over to my bed, and looked up at me in silence. "We'll wash up in the morning, eat, then I'll drop you off" I informed her to break the awkward silence. She nodded and yawned. I raked through my hair with my fingers. I looked like I just came out of a jungle. I strolled over to the sofa and plopped myself down. I breathed slowly, as I closed my eyes.