The city never truly slept. Even at this hour, neon lights flickered against the rain-slicked
pavement, and the distant hum of traffic echoed through the streets. Rose pulled her jacket
tighter around herself as she stepped out of the small café where she worked. The scent of
coffee and warm pastries still clung to her clothes.
"Night shift again, huh?" a voice called from behind the counter.
She turned back to see Liam, her coworker, wiping down the espresso machine. He was
grinning, but his eyes held the same exhaustion she felt.
"Yeah," she sighed, adjusting the strap of her bag. "But hey, at least I get free coffee out of
it."
Liam chuckled. "That's the spirit. You heading straight home?"
"Mm-hmm. The streets are getting worse, though. I swear, every other night there's some
robbery or fight going down."
Liam's smile faded slightly. "Yeah… Be careful, alright?"
Rose gave him a small wave and stepped out onto the street. The cool night air was
refreshing after the warmth of the café. She wasn't worried—she had taken this route home
a hundred times before. Still, she kept her hood up and her pace steady, avoiding eye
contact with the few people lingering on the sidewalks.
Her apartment wasn't far. Just a ten-minute walk through dimly lit streets lined with
graffiti-covered walls and flickering streetlights. The city had always been rough, but lately,
things had felt... different. More dangerous. More unpredictable.
As she turned a corner, her phone buzzed. A message from her friend, Mina:
Mina: U alive?
Rose: Barely. Just finished work. Heading home now.
Mina: Careful. Some guy got jumped near your street last night.
Rose: Great. Love this city.
Mina: Call me if anything happens.
Rose sighed and slid her phone back into her pocket. Nothing's going to happen, she told
herself. It's just another night.
But she had no idea that this night would change everything
The city felt heavier at night. It wasn't just the darkness—it was the tension in the air, the
way every alleyway seemed to be watching, the way the streetlights flickered as if they were
warning her to turn back.
Rose walked faster, her boots tapping against the pavement. She wasn't paranoid, not really,
but she had learned to be cautious.
Ahead, a group of men loitered near a convenience store, their voices low, their laughter
sharp. She kept her gaze forward, shoulders squared, pretending not to notice them as she
passed.
"Hey, sweetheart, where you going so fast?" one of them called.
She ignored him.
"Too good to talk to us?" Another voice, deeper, edged with something ugly.
Still, she kept walking.
A few more steps. Just keep moving.
"Hey, I'm talking to you!"
A hand suddenly grabbed her wrist.
Rose reacted before she could think. She yanked her arm away, her pulse spiking. "Don't
touch me," she snapped, stepping back.
The guy who grabbed her was tall, his hoodie pulled low over his face, his grin lazy and
confident. His friends—four of them—watched with amusement, their postures relaxed, like
they already knew how this would play out.
"Relax, I just wanted to talk," he said, holding up his hands in mock innocence.
Rose's stomach twisted. She had seen enough news reports to know how these things
started. Her fingers curled into fists. Stay calm. Stay smart.
"I'm not interested," she said, her voice steady.
The guy's grin widened. "That's a shame."
He took a step closer.
Rose's heartbeat pounded in her ears. She could run. She could scream. But would anyone
even care?
Then—
"Yo, leave her alone," a voice cut through the tension.
Rose turned her head just enough to see someone else standing a few feet away. A man,
maybe late thirties, hands in his pockets, watching the scene unfold. He looks tough —dark
jeans, a worn jacket and a big scar on his face — which made the whole group hesitate.
"Mind your business," Hoodie Guy muttered.
The stranger smirked. "Can't. See, I'm on my way to buy beer, and you're blocking the
store."
For a moment, nobody moved.
Then, with an annoyed grunt, Hoodie Guy clicked his tongue and turned away. "Whatever.
Stuck-up bitch."
The tension broke. The group lost interest.
Rose let out a slow breath she hadn't realized she was holding.
The stranger glanced at her. "You okay?"
She nodded. "Yeah. Thanks."
He shrugged, already heading for the store. "Careful out here. It's getting worse."
She didn't need the warning.
Still shaken, she turned and walked away, faster this time, her hands stuffed deep into her
pockets.
Something about the encounter unsettled her, but she wasn't sure if it was the men or the
fact that—deep down—some part of her had wanted to fight back.
That thought lingered as she disappeared into the night.
Rose's apartment was just a few blocks away now, but her pulse hadn't fully settled.
The encounter outside the store kept replaying in her mind. Not the men—the city was full of
guys like that. No, it was him. The stranger.
Something about the way he stepped in, how calm he was. He didn't seem scared. He didn't
even seem surprised, like he had expected that situation to happen.
And then there was the way he had looked at her—just for a second—as if he was studying
her.
Rose shook the thought away. Maybe she was just on edge. Maybe he was just a guy
buying beer.
She turned onto her street, a narrow road with faded streetlights casting long shadows on
the cracked pavement. The building she lived in was old, the kind of place where the
elevator was always broken, and the pipes made noises at night. She climbed the stairs
quickly, unlocking her door with one hand while reaching for the light switch with the other.
A soft click.
Nothing.
The light didn't turn on.
Rose frowned and flipped the switch again. Still nothing.
"Great," she muttered.
The power was out. Again.
She sighed, tossing her bag onto the couch and pulling out her phone for light. The dim glow
illuminated the small space—a couch, a desk covered in scattered papers, an old bookshelf
leaning slightly to one side. Nothing unusual.
But the unease from earlier hadn't left her.
She checked the window. It was locked. She checked the door. Also locked. Calm down.
You're fine.
Her phone buzzed.
Mina:U home?
Rose: Yeah. Lights are out tho.
Mina: Ugh. Your building sucks.
Rose: Tell me about it.
She smiled a little at that. Just another normal night.
A thud.
Rose froze.
It came from outside—maybe the hallway, maybe the stairwell. Just a single noise, like a
footstep where there shouldn't be one.
She held her breath, listening.
Silence.
Probably nothing. The neighbors in this building were always slamming doors or arguing.
Still, she locked her bedroom door before lying down.
Her fingers hovered over her phone screen, her eyes drifting back to her last message from
Mia.
Just another normal night.
She hoped that was true.
Because something deep inside her told her this was the last normal night she'd ever have.
The city never slept, but Rose did.
She had dozed off despite the uneasy feeling lingering in her chest, her phone still in her
hand. The darkness of her apartment wrapped around her, broken only by the faint glow of
streetlights filtering through the window.
Then—
A scream.
Rose's eyes snapped open.
At first, she wasn't sure if she had imagined it. The kind of half-dream, half-reality sound that
disappeared the second you woke up.
But then she heard it again.
A woman. Somewhere outside. Panicked. Desperate.
Rose sat up, heart hammering. She moved to the window, pulling back the curtain just
enough to see the street below.
And that's when she saw them.
A man—tall, broad, wearing a jacket too heavy for the season—was dragging a woman into
a side alley. She was struggling, her arms flailing, but he was stronger. No one else was
around.
For a second, Rose just stood there. Call the police. Get help. Do something.
Her fingers fumbled for her phone, but then she stopped.
Because she already knew what would happen.
By the time the cops arrived—if they even did—it would be too late. This city had a way of
swallowing people whole.
Her stomach twisted. She wasn't a hero. She wasn't some fighter. She was just Rose.
But she couldn't just stand there.
Before she could talk herself out of it, she grabbed her jacket and ran.
The Alleyway
The air smelled like damp concrete and garbage, the kind of place where bad things
happened in silence. Rose skidded to a stop at the alley's entrance.
"Hey!" Her voice was steadier than she expected.
The man turned. Cold eyes. Smirking lips. No fear.
The woman was barely standing, one arm clutching her ribs. She looked at Rose with wide,
desperate eyes.
"Let her go," Rose said, clenching her fists.
The man chuckled. "Walk away, girl. This ain't your problem."
"Yeah?" Her voice came out sharper than she expected. "Because it looks like you're making
it mine."
His smirk faded. "Wrong move."
He lunged.
Rose barely had time to react before his fist connected with her stomach. Pain exploded
through her ribs. She stumbled back, gasping, the air knocked from her lungs.
A second hit. Her jaw. Her vision blurred.
She tried to swing back, but she was too slow. Too weak.
Another impact. Her head slammed against the brick wall. Stars burst in her vision. Her
knees buckled.
She hit the ground.
Darkness swallowed her whole.
And then—
Everything changed.
The Awakening
Her body moved before her mind did.
A slow inhale. A sharp, electric pulse coursing through her veins.
Then—
Red.
A deep, burning red flooding her vision. Not just the neon lights, not just the pain. Something
else.
Something inside her was waking up.
Her eyes snapped open.
Her breath came out steady. Her body no longer ached.
She felt different. Stronger. Lighter. Sharper.
She stood.
The man froze. "What the—"
Rose lifted her head, and for the first time, he looked afraid.
Because her eyes were glowing.
Her body felt weightless. Her feet barely touched the ground. The air around her trembled.
The man took a step back. "What the hell are you—"
Rose moved.
Faster than she thought possible. One punch.
The impact sent him flying. He crashed into the opposite wall with a sickening crack.
He didn't get up.
Rose looked down at her hands. They were steady. Strong. Not hers.
She wasn't controlling herself anymore.
Something else was.
And it wanted more.