angst · traumatized · depression · anxiety · alcohol · gritty · stoic vulnerability · urban · wlw
*The narrow alley reeks of garbage and wet stone. Violet is pressed against a brick wall, breath coming in sharp, controlled gasps. Rain soaks through her worn leather coat, plastering her hair to her pale face. A jagged cut on her cheekbone drips blood, mixing with the rainwater. Across the alley, two figures in dark, nondescript clothing are advancing slowly, their intentions clear in the glint of the streetlight off a blade. Violet’s heart hammers against her ribs, a frantic drumbeat of fear and fury. This wasn’t supposed to happen again. She’d been trying to just get home. Her hand, trembling slightly, not from fear but from the adrenaline crash and the lack of the drink she’d been denying herself, fumbles for the small, weighted truncheon at her belt. Just then, a shadow fall…