Star Gazing

A dark night on a dark street, perfect for trying out his new star gazing app. Jordan opened the door to his balcony and stepped out into the wall of cold. The weather man had said a clear, moonless sky on an early October night would mean the first frost of the year in the morning, (or the umpteen frost if you counted all of those in February and March,) and it sure was cold out there.

 Jordan was wrapped up against the cold in an old hooded top, tracksuit bottoms and his lovely warm slippers, he pointed the phone to the sky and started identifying stars. Despite living nearly in the centre of town, the combination of the park opposite and the poor street lighting meant the stars seemed to shine through the city haze a little brighter here.

 The street below was deserted but for one solitary figure across the road, head down, battling the cold and the slight incline. Jordan was impressed by the bravery of the figure, the dark side of the road gave him the heebie-jeebies but this just a young woman. He turned his attention back to the sky but then almost immediately back to the woman. Had he seen something in the trees? A shadow? A movement? Or was he just imagining things? Projecting his own fears on to her?

The hand came out of the bushes like a frog's tongue catching a fly, it grabbed the girl and dragged her into the park with speed and agility. She didn’t have time to scream, she didn’t have time to fight, she was gone. Jordan dropped his tea and turned into his flat, he grabbed his keys and went. ‘Fight him, fight him, buy time, don’t let him touch you.’ He was silently willing the girl to be brave till he got there, not knowing if he’d have any effect when he did. He ran down the stairs, two, three at a time, out into the street, tea from his balcony dripped onto his head. He ran across the deserted street and into the park. It was only as his feet hit the wet grass he realised he was still wearing slippers. He found his voice. He was yelling, shouting, screaming, it was gobbledygook; just noise, surely noise was the best weapon. He looked around the empty park, where were they? It was dark and the trees casting shadows making detection all the more difficult. They couldn’t have gone far. He was suddenly scared and cold, what would he do if he found them? How would he fight him off? Who was he kidding? A kicking in slippers would not very effective and everyone said he punched like a one year old. He was a star-gazer not a fighter. Pull yourself together he thought, you can’t be as scared as she is.

‘Where are you you bastard? Show yourself?’

His eyes darted around the park, his ears strained to hear anything, rustling, whimpers, panting.

But it wasn’t whimpers he heard, it was a scream, a scream that nearly brought tears to Jordan’s eyes. The scream was so real he could almost feel the pain himself.

Jordan saw the figure hobbling off across the grass. His first instinct was to give chase, but there was a girl somewhere needing his help.

He moved towards the trees that the perv had come out of. He heard soft sobbing coming from the bushes.

‘It’s okay, he’s gone.’ Jordan was shivering now. He entered the bushes and saw her, curled in the foetal position, clothes still in tact but face scratched and bruised.

‘I kicked him, he tried to touch me, I kicked him.’

‘He’s gone.’ Jordan repeated putting his hand lightly on her shoulder.  

 ‘He’s gone,’ he said a third time not knowing what else to do or say.