[i]It wasn't even that cold, but they seemed to be shivering. [/i]

[i]was it [b]fear[/b]? Could it be [b]Misery[/b]?[/i]

The woman hunched against the wall as if it were going to give in at any moment to allow a safe passage.  Alas the world does not always work that way and in this situation it was probably a common thing to wish for.  The woman stared fear like daggers that would blind the anger in any man.  But the men that surrounded her did not feel human, they felt themselves to be gods.  The tallest of the three was holding his knife out trying to beckon her closer with it.  His hair could probably be invaded by the government for harboring that much oil, it was stringy clinging to his scalp as if a sudden shift of his head would send it sliding to the harsh ground beneath.  

"[u]You[/u] shouldn't have done that you stupid [i]wench[/i]"  The second guy seemed to squeak, his eyes darting her up and down, only somebody who grew up on the street would know what he was thinking, his coat sagged full of holes. "I'm going to make you pay for that."  

The squeaky voiced man said pulling his arm closer to his chest, the blood stained more of his clothing.  

Litheal eyed the situation cautiously, making the wrong move or not making one at all would be a huge disaster, the quiet one was holding a firearm but the other two were close enough to actually do harm if they had any sudden flight of fear.   The short man was injured, the woman must have tried to defend herself although this probably added enough fuel to the fire to make this man angry enough to not need a second thought. 

"Get on with it."  The third said quietly as he waved the pistol nonchalantly looking around as if he had another ally to stalk. 

A heartbeat, that is what it took - in the moment of a heartbeat the knife from the squeaky voiced man was against her throat. 

The flood of the darkness swallowed Litheal as he appeared between the men reaching his hand out he grasped the blade that was pressed against the woman's throat and the oily haired man's knife and was gone again with both the knives.  You would have missed this transaction if you had blinked, in the confusion both men stood staring blankly at the ghost that was now air between them. "Wha-"

[b]AUuuugh[/b] The silence in the confusion was broken as both men turned to see the man holding the gun, two knives pressed against opposing sides of his neck.  

"Drop the gun." Litheals voice cracked against the crisp air. 

The gun hit the ground, as the sound echoed through the alley it left silence in its wake.  

"Run."  Litheal peered over his shoulder at the woman, who in the midst of all the chaos had managed to find the corner of the dead end alley.  She took off like a bat out of hell following the echoes. 

The ringing of gunfire was the only thing racing through Litheal's mind as he felt the warmth spread across his face.  The blood simply sprayed, with one good eye he managed to see what happened.  The oil haired creep had pulled a gun, Litheal should have known that the honor system goes out the window in any situation like this.  They wouldn't have negotiated for the life of one of their own, on the streets its every man for themselves. 

[i]Thick as thieves[/i]

Seemed like a fairytale in all its glorified ways, the man did not have to go by one of his own, he didn't have to die at all, they could have walked away from this.  The safety in numbers just went out the window as the squeaker pulled his gun as well.  Dropping the body Litheal shot forward, shots echoed through the air as he sidestepped blinking zig zags.  They shot in disorganized directions and almost shot eachother in the process.  Behind the squeaker Litheal slammed his foot down into the back of the mans knee, seeing and blinking were incredibly difficult with one eye.  As the man crumbled down his hand holding the gun raised Litheal took hold of it blinking again.  

Shots fired, directed above the finished man.  Litheal tapped the oil haired man's shoulder, looking over Litheal smashed the pistol he had stolen into the side of the man's face.   

Stepping over all the bodies Litheal made his way toward the mouth of the alley, soon the police would show up and a man covered in blood with a sword swung over his shoulder would probably be pretty suspicious. 

"I could always say they tried to touch me in my nono places" Litheal sighed trying to appreciate the simple joys in the world. Although behind this composure was the grief that he could not save everybody involved.