THE VIGILANTE!

Tracy was speechless.

Here? Now?

Her heart was on hyper drive. The movie was great, the dinner was epic. But this? This was on a whole new level of awesome.

The night air was  chilly, but she could barely feel it. The sounds from the restaurant seemed miles away. For her, they might as well have been coming from another continent.

She covered her nose with both hands. Not to ward off a bad smell, but simply because she was too excited to do anything else.



"Em...aren't you going to say something?" Ike said. He was still on one knee, holding out the ring like an offering.  In her excitement, she'd totally forgotten he was kneeling on cold concrete.

"Oh, babe I'm so sorry," she helped him up.


"Yes,....YESSS!....I mean, next to meeting the Vigilante, this moment is at the top of my list."
"The Vigilante's not real," he said.

"Whatever....I'm just so happy..."

He kissed her. Her world spun in slow motion.


She  felt earth undulate under her feet.  This wasn't happening, she thought. It had to be a dream.

When he stared into her eyes again. There was so much love in them. She saw their whole relationship in them. He'd been good to her all those months.

She watched him slip the ring on her finger. It was a perfect fit. She didnt want to move or blink for fear she would wake up from this dream. She barely heard the car tyres screech.

"DON'T MOVE!"

It was a male voice. Ike spun around,shielding her body with his.

Two masked men jumped out of a van. In seconds, she was staring into the barrels of machine guns.

She was frozen in place. Like the ring on her finger, it didnt seem real.

One of the men bashed the butt of his rifle into Ike's face. His body crashed into her. She lost her balance and fell to the ground.

 "DID YOU FUCKING HEAR ME?" Said the first man.

The other one grabbed her arm. She screamed the instant his skin touched hers. Ike was roughly pulled from the ground, and struck again.

Somewhere in her head, her brain processed wild screams of people all around them.

"Please....just take what ..... you want and..."

"SHUT DE FUCKUP!" The order was accompanied by a another blow. This time, Ike was thrown against the side of the bonnet of a car.

The second man had something in his other hand. In the faint light of the parking lot, it glimmered seconds before it smashed into her face.

Everything went black. She could still hear the screams ---and Ike groaning under violent blows. She felt the front of her dress being pulled. Another lightening bolt struck  her head, she fell against something metallic. She could smell the her blood mingled with a foul liquid. This wasnt happening. This was supposed to be her fairy tale.

"BRING THEM," She heard a third voice coming from where she assumed the van was. She was so disoriented and in so much pain, she didnt know anymore. She felt the fabric of her dress rip and a hard blow to the stomach nearly made her internal organs explode from her mouth.

"That's enough!" Said the calm voice of a woman.

The night held its breath,
There was a pause in the air.

She could hear their feet shuffling about nervously on the cold concrete.

"What was that?" Said the man holding her.


His grip had weakened  Ike was still groaning.

"Where did that come from?" Said the voice of the other man. The blood from her forehead, stung and blinded her eyes.

"This is your last warning," said the woman.


There was something about the woman's voice. Something cold and detached.

"Show.... yourself," said the man holding her. He sounded frantic.

"You know who I am," the woman said."You know my name.... this is your last warning."
"It's her," said the other Man's voice. There was no mistake. He was terrified. "It's the vigilante.....we have to get outta here."
"Bullshit," the man holding her said. "She's just a story the Police tell people to scare criminals."

"A story you said," there was the hint of a chuckle in the woman's voice. "Then allow me to convince you,"

Tracey heard something woosh through the air.

"What the.....?" But the man holding her lost his grip. Something tore him away from her.


Something metallic clattered against the ground.  Then he was silent.

"Please....please...don't..." There was a strange sound, like the splintering of dry wood. The second man screamed. His scream suddenly travelled across the air, the ended with a loud crashing sound.

She heard car tyres screech.
"Fuck this," a  frightened third man yelled.
"Where do you think you're going?" The woman's voice said. She sounded slightly out of breath, but as cold as before. There was a heavy thud, followed by the sound of glass exploding.

Another scream. Then there was silence again, save for the engine running.

The stench of her own blood was everywhere. Aside from the pain in her head and the hammering in her chest, her vision was still blurry.

Long silence.

Why was Ike so silent? Oh God, she thought.
"Ike!"

Nothing.

"IKE!!!"

Just the cold night air and the smell of blood.
She groped blindly for him. She felt helpless, she felt alone.

"IKE!"

The sound of her own voice in this empty place made her heart ache.

"Are you okay?"

The proximity of the woman's whisper startled her. It sounded like it were mere inches away from her ear.

"Please....." Tracey's whole body ached. She doubted she could take anymore pain. "Don't hurt....me...Ike...he's....."

"He's unconscious, alive." The Woman said.


"These men wont hurt anyone again."

Tracey forced herself to see through the dark blinding crimson.

Everything was  muddled together, each colour fusing into the other forming a weird kaleidoscope of images. But through the mess, she could make out the silhouette of a woman.

More details emerged.

She was average height and built like an athlete. Her face was hooded and the rest of her was clad in what looked like dark brown leather.

"...the...the vigilante." Tracey whispered.


"...you're....you're real." Her head was swooning. She could barely stand.

"The police are on their way," the Woman said.


 "You and boyfriend will be fine. It's my job to clean up this town."

"H..how...did you..?... ...who...who are...you?"

"Call me Ivy " the woman said with the  hint of a chuckle. "Ivy Brown...the 'vigilante' just sounds very....Batman-like, don't you think?"

Tracy blacked out.

She woke up a day later in the hospital. She learnt that Ike was okay. For that she was thankful. She noticed a tiny box by her bed. It was gift wrapped with a brown ribbon. Her heard still ached, but she managed to reach for it. The content of the box filled her heart with joy.

It was her engagement ring. There was a small note inside the box.

'YOU DROPPED THIS THE OTHER NIGHT. SORRY THOSE GOONS RUINED YOUR MOMENT. IF ITS ANY CONSOLATION, ONE OF THEM WILL NEVER WALK AGAIN. STAY SAFE, TRACY AND CONGRATS AGAIN.
IVY BROWN'

There was something written at the back of the note.

'P.S, please tell them to stop calling me the vigilante (hate that name).'
Tracy slipped the ring on her finger and relaxed into the pillow.

Yeah, she thought. Ivy Brown DOES sound better.


I'M A WRITER
MY MIND IS MY WORKSTATION
ENOUGH SAID
#opustjk
happy birthday baby.