#ch 1

I almost didn't notice the cold presence behind me moving much closer as I passed an alleyway..

The cold breath of danger kissed my skin. Before I could make a move to distance myself from whatever was behind me, it pulled me backwards into the alley. A firm hand grabbed me by the shoulder and spun me around to face the assailant. They shoved me against the brick wall as a hand covered my mouth, keeping me both still and silent despite my clear struggles.

I could barely see who it was forcing me here. All that I could see was a pair of large round goggles glinting under the little bit of moonlight that the few clouds allowed for.

The stranger kept me there with ease against the cold wall, and I could just barely see them holding something in their hands, moving it closer to the exposed skin on my neck.

My hands moved to stop the assailant from harming me, one hand on there's that covered my mouth and another on the wrist holding the weapon. Despite my rising panic, the stranger seemed rather calm, like they've done this many times before.

"Stop struggling, or I'll make sure this hurts."

The stranger demanded, it was a man's voice. He sounded calculated with a voice as cold as ice and a demeanor to match.

His hand gripped my jaw with a bruising force. Before, he had just kept me from screaming, but now it felt like he was trying to rip my jaw off my face for daring to defy him. I used a leg to kick at his chest, causing him to stumble backwards and let go of my face.

I took the opportunity to turn run out of the alley, that was before I felt his hand grabbing at my pants, causing me to trip and fall forward onto the concrete ground. I turned over onto my back despite the burning in my chest. I was about to kick at his face before he grabbed at my other ankle, holding it up while he moved to stand over me. Hand still gripping my leg.

"You are gonna regret that. I'll see to it, personally"

He pulled me towards him by the leg as I thrashed against him to no avail. He was over me now, his mask visible under the sliver of light illuminated by the passing cars. I knew that mask.. Dr Flug, the head scientist and inventor of the Black Hat Organization.

"Oh sh!t.." I could only whisper to myself. "You're.."

Now, it wasn't just fear that filled me, but pure terror. I began hyperventilating as the dangerous man towered over me. He reached for my neck as i stayed there frozen in fear.

"Oh? So you do know who I am, hm?" He said, a bit amused at my display of terror.

His hand snaked around my neck, almost.. tenderly? As if he was petting a scared kitten and not about to choke me. My body finally remembered how to move when his grip became stronger. A hand went to his wrist in an attempt to pull him off with no success. His eyes were filled with a sadistic desire to cause pain, staring intensely as I struggled against him for what seemed like hours as the need to breathe grew stronger with every passing second. Knowing I wasn't gonna pry him off, I swung. My fist met with his goggles, and tiny shards of glass cut my skin.

We both froze for a moment. I was shocked at what I had just done to one of the most dangerous scientists in the region. He stood there frozen for a moment, his grip loosened around my throat and I breathed in desperately as his head stayed in the position I forced it in for a few moments, like he was trying to process wha I had just done.

And then, he looked directly into my eyes with pure rage. Oh, he was pissed. With a look so piercing and terrifying, it felt like my heart stopped. My entire body broke out in a cold sweat under that cold gaze. Before I could react, I felt something slice across my eye. Causing me to yelp out in pain as I clutched my now bleeding eye, blood pooling out from between my fingers.

My other eye was wide with fear, looking up into his goggles as tears began to fall from the pain. What the hell did he just cut me with?? I didn't have time to ask before he spoke. His voice sharper than broken glass and much more threatening than it..

"You just made things a lot worse for yourself."

I started scrambling to get out from under him. Flipping over onto my stomach, hoping to get up and run before anything else happened. But he wouldn't let me get out so easily. He grabbed onto the back of my shirt, and something hard hit my back, knocking the wind out of me, and I could feel blood from the new wound bleed into my shirt. Whatever he hit me with was strong and sharp.

I let out a scream at the feeling of the weapon digging into my flesh before being forced down onto the concrete floor. Almost as fast as my chest hit the ground, Flug grabbed the top of my head by the hair and forced me to stand. Dragging me further back into the alleyway as I stumbled and fought against both the psychotic scientist and the burning pain all over my body.

He threw me against the wall and stood between me and the exit. My hands trying to hold me up against the wall as my knees buckled, causing me to lose balance, nearly falling to the floor. My vision was far too blurred by blood and tears to tell what he was doing, but I soon felt his hand around my neck once again. He lifted me up with ease and slamed me against the wall once more. Everything was spinning.

Despite the ringing in my ears, I heard something click, it sounded metallic. I could feel something poking into my side, like 2 small metal spikes, but they were dull at the tip. I could barely question what was happening before feeling a strong electric shock pulse through my body. I would've screamed if it wasn't for the hand still on my throat. The only sound I could allow for was a pathetic whimper and desperate gasps for air. The pain was too much to take after that scuffle.

He let go of my neck and left me to fall to the floor. Sliding down the wall and just sitting there gasping for air as my entire body gave out under all the pain. Everything was blurry. The adrenaline fought to keep me awake, but the exhaustion was fighting even harder. Consciousness was slipping from my grasp fast, and I did nothing to stop it.