The man started laughing maniacally. He was slowly moving towards her, a butcher knife in hand. The woman’s back met the wall. The insane man, now laughing uncontrollably, was getting closer and closer. Her heart pounded. She knew no one was out this late, especially in this part of town, but she had to try.
“Help! Somebody help me please!” she screamed.
Dash was taking her usual late night jog around town when she heard the scream. She stopped running and looked around.
“What was that sound?” she thought. Then she heard it again. She started jogging towards the source of the sound. After a while, she realized it was screaming. She couldn’t make out words, but she knew that someone was in trouble. Someone needed her help.
By the time she reached the alleyway, she could hear a man’s laughter. It sounded like a mental asylum. She looked into the alleyway, and a horrendous sight met her eyes.
A man holding a knife had pinned a screaming woman to the wall. It looked like he was about to slash at her. Dash knew she had to act fast. She started sprinting towards the man.
The insane man heard Dash’s footsteps. By the time he turned to look at her, she had tackled him to the ground. Adrenaline surging through her veins, she grabbed the knife with her left hand, and smashed her other fist into the man’s face. While he was distracted by the pain, she pulled the knife from his grasp and threw it aside.
With one final blow to the temple, he was knocked out.
The woman looked at Dash. Her messy hair was dyed the colours of a vibrant rainbow. She was thin, and was wearing a sky blue hoodie and dark blue sweatpants. She was unsure of what to say.
“Thanks for saving my life!” she said to Dash. “I don’t know what I would have done if you didn’t show up when you did!”
“So, what happened? I mean, I get that some dude was trying to chop you into pieces, but why?” Dash asked in her coarse, but sweet voice. The woman scratched her blonde head.
“Well, I was working late today. While I was walking home, I decided to take a shortcut and go through this alleyway. About halfway in, this, this maniac jumped out from behind a garbage can and attacked me. What he was doing there, I don’t know. Quite frankly, I don’t care.”
“We’d better call 911.” Dash said as she took out her phone and dialed.
“911, please state your emergency.” a female voice said over the phone.
“There’s been an attempted murder in an alleyway connecting Rayburn and Brock street. I’ve knocked the criminal out, and the target is alright.” Dash said into the receiver.
“Please stand by while help arrives.” the operator said as she hung up.
Dash and the woman made their way towards Rayburn street.
“What was your name, again?” Dash asked the woman.
“Oh, it’s Claire. And yours is?” the woman responded.
“You can call me Dash.” she told Claire.
The next couple of minutes passed in silence. Finally, a police car stopped in front of them, and two police officers got out. One of them had a few questions for Claire and Dash, while the other went to retrieve the unconscious man. The questions were mostly for Claire, but Dash was also asked how she took down the attacker.
Once he was done asking questions, the officer handcuffed the man and carried his body to the car. He opened the door and put him on the back seat. Both of the officers got into the car and started the engine. The driver pulled down the window and said,
“You two be careful, now! I want you to go home and get some rest, both of you. We might need you in court for this man’s trial, so be prepared for that.”
He pulled the window back up. One final wave and they were gone.
“Well,” Dash said. “Just don’t get attacked by any more murderers, and you’ll be fine. Just in case you do, you can find me at the Wonderbolts Academy gym.” Dash handed Claire a piece with an address on it. Claire read it, but when she looked back up, Dash was already halfway across the street.
“Woah, that girl is fast.” she thought to herself. She, too, turned and left.
The next day was uneventful for Dash. She unlocked her gym, the Wonderbolts Academy. She went to see her friend Derpy in the hospital. She had lunch with Fluttershy. She spent a couple of hours exercising in her gym. After that, it was closing time. She locked up and went home to her apartment.
“Hey, Scoots!” she greeted her younger sister. “Did you have fun at your Crusaders meeting?”
A young girl wearing an orange shirt ran up to Dash and gave her a hug.
“Hi, Sis. I had lots of fun!” she said. Dash smiled and ruffled her messy hair, which was dyed a medium shade of purple. Dying your hair ran in the family. Dash’s mother’s hair was blue, while his father’s was green. Scoots pulled away, limped to the couch and sat down. She pressed a button on the TV remote and the television came to life.
Scoots crashed her scooter and broke her leg a year ago. It had left her with a limp. That didn’t stop her from being the best athlete in her grade, though. Dash smiled.
She loved Scoots very much. She was grateful that her parents had sent Scoots to live with her. Dash was a great big sister. If Scoots needed something, or just wanted to be with her, no matter how busy she was, Dash was always there for her. Since Dash wasn’t always needed, and Scoots was a responsible girl, Dash trusted her enough to let her stay at home alone sometimes. Dash went to her laptop and spent the rest of the night browsing Reddit.
Just before she got into bed, she got a voicemail.
Ms. Rachel Dresden, your presence as witness is requested at the trial of Victor Sidorov, tomorrow at eight o’clock, in the Justice Court downtown. Please be there a half hour early.
The next morning at seven thirty, Dash showed arrived at the court. She and Claire were both witnesses. At eight o’clock, the trial started. When it was her turn, Claire told the jury exactly what happened. After that, Dash explained how she saved Claire.
“So, I was taking my evening jog, when I heard a scream. I followed the sound and found Victor with a knife in his hand, pinning Claire to the alleyway wall. So I tackled him the ground, took his knife and knocked him out. Then, I called 911.” Dash explained.
After a while, the jury had come to a decision.
“The Jury finds Mr. Victor Sidorov not guilty by reason of insanity. He shall be sent to the nearest psychiatric hospital.”
After the trial, Dash said goodbye to Claire and left. At three o’clock, she picked Scoots up from school. They went home and spent the rest of the afternoon playing on their Playstation together.
She was having a good day, and Dash was happy.