A pale set of eyes watched us from the rooftop of an old building. The figure wore a newsboy cap and had a white shirt and gray pants that were held up with suspenders. He wasn’t very fashionable but for the time period, he fit in perfectly. The figure then disappeared into the dusk light and fog. Looking up from the ground, I tried to avoid Isabell’s eyes only to see that Scott had stopped. 

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“We’re alone.” Scott said before taking a protective stance as if guarding Isabell.

Looking around, I saw that what he said was true. The streets were empty, not even a rat was around. The fog that had started forming in the streets began to get thicker and thicker. Isabell latched onto my left arm even tighter as she noticed what Scott meant. I drew my knife with my right hand and was prepared to fight. Or so I thought.

The silvery glint of a blade struck Isabell from my left. A shadowy figure followed the blade and rammed it deep in her chest before I had time to react. Isabell shrieked as she turned to dust just like the changelings we had fought the other night. Still in shock, I swung my blade at the figure with my right hand, he ducked and stabbed me in the stomach. The tearing of flesh, muscle, and internal organs echoed up through my chest and into my head. Gasping for air, I couldn’t think. I couldn’t move. ”That hurt like hell.” I eventually thought before falling to my knees with the knife still in my stomach. Scott jumped in between me and the figure to attempt a strike on the figure, but he jumped backward at the last second. 

“You okay, kid?” Scott asked with a gritty but worried tone as he looked back towards me and then at the figure.

“Ya, just fucking great. If you beat him could you let me kill him? I want to give him some payback.” I said gritting my teeth. With every word, I felt a chill down my spine. Beads of sweat dripped from my brow. 

“Sure thing kid, Use this to clean the wound. It’s high strength.” he replied as he threw me his flask.

I dumped half of the contents on my wound. The burn was awful so I drank the rest of the contents of the flask. Holding the wound as tightly as possible with my left hand, I used my right hand and teeth to rip my shirt to tie around the wound and increase pressure. While I was tending to my wounds Scott had started to fight the humanoid figure. As he stepped under a streetlamp we began to make out his body. A man in his late twenties that looked like he was a boxer. 

Scott began throwing punches at the man but he was always a step away. It must have known that his gloves were lined with silver, or it just didn’t want to be hit. Then the figure saw an opening and punched Scott in the jaw. Stumbling back for a moment, Scott almost looked impressed.

“You can hit.” Scott remarked respectfully before spitting out a small bit of blood from his lip.

“Well, you can take a hit.” The man said in a thick Welsh accent.

“I'm a drunk, I don’t feel much anymore.” Scott replied with a sassy tone.

“Perhaps, but do you know who or what I am?” The man asked.

“I don’t know and I don’t care.” Scott said Before running towards the figure. But it was ready and as Scott threw out a punch with his right hand it dodged to the right. The man grabbed his wrist and struck out its palm into Scott’s stomach flipping him onto his back with practically no effort. Landing with a grunt, Scott stopped moving.

“Stay down for a moment while I get my knife.” The man said as it began walking towards me.

“Who are you?” I asked as I scooted back towards the building and picked my knife back up with my right hand as my left held the other knife in my stomach.

“A yes I am in a new body so you wouldn’t recognize me. I am the changeling that escaped from that man before and now it’s time for you to pay for killing my kin.” The man said, kicking the knife from my hand and stepping on my left hand. His foot pushed the knife even farther into my stomach as blood gushed out. I yelled in agony before finally passing out. 

* * *

While I was unconscious and the changeling was about to kill me and Scott, a person wearing a white mask that had red stripes like tears coming from the eye holes and long gray hair rushed in. The masked figure grabbed the changeling by the back of the neck and threw him away from me with ease.  On his hip was a longsword barely hidden under the side of his coat. His arms and shins bore plate armor that glowed a faint purple as if they were magic. 

“What the hell! Who are you?” the changeling asked as he got up but the masked man said nothing. He only drew his sword and charged at the changeling. The changeling, realizing that it probably didn’t stand a chance got up and ran away, morphing into a cat as it made its escape. The masked man stopped as soon as the changeling was beyond his sight. Scott though was awake and he saw most of it. He watched as the masked man came up to him and spoke in a low voice. 

“Forget you saw anything, for your own sake if not his.” He said to Scott, gesturing at me before he disappeared like a phantom.

Scott got up and walked over to my body. “Please stay alive till I can get you help.” He said as he picked me up and carried me off into the foggy London streets. My blood, dripped slowly onto his coat as his shoes clicked on the cobblestone street.