She was trapped. The alleyway lead straight to the harbour, and the buildings made a perfect tunnel with two exits only. She heard the pursuers closing in on her. There was nowhere to hide, and she knew death waited for her in both ends. Desperate she tried to climb the wall – anything to escape.
Her heart raced, and the entire scene was black, orange and red, very much like a city on fire. There was one single crevice in the brick wall, just about big enough for her to fit in, and she dived in. But no matter how neatly she folded herself, she couldn’t get her legs in, and she screamed as somebody yanked them and dragged her out in the open.
‘Why the hell are you so stuck on living?!’ the assaulter spat. She stared at him, trying to keep a calm façade. His face was hidden in shadow, and more and more shadowy figures entered her field of vision.
‘There’s no reason for you to live’
‘Your existence itself is an unforgivable sin!’
Someone kicked her hard in the ribs, and more feet joined, kicking every part of her torso. She tried to scream, but her lungs seemed to have been emptied of air. There was a momentarily halt in the vicious kicks, and then the intense pain came from inside. The onlookers laughed manically as blood gushed out of her, and her lungs had finally been restored. She cried out a raw, guttural cry. Desperation and fear replaced the pain, and she sat up, screaming, trying to find what she dreaded most in the bloody mess between her legs.
And then it came. The demon. Covered in blood, and yet unmistakably blood red itself, with horns, fangs and everything. Still tied to her by the umbilical cord, she grabbed it and cradled it, crying, praying for it to live. But she knew it was futile. Her demon child was not alive, and would never have been allowed to live anyway.
Maybe it was best this way. It was like she was all alone in the alley, and the scene was getting gradually lighter, until there was nothing but her and the baby in a white space without boundaries.
The baby was no longer a demon, but a very premature human baby, and she was still sitting in a pool of blood, crying her heart out.