The crowded streets began thinning out as night fell over the world. The day denizens replaced by the night. One wrong turn can offer a personal introduction to these darker inhabitants. John, still lost in thought and still bouncing in his shoes, took a wrong turn.

Before he could look up, he was face to face with a knife. The metal blade caught the street light, glowing against the dark alley. He froze in place, heart beating a warning in his chest.

“Gimme all you got, and maybe you’ll live,” said a voice weighted down with the tragedies and tribulations of life. John could tell he meant every word.

“I don’t have anything,” John replied.

“That’s too bad,” came the cold voice. The blade flashed forward in the night, dancing light across three faces. An impact. A strangled gurgle. A body falls.

The streetlight splashed across the body. Its breath was coming in short gurgling husks as blood oozed from the pen in its throat. John looked up from the body and saw a young girl. She was wearing his coat.