The news reporter�s image blipped out to static as Kyle Graey hit the standby on the remote, shaking his head and giving a smirk to the facts he had heard. Whilst the street-wise, middle-aged man would never admit it, he had moved to Paragon City only recently for the added protection that the city�s abundance of costumed superheroes provided. To anyone who asked though, his arrival had been based solely on better job opportunities in the construction industry. With an exhausted grunt Kyle got up from the couch and dusted off his pale blue tank top. He then had to maneuver his way through the hardly-tidy apartment he had rented to get to the fridge where his next meal awaited him. But before Kyle could even reach the food in the frozen compartment, his cell phone gave a few bleeps, demanding his immediate attention. Kyle pulled the phone hastily from his jeans pocket and looked at the VDU screen, which read clearly �Leilah.� A small smile crossed the man�s stubble-sprinkled face as he brought the receiver to his ear and heard a quiet female voice from the other end.

�Kyle?�

�Yeah�?�

�Oh, you�re in! Great��

Kyle had, naturally, brought his girlfriend to Paragon City with him, giving her the same excuse about job opportunities. If the truth were known, it had been broadly for Leilah�s sake that Kyle had wanted the safe environment to start a new life.

�I�m in Freedom Court, can you meet me?�

�Gimme ten.�

�Course. Love ya, see you in a minute then.�

Kyle slammed the fridge door shut and it sealed itself; there was no time for that anymore. Replacing the pale tank top with a gray sweater and combing back his long black hair, Kyle left the apartment, taking care to lock it behind him, and headed for the parking lot out back.

-

Leilah had waited on the steps connecting Freedom Court to Freedom Plaza when Kyle�s car pulled up, music blaring from it until the engine shut off. He had actually taken five minutes less than he�d said, but this failed to surprise Leilah who just grinned and shook her head at the fact, having become used to it over the two and a half years they�d spent together. For all her boyfriend�s flaws, time efficiency wasn�t one of them. The two reunited in an embrace as Kyle got out of the car, slamming the door behind him. Leilah smiled up at him, looking into his dark eyes for a moment as he, seemingly purposelessly, gazed around Freedom Court.

�You�ve been well?�

�Yes. You?�

�Fine fine. How�s the job hunt going?�

Kyle paused at her question, looking to her. For a moment the man considered lying to his girl but the moment passed and he shrugged his shoulders both casually and nonchalantly at the same time. Leilah knew without hearing the deep voiced answer that came that Kyle had not been having much luck.

�Not good.�

�You said Paragon City was thriving with work, Kyle��

�I did.�

He bit his lip and knew his mistake as he did so, as biting his lip had always been his equivalent to a frown, and Leilah was well aware of this fact. But she gave him the small smile he was more than familiar with, a reassuring smile and a twinkle in her emerald eyes that told him she didn�t care about any of those problems. He reached his hand to her head, stroking parted fingers through golden locks and she stood up on tiptoes, placing a gentle kiss on his lips. Kyle closed his eyes, opening up to her gentle embrace. Leilah felt his fingers in her hair, and reached up to touch his in return, letting the recently combed, black strands caress over her palm. She murmured, almost purring, to him as her free hand rested on his chest.

�You have lovely hair��

Kyle looked down at her, a look that clearly told her he thought her comment to be both completely random and completely untrue.

�It�s black��

Leilah grinned at him, such a perfect grin, and gave one of the midnight strands a harsh tug. He winced.

�Black? No� it�s uhm� sable� hum...�

Both of them laughed together, leaning in against one another in a warm embrace against the slowly darkening night. Kyle loved how she laughed, how she smiled and how she looked, but so rarely would he ever admit such things to her or anyone. But Leilah knew it by the way he held her now, warm and tight, right up until the moment the enormous clawed arms shoved him off her.

Kyle hit the sidewalk at an awkward angle, cutting his thigh on the curb as he landed. Before he could even acknowledge the pain searing through his body, whatever it was that had attacked was upon him, heavy shadowed limbs pinning him beneath it. The darkness all around silhouetted the creature and the clouds that were forming in Kyle�s eyes made it no clearer. He felt the warm points like blades enter his neck just beside the shoulder, and the barbed claws ripped his skin from the bone. In an instant Kyle Graey knew he would die.

From the moment whatever it was had collided with her boyfriend, Leilah gave a scream of horror. The screams did not cease when the form mounted Kyle, or when it tore skin from his bones. Somehow though, instinct took over and Leilah found herself grabbing for the revolver she always had tucked into her jacket; you couldn�t afford not to be armed in a place such as Paragon City. Whether or not Leilah�s bullet struck the creature or not she was unsure, but nonetheless the assaulter leapt off of Kyle and made a hasty retreat down a back alley.

Leilah stooped over Kyle, her love, who was undoubtedly now unconscious. His skin was torn, his eyes closed tight and his body in a position no body should ever be bent into. Don�t die, Kyle. This could not be happening.

To Be Continued�

[to #2...]