Zutara Week:A Masked Encounter

Chapter 1: A Masked Encounter
Also Known as When Curiosity almost Killed the Katara

I was feeling rebellious. That is bad. Very bad.

Honestly though, I felt I deserved a bit of that rebellious feeling. It had been a long exhausting school day and I just wanted to scream and shout profanities as loud as I could to the sky. Sadly, I couldn't do this so I settled on gritting my teeth and stomping hard as I could in every puddle. The puddles in return sloshed into my worn converse shoes and soaked my already damp stiff jeans to my annoyance. Despite this I kept stomping in the puddles.

Actually a long and exhausting school day is a bit of a under-exaggeration. I rarely ever had nasty school days. Sure I had long boring and annoying ones like anybody else, but truly nasty ones didn't come by often. When they did come, they came if you get my drift. I had a feeling that today was going to be worse than usual firstly because I was sick half of the previous week. Which is always loads of fun between making up all the homework that was missed and because of questions and comments I received from casual acquaintances.

"You were sick?"

"Oh! You go here? Well, I guess you learn something new everyday."

"Wait, you were gone for three days?"

I could really feel the love. Maybe I was a bit  too forgettable.

Getting back on topic, the other reasons why today was just plain horrible was that I tripped twice in the hallway today (knocking someone over once), spilled my soda all over myself at lunch, and had the pleasure of taking two long tests after school. I seemed to be on a roll too. Once I was able to finally leave school, it was around six and I got text on my almost dead phone asking to pick up some groceries. Deciding to be a helpful grand-daughter for once I went to the supermarket on the other side of the city and grabbed the food as quick as I could. Once I managed to get the food in the car  I tried to start it. It didn't work of course. This was the point where I began to want yell every curse I knew toward the hunk of junk I called a car.

After some angry tears, curses, and a stubbed toe from kicking the old car I decided to test my luck by walking home. It was only around 7:30 and the walk home would only take about an half hour. Lady Luck though decided to continue her absence when it began to rain. And when I say rain I mean downpour.

So that 's how I came to be where I was now. In the rain where I was gritting my teeth and stomping through every puddle at eight at night. It was dark and I was cold and cranky beyond belief. I ceased my stomping through poor innocent puddles and tried to set a quicker pace to getting home. Being in Chicago on a dark stormy night by yourself is a slasher horror movie flick waiting to happen. I was not, quite frankly, in the mood to play the screaming helpless victim. I racked my brain trying to remember any shortcuts to get home quicker, it was not often that I was in this area. I finally stopped my fast walking and squinted at the nearby street sign while wiping my thick brown hair from my face. In relief I gave a bitter smile at the sign.

"Only about seven more blocks," I sighed as my annoyance began to ebb away as I began to walk again.

Every alleyway I passed seemed to whisper to be me to take a closer look. I tried to walk quicker repeating 'curiosity killed the cat' under my breath because I really did not need that phrase turn into 'curiosity killed the Katara.' Despite these mutterings though my rebellious feeling grew in my chest and pumped through me with every step I took. So when I finally heard true whispers coming from an alley.......

"I'm such an idiot," I mumbled under my breath. I pushed back my hair again and put it up messily and put my hood up to cover it. "Why didn't I do that earlier?" I mumbled again watching the group with curiosity.

I watched the five figures in the alleyway as they argued quickly in some other language. All five of the people were wearing dark clothing and bright red and orange masks. Four were obviously men while the last seemed to be a woman. The four men were all arguing in low harsh tones with the woman adding in her two cents every few moments. After crouching for several minutes I thought that I shouldn't push my luck any further and began to position myself so I could get up quietly. That plan failed rather spectacularly. And I meant a very loud obvious girlish shriek of terror exiting my mouth kind of spectacular.
The cause of my rather girlish shriek (that I am now rather embarrassed about) was the tallest man grabbing a gun and shooting a short man standing opposite of him. My shriek soon followed the loud gunshot and all eyes turned to me. They all seemed to freeze and I quickly dashed out of the alleyway and ran as fast as I could. Moments after I left the alleyway I could hear a commanding voice yell something and soon two men were running through the puddles after me.

I fully blamed this situation on my thoughts of slasher horror movies and my curiosity. My own brain seemed to be mocking me as I heard 'curiosity killed the Katara' ring constantly throughout my head. My feet slapped the pavement and puddles as I ran and did quick turns around corners.  Soon I could feel my legs and side ache as I unwilling began to slow down. The men behind me were not slowing down at all and seemed to running faster with their guns now out. Every curse word I knew and some my brother made up raced through my head as I turned another corner with a bullet swishing near as my hood flew down.

One moment I was running  across the pavement the next I was off the ground and slammed against a wall in an alley. A figure in a laughing blue mask stood in front and grabbed me. A hand was slapped over mouth before I could even consider to scream in fright or curse the owner of the hand while the other held me tightly. Automatically I began the squirm, kick, and bite at the feeling of the arm. The parts of my dad's police stories I usually ignore race through my head.

'Curiosity killed the Katara, curiosity killed the Katara, curiosity killed the Katar-'
"Quiet!" The masked man hissed into my ear,"And stop moving."
Needless to say, I ignored him and continued to struggle even if it did not help at all. . I was terrified, cold, soaked, and still a bit angry. I was not an happy camper. Hell, I was going to listen to him. All the masked man did though was hold me tighter and grumble under his breath.

"I'll take care of brainless and gun-happy over there have fun with her," a voice called from the shadows before it ran out of the alley.

Soon after I heard the guns clatter against the sidewalk and the voice from seconds ago yelling mockingly something in a different language at the men. Sounds of a fight soon began afterward.

"Keep up," the masked man hissed in my ear before he released me from his hold. Before I could yell 'Rape!', 'Stranger Danger!', or whatever else I was dragged further into the alley. We both run through out the alley till we reach the end of it.

"Go home or somewhere safe!" The masked man whispered harshly to me holding close. "Don't linger, just go and get away is quick as you can!"

He pushed me out of the alley and by the time I turned around he had disappeared into the alley. As he left the childish chanting of 'Curiosity killed the Katara' left to my relief. Deciding to take his advice, as I already had done too many stupid and dangerous things, I ran the rest of the two blocks home with my heart pounding. Once I got inside the doors  my worried grandmother confronted me at the door and asked about ten questions in one breath. I told her of my dead phone and the car still at the grocery store before heading up to my room.

I needed to a quiet and safe place to have a nervous breakdown-I mean recollect and think about what just happened. Yeah, all I did was thinking.