Death Sentence
an excerpt

The girl stumbled forward onto the narrow sidewalk. Confused, blinded with pain, some part of her mind equated light with safety. She reached out with shaking hands towards the passing traffic. A shuffling foot stepped off the short curb. As it landed on the asphalt, she stumbled, and fell to a crouching position. To the truck driver barreling down the road, the girl came out of nowhere. He leaned on his horn as he slammed on his brakes. The girl looked up to see bright lights bearing down on her–

A hand reached out of the shadows and grabbed the girl's shoulder. With a heave, the girl was pulled out of the street and went rolling across the wet sidewalk. The American, one hand clutching his bloody stomach, lost his balance, and hesitated–

The girl shook her head and looked up in time to see the front right bumper of the truck strike the blonde man. It all seemed to happen in slow motion. She could see the glass of one headlight shatter as it struck the man's hip. His body flattened against the huge vehicle, then was thrown into the air, twisting and rolling over the girl, until it slammed into the brick wall behind her. The man's body crumpled to the sidewalk like a sack of garbage.

Holding her head, the girl froze in horror, then noticed the blood gash on her arm. She crawled towards the prone man as the truck, brakes squealing, went sliding helplessly down the highway. Horns were honking up and down the street as vehicles tried to stop. She could see the man move. She couldn't believe anyone could live though something like that. "My God!" she breathed as she reached the man. "Are you–?"

The girl froze. She stared as the man rolled over on his side, both hands on his belly. He was holding what looked like the handle of a knife. Teeth clenched, the man pulled on the handle, and twelve inches of bloody metal blade slid out of his gut. Free of his body, he released the knife, which clattered on the wet sidewalk. The man grunted, then coughed. His face was deathly pale. He reached into the pocket of his black coat and pulled out what looked to be a stocking cap. This he held against the wound in his belly. He looked at the girl lying on the sidewalk in front of him. She said nothing as he reached out with one hand and examined the injury on her head.

"It's not bad," he grunted. "You'll be all right." The girl could hear approaching footsteps. Groaning, the man sat up.

"Wait," she managed to say. "You... you saved my–"

The man pulled himself to his feet. "You'll be okay," he insisted. He squinted at the bright lights all around him. "Stupid," he muttered to himself. "So stupid..." With labored breath, the man turned into the shadows of the alley and disappeared.