It all happened so fast and completely took him off guard. He didn’t like it when people touched him, regardless of how pretty they were. Yet here she was in his arms, this woman flapping her hands around, acting like a lunatic.

Her high pitched scream a few minutes ago had been so penetrating, that it had raised every hair on his body. It had made him halt on the spot. Before he knew it she had run into him, still screaming her lungs out. He had grabbed her by the shoulders, in an attempt to calm her down and tell him what on earth her problem was. She kept on glancing over her shoulder, panicked. Her face cringed with fear, eyes wide, still screaming.

“Shut up, shut up, shut up!” he now said loudly in her face, while shaking her. She looked up at him, too stunned to respond, but at least it made her stop yelling. “Are you in danger?” the man in the crispy grey suit asked. She was breathing hard, couldn’t get out any words. Slowly, she raised a shivering finger and pointed. They both turned sideways and looked into the dark alley. He couldn’t see a thing. She crumbled in his arms and started sobbing. He sat her down on the curb of the pavement and cautiously walked into the darkness.

Excerpt of ‘Woven’. The book I wrote.