Poppy Garion was tired from work. She couldn't believe how fast time had gone. One moment she was setting up paperwork for the clients and the next thing she knew, the night guard was tapping her shoulder, his baton held high up as if a girl like her could put up a fight against his 6 foot, 300 pound self. She had been surprised when she spotted him behind her in his dark suit that was stretched tightly over his beer belly. His mustache twitched above his trembling lips and, despite his size, he looked terrified even with his weapon. Still, he acted as if she had been holding a gun and she was going to fight him.
Yeah, fat chance of that happening. Although, she had to admit to herself, had she really had to put up a fight against the giant, she would've had some sort of chance. She was slick and fit enough to, at the very least, run and slip from his clutches. Judging from his slightly glazed over gaze, she knew he was half asleep and was probably ready to drop dead at any moment. She could've easily escaped him if needed and he would have let her go.
Taking pity on the poor guy, she forced herself to give him a smile, telling him she was just about to leave. He looked at her suspiciously, doubtful of her and her intentions. Seriously, bro, I'm not gonna steal from here. It seemed he wasn't going to leave, so she decided to rifle through her bag for her work badge, and only then did he leave her be.
Ugh, you'd think the guard would know the workers. Poppy didn't let herself dwell anymore on that, though. It was a one-time thing and she was most definitely not doing another late night shift. She wasn't even supposed to do this late night shift.
Continuing on her walk home, Poppy hiked her red messenger bag's strap higher on her shoulder so it wouldn't fall as her right hand dug itself inside it to search for her house keys. She was only a few minutes away from home by then, all she needed to do was trek up the steep hill towards her neighborhood. However, a few minutes later and still with no keys in hand, she paused in her walk. She stepped to the side to avoid any other pedestrians - if there were any at this time of night - so she could focus on finding her keys.
The sounds of the items in her bag being shuffled around was the only thing keeping her surroundings from being completely quiet. It was a first for her neighborhood, but she wouldn't question it since she wasn't usually out walking at this time of night. Brows furrowed, she pulled her bag off of her shoulder and brought it higher so that she could see better. Her hand dug about but the only thing she succeeded in finding was her phone. It had been vibrating all night with messages and calls from her parents. She was avoiding them as best as she could, but it was like they couldn't get the hint. It vibrated again in her hands, but she decided to turn it off and tossed it back in.
She continued her search, her focus wholly remained on the bag. Bad move.
A large body collided with her back, sending her tumbling to the ground. Her bag flew out of her hands- actually, no, her bag was snatched out of her hand. But before she could attempt to tug it back, her head smacked harshly into the cement column of the bridge she was under. She was hit with a spark of pain before dizziness slowly took over. There was footsteps smacking against asphalt near her. In the distance, police sirens echoed in the night, but instead of sounding like they were getting closer, they sounded like they were moving farther away. And with that, she fell into unconsciousness.
Poppy woke up again, groaning. There was a pounding at the back of her head similar to that of a gavel pounding at a judge's podium. It got worse when she sat up and had her clutching her head between her hands. It took a while for the pain to diminish, but even then, it was still there. "Oh my God," she moaned.
She couldn't believe her luck.
A few more minutes of clutching her head and muttering curses to the dark, the pain became tolerable. Before fully standing up, she tested her vision. When only a slight dizziness overcame her, she pushed herself up onto her feet.
