She looked around, and bit her lip. She didn't like this street. There were no lamp posts anywhere. The only light there was, came from the windows of a few bars, and two or three shops with questionable merchandise.
Groups of people were hanging out here and there, people who looked sinister and potentially dangerous. Teens with rags around their heads, and sunglasses in the middle of the night. Women in short skirts and high heels, discussing money with strange men. Sometimes they would come to an agreement, and disappear into some dark alley.
She walked down the street, feeling uncomfortable. She could feel some people following her with their eyes. She walked faster, all the time trying to look as if she had a place to go to, and in a hurry to get there.
A guy left his gang and was walking towards her. She felt a sting of fear, and ran into a bar called The Black Cat. She walked up to the bar and ordered a drink, sat down, and sipped her drink, trying to calm down.
"Something wrong?"
She turned around to face the man who had talked to her. It was a man in his early 40'ies, nicely dressed in jeans and a flannel shirt. He had a nice face with kinds eyes, the kind of face that made you trust him immediately. He was your typical boy-next-door.
"I'm OK," she said, smiling a little. "It's just so... I don't like this part of town."
"It's a bit shady," he agreed. "Forgive me for saying so, but a woman like yourself shouldn't be walking these streets alone at this time of night."
"I have to," she explained. "I don't have enough money to take a cab."
He looked thoughtful.
"Where are you heading?" he asked.
"Asher avenue," she said.
He nodded, as if this settled some arguing he had gone through inside his head.
"I'm going to Boshe street, myself," he said. "If you want, I can give you a ride downtown. At least you'll get a little closer to home, and you won't have to walk through these streets..."
"Thank you!" she said, with relief. "That would be great!"
She finished her drink, and followed him out to his car.
"Buckle up," he said, and fastened his own seat belt.
They drove off. He chatted about this and that, and it took a while before she noticed that they were going the wrong way.
"Ehm... this isn't the way to Asher avenue, she said.
"I need to fill up the gas," he said. "The tank's almost empty. It will only take a minute."