Chance Meeting
By Crossmanx at crossmanx@hotmail.co.uk - Comments and ideas welcome
Be careful when you go out, you don###t know who you might meet!


Chance Meeting

Tom grabbed his jacket, a quick glance out of the hallway window; it still
looked cold out there "Ok I'm off see you later." The woman stepped through
the front door and headed to the car, Tom was still a bit upset with his wife
as he followed her through the door into the fresh outdoor breeze. She had
'won' the argument for who had the car that afternoon, after all she had the
kids and they were now all strapped into their car seats. They were only off
to see her mother a few streets away, but 'it's far too cold for the kids to
walk and there was still snow and ice on the ground!' How could he argue
against that?

The car pulled out the driveway, kids all waving and wife with a 'Ha! I won'
grin all over her face, Tom was now forced to walk into town, he gave a wave
back and though 'you may have won this one but I get to choose this year's
holiday, and your mother's not coming!' It was a twenty minute or so walk from
where Tom lived to the town Centre, the new housing estate was criss crossed
with cycle tracks, paths and underpasses that otherwise would have made the
walk a lot longer.

He headed off towards the nearest path, it was the quickest way into town as
it crossed under a number of busy roads, he was just approaching one of the
underpasses now, and he headed down the steps that lead to the tunnel. He
smiled as he remembered how his wife hated these tunnels; she would rather
cross the busy road than go through these, they always made her feel uneasy.
Tom was always saying there was nothing to worry about "but you never know
who's down there" was always her reply.

As he stepped into the tunnel "yer, you really meet strange people down in the
underpass" as he said that he nearly bumped into a woman "Oh! Sorry." She gave
him a wired look as he almost danced around her, trying not to lose his
balance. In that couple of seconds he got a good close up look at the woman,
young woman, girl, 18/19 at the very most, possibly younger! She had long red
hair, with a slight curl to it, a slender, long face, not overly attractive,
and yet not unattractive. She didn't stand out but then again you certainly
wouldn't kick her out of bed that was for sure, but again she wouldn't be the
first woman you was drawn to in room full of women, and neither would she be
the last you tried your luck with.

He felt a bit of an idiot saying that out aloud and then bumping into this
stranger, he took a couple of steps backwards, still looking at the girl. She
must have though he was a bit bizarre, but that only made him smile as he
could see the funny side of this chance meeting. The girl turned round and
made her way up the steps in a hurry, Tom laughed, he could defiantly see the
funny side of this, and his laughter filled the underpass as he carried on
into town.

It wasn't long before Tom was in the main high street, he got on with what he
needed to and in no time he was done, time to head back home. He looked at his
watch, his wife would still be ages around her mother's so he would have the
house to himself, beer, maybe a pizza and watch the match on TV 'Great!' In no
time he was heading back down the ramp into the underpass where he had bumped
into 'that woman.' He ginned, a fat cheesy grin thinking of what happened
earlier ... ... Then at the other end of the tunnel a figure appeared, it was
her!

The same woman, the redhead, he couldn't have timed it better even if he'd
tried, his grin turned into the biggest smile. Tom always had the ability to
see the funny side of most things, but obviously, by the look on her face she
couldn't. As they got closer to each other Tom noticed the look of concern on
her face, as if there was something wired about Tom, he wondered if he should
say something. Make sure she hadn't gotten the wrong idea, after all he might
have freaked her out a bit earlier on, 'it would be only right to apologies'
he thought. As they came together in the tunnel her look of concern turned to
worry, 'he should say something' ... ... "Excuse me but ... ... " WHACK!

A sudden sharp pain, something had struck Tom across his face, he'd been taken
completely by surprise and been knocked backwards falling against the
underpasses wall. 'What the hell was that?' The shocked man stood there, still
against that tunnel wall for what seemed like an age trying to understand what
had happened to him 'something had hit him!' He managed to work that much out,
then the woman came into focus, there in front of him. She now had a different
look on her face, a focused, more determined one, a one of annoyance, of anger
"what just hap ... ... " SMACK!

This time Tom saw the hand that came down, slapping the man hard across his
face, and he most certainly felt it as well. He shakes his head to try and get
rid of the pain that now has a hold on him, but it didn't work as a 'new' pain
now takes hold WHACK! The girls boot shots into him OHHHHHWWWW! The shock of a
slap is now replaced with the burning pain of a kick to his groin, Tom's hands
go to grab himself, hold himself, his eyes close tight, a sharp intake of
breath as he begins to fall to his knees. But as he falls WHACK! There's now a
knee that's been driven up hard into his chest, the hits take their toll on
the man as he's forces back against the underpasses wall again.

Tom manages to garb a lung full of air, he can feel his heart pounding, blood
racing and he can feel the pain that grips him. He slowly opens his eyes
'Shit!' Two hands are rushing towards him, she grabs Tom by his arm and
WOOSSSHHH! THUD! OOOHHHH! The man's spun round by his arm, as she spins him
she lets go and he's thrown forcefully into the wall on the opposite side. The
way she spun him, so easily, and drove his body into that wall was something,
and something that Tom would not forget. His whole body felt that, he wasn't
given any reprieve by her as her hands grab hold of him once more and fling
him across the tunnel back into the first wall THUD!

Pleased with the sound of pain coming from the man the woman tries that once
again, firm hands grab Tom, then strong arms whip him off the wall across the
underpass and slam him into the other side THUD! ARRRHHHH! This time there's
an added bonus as the confused man is sent headlong and face first into the
wall, the front of Tom's body takes the full force of the girls vicious
manhandling of him, and his face busts into a sea of pain and hurt.

Tom can feel blood running from his nose and into his mouth, his body is
hurting, head spinning and clouded with pain. He feels himself slowly start
too slid down the wall. But before he goes too far those hands once more grab
onto him and spin him round, but this times he's saved, or so he thinks. As
the girl doesn't throw him back into the wall but down onto his knees in the
middle of the dirty, cold, damp underpass. She steps behind him and then
UUUUHHHHH!

Tom's suddenly grabbed around his throat, but it's not by the girl's hands,
there's now a scarf wrapped around his neck, her scarf. It wasn't the first
thing that the man had noticed about the girl, that fluffy scarf wrapped
around her own throat when he first saw her, but now he was more than aware of
it now! The girl had whipped it off from around her own slender neck and in
almost a 'lasso' movement she'd thrown it around the kneeling man, with an end
in each hand she'd yanked her arms in opposite direction and so tightened the
scarf against his throat.

His hands shot up to try and pull this strangle hold away from his throat, but
THUD! Her knee drove into his shoulder blade as she pulled tighter on the
scarf, the sudden pain of her knee made his arms fly outwards, as the scarf
tightened its grip. He grabbed back at it and started to panic as the once
decorative piece of clothing now started to cut off his vita supply of oxygen,
as it got tighter and tighter ... ... Then as suddenly as she had first struck
him she released her hold of him and he was able to pull the scarf away from
his throat, he gasped for breath, never had he been so relived, so ... ...
WHACK! A dull thud of throbbing pain, followed by a stinging sensation as the
girls boot slammed into the back of the kneeling man's head that sent him
crashing down into the cold, wet, concrete floor.

As he lay there in that damp underpass a new sound penetrates the aching
sensation that seems to have taken over his head. It was the sound of
footsteps, at first he'd hoped that this girl had walked away, left him, but
then there's a muffled new voice, it tells him that someone else was there
'thank God help has arrived!'

The help is another woman "are you aright dear?" this new woman is obviously
more concerned with how the girl is and not poor Tom, still in a heap on the
floor, "what happened?" "This 'man' ... ... " the girl pointed down at Tom "
... he looked at me in a strange way, like some pervert!" 'Was that it ... She
attacked because ... ... ' ARRRRHHHH! Before Tom could even finish his though
a hand had grabbed him by his hair and pulled his head up and off the floor
"yes I see what you mean, looks like a right one" 'What the hell!' His heads
let go off and drops back to the floor, even though he'd just been on the
receiving end of a good kick, Tom wasn't going to take this lying down!

He started to push himself up off the floor, determined to put things right
and to settle this, 'he wasn't going to have anyone ... ' WHACK! Before he was
halfway up a boot slammed into the side of his head, knocking the man into
unconsciousness and across the floor. Back into the wall and into one of those
puddles of water that you always find in these underpasses.

He didn't know how long he'd been lying there as he slowly came round, his
body ached 'God what had happened?' Then he remembered 'Oh Christ' Tom looked
around the girl and the other woman had gone, the underpass was empty. He was
cold and wet, then looked at his watch 'Shit!' He'd been there for ages, he
pushed himself up onto his feet, even if it hurt like hell he forced himself
upwards. He had to get home, but what he was going to say to his wife? He
didn't know, he really didn't know, she wouldn't believe the truth that was
for sure.

Back onto his feet he staggered along the underpass towards the end and
towards home. Then he heard footsteps and then voices, female voices! A pair
of young girls stepped down and turned into the tunnel, he didn't recognise
them, certain wasn't the girl that attacked him earlier. But they looked at
him in a strange way, the way that girl had looked at him 'Shit!' Tom quickly
turned and hobbled off as fast as his hurting body allowed, he had to get away
from these girls, had to get away, the last thing he want was another 'chance
meeting!' 'God No, have to get away ... !