In the deepest of alleys, where light dare not tread,
filth litters the streets where the foul make their bed,
hidden there in dark recess lie,
those unknown to the conscious eye,
unknown to the world around them,
live and breathe the shattered condemned,
as they sit silent waiting for victim unknowing,
a lone passerby or a traveler slowing,
unaware of what madness to fear,
unaware of the wicked so near,
not knowing when next that victim would pass,
with face of false courage so foolishly cast,
their alley, their home once taken by force,
all in a means to keep covered the source,
they had held claim to stones and strewn rubble,
wishing for a quiet, dark place far from trouble,
had held it as long as any could tell,
but this day they would remember well,
for portents of strife revealed impending,
an innocent’s life soon would be ending,
her tale but begun on the arms of a stranger,
all but aware that her life was in danger,
but now they drew nearer,
with objective made clearer,
his soothing embrace and warm caring face
with malicious intention so quickly replaced,
yet calmly he walked, his intent behind veil,
though her eyes spoke of more sinister tales,
tales of the forthcoming struggles foreshadowed,
of the unsullied youth’s body made harrowed,
her spirit then debased and broken,
the denizens of the alley awoken,
for this they could not permit,
in shadow remain their home still unlit,
they could not abide to allow,
to be discovered here now,
then all eyes would be drawn,
to bring that foul accursed dawn,
allowing the hated light from the skies,
ending the darkness that so soothed their eyes,
then their home would be lost,
the home they had gained at so high a cost,
just as the last, left in ruined abandon,
their way of life unfurled and undone,
they would not be forced again to leave,
the thought they could not bare conceive,
the failures of past not soon forgotten,
to rise against foes that threaten,
rather than cowering in fear,
when an enemy drew near,
to leave hard-won lands,
in usurpers cursed hands,
never again could they fail as grave,
no, this home they would rise to save,
with rage induced fervor,
and fear coated fever,
the communal subconscious,
strength by numbers made righteous,
as two strangers invade their home,
black heart man with maliciousness shone,
dragging along the girl made distraught,
bruises and scrapes the signs she had fought,
the night half past fallen,
the alley’s natives sent sprawling,
patiently watching and begging for silence,
the intrusion urging them closer to violence,
hands held to ears from the pain of their breath,
silently screaming of impending death,
the depraved man smote her down,
face first to unyielding ground,
blackened thoughts of foul play told,
as the hideous gathered to behold,
at her throat his steel held,
as she was forced and compelled,
his hand muffled tormented cries,
her plight conveyed by distressed eyes,
while his thoughts took foul form,
nearby gather shadows in swarm,
this hidden place he had chosen,
where time stood still frozen,
far from witness of prying eyes,
where no possible help could arise,
but these onlookers were there,
nearby and abruptly aware,
they rose to defend the wounded,
though her vain struggle long ended,
as one, their shadows grew longer,
the fear of their presence made stronger,
they all stirred at one time,
of one breath; of one mind,
the task to save from attention unwanted,
before once again became they the hunted,
their teeth sank deep into flesh exposed,
the wails of protest were strongly opposed,
by muffling hands of the prior unseen,
by the twisted, gnarled talons of the obscene,
soft tissue shredded by foul natural claws,
this, the price for breaking their laws,
with fear clouded vision she fought to stay clear,
her consciousness wavered with peril so near,
finally collapsing to meet the ground,
her head hit the street with sickening sound,
the last thing she heard was the man screaming,
her body soiled by blood ever streaming,
the blood of the man that had plagued their domain,
whose form little more than half-eaten remained,
a carcass still living, still feeling the pain,
of talon and fang of creature profane,
that gathered ‘round like flocking buzzards,
rending his flesh and devouring his innards,
quickly as the most savage of scavengers,
gorging themselves despite nearby dangers,
and then when their foul deed had ended,
hunger sated but fear not subsided,
not knowing what steps next to take,
what to do with what they left in their wake,
what to do with the girl who had seen them,
now that she had she would surely condemn,
eyes she had lain on their grotesque forms,
seen how they fed as a communal swarm,
left nothing behind but fragments of bone,
their shadowed existence no longer unknown,
she had laid witness to their tainted nature,
how the feast of flesh had filled them with rapture,
so as one they gathered in a tightening ring,
the guttural howling of their parched throats did sing,
closing ever in on the poor helpless girl,
never forgetting that to protect their world,
steps need be taken and survival ensured,
the pains of their past forever endured,
an unconscious body made feast for a clan,
the blood of a second mixed with that of the man,
only with less frenzied zeal,
did they finish their meal,
slowed by the bliss of protecting their home,
cast back into shadows forlorn and alone,
their presence once more erased,
with silent darkness replaced.