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There were five of them and one of her.
Penny gasped as she tried to push herself up. Her hair was sticky with blood and dirt, and a clump of it was stuck to the side of her face. Her hands trembled as they pressed against the rough gravel, and the world spun around and around with an insistent throbbing that shouted at her to stay down.
She collapsed as her elbows gave way. There was a thick, coppery scent in the air and it waded into her mouth with every breath she took.
The vampires crept closer, and from the corner of her eyes Penny saw their leers and yellow eyes. Their steps were slow and cautious, but they knew she was down.
No! Penny thought. She was tougher than this, damn it, and she pushed again. But her hands were shaking violently; her stomach curling on itself; then her left arm buckled and she was down again. There were tears in her eyes now and vaguely Penny heard the vampires’ laughter.
Her stake was lying somewhere too far away, out of her reach in a pile dust. One of the vampires kicked it, and the wooden clatter it made felt like a death toll. Her heart was racing, but the rush of adrenaline had long faded, and now Penny only felt cold all over. There’s sweat lining her arms and slinking down her back, and they trace an icy path on her skin.
The vampires are a few steps away. The lights in the alley glow brightly, falling off the demons’ twisted visages in sharp angles, leaving their eyes blazing from a stark shadow.
“I’m gonna enjoy you, Slayer,” the nearest one spoke, his ‘Rs rolling off his tongue like some bad villain in a movie.
But this wasn’t a movie, Penny thought as the vampire reached out for her.
There was a moment of pure terror when she felt the cold fingers touch her cheek.
Then the vampire’s face contorted in pain – or maybe shock? – right before he exploded into dust.
The rest whirled around. Another vampire exploded. A glimpse of a man in a red T-shirt was all Penny saw as he stumbled backwards. The remaining vampires were frozen in indecision for a second, before another one of them died and they went off, snarling and clawing furiously.
The stranger was fiddling with a large, black crossbow with polished edges and golden engravings. His hands were nimble, falling easily over the black length as they pulled a bolt into place. Then he pulled the crossbow up, held his arms steady and a there was streak darting out. The vampire on the right lurched backwards a little, spinning around with his hands wrapped around a bolt deep in his chest before he disappeared into the night howling.
The last vampire swiped furiously at the stranger. He dodged, raising an arm instinctively like a shield and Penny saw the vampire’s claws swipe across it, leaving four ragged marks.
Penny heaved herself up, and the dizziness this time was easier to push back. Her legs still felt like jelly, but she wasn’t going to let some stranger die for her.
A roar jerked Penny’s attention back to the fight. The vampire had a wicked red mark on its face; there was a cross held loosely in the stranger’s hand while he tried to pull a bolt into place.
Then the vampire was charging in again, but the stranger was already swinging his crossbow up, and the vampire was glittering dust hanging in the night air.
Penny didn’t know if she should be relived or embarrassed that she sucked at her destined job. But for now she was still scared; her heart beating fast; arms shaking as she tried to sit up.
Suddenly a gentle, helpful pair of arms appeared, and with their help Penny propped herself against the wall. She takes in his blue and worried eyes, angular jaws and taut lips before it clicked in her head.
“Sheldon?!” she blurted. Her mind was blank with shock and it took a supreme burst of focus to not let her jaw drop.
“You are injured,” he replied in an infuriatingly calm manner, as if it was everyday that your next door neighbour-slash-nerd-slash-scientist dropped in to save you from a bunch of bloodthirsty monsters. “We should get you to a hospital.”
His grip on her shoulders was tight and it made Penny looked at him again, closely this time. Sheldon was shaking, with beads of sweat rolling off his forehead. The veins on his neck were tightly strung and blood from the gashes in him arm were glistening in the open air and the crossbow lay next to him on the floor.
But Sheldon was completely focused on her, his eyes darting about her face and his fingers brushing aside the hair to look at the gash Penny was sure was on her head. It took a long moment, but Penny suddenly realised that Sheldon was worried, really worried about her, and he was close to seriously freaking out, fussing over her till he wasn’t thinking about his ridiculous rules.
“I’m fine,” Penny rasped out before clearing her throat. “Really.”
Her pulse was still racing and her hands felt like they were frozen solid but she wasn’t dead, so really, this should be better than fine.
Sheldon looked sceptical, and his eyebrow was in the usual arch above his eye but some of the tightness in him seemed to seep away at her words. “Are you sure?” he began with a frown. “You lost a lot of blood and the gash on your forehead is really—“
Penny stopped him mid-tirade by pulling him down with a weak smile. Sheldon stumbled awkwardly over his feet before landing next to her and then Penny found herself in his shirt, sobbing loudly with her hands tight around him.
Everything was catching up to her now, and her mind was ablaze with what could have been if Sheldon wasn’t there.
She felt Sheldon sigh. “Penny,” he started. “You’re bleeding into my Flash T-shirt.”
But there was no venom in his admonition, and Penny choked back on a laugh. She pulled away, looking up with her eyes red and puffy. Sheldon’s face was as calm as always, but his lips had loosened to a half-smile and his arm was somehow around her shoulders.
Only the occasional car whizzing past the alley broke the quiet, and Penny found herself suddenly reaching up and pressing her lips against Sheldon’s desperately. Her hands were dirty and bloody and they snaked around Sheldon, pulling him down against her.
It took a moment for his lips to part and Penny pressed harder. She tasted his fresh breath and her salty tears for a long second before Sheldon broke away.
“No.” His voice was rough and his eyes closed. “You are simply seeking comfort Penny, and we shouldn’t do this because you are afraid.”
Then gently he pried her arms away. Penny almost said “sorry” but she didn’t feel sorry, and Sheldon wasn’t one to care about niceties anyway so she kept quiet.
One of her hands was in Sheldon’s and Penny idly wondered how did that happen, but Sheldon didn’t pull away. She looked back at Sheldon. His lips were curled up at the sides slightly; it’s barely a smile but it made her grip his hand tighter – tucking each of her fingers in between his – before leaning tiredly against him.
“Isn’t it past your bedtime, Sheldon?” Penny murmured.
There was no answer for a while. Penny felt like sleeping here, with her head on Sheldon’s shoulders and her legs tucked under her. Maybe Sheldon fell asleep already, but she was too comfortable to look up and check.
“There are some things more important than bedtimes,” he suddenly replied, all matter-of-factly and it made Penny smile and snuggle up against him.
“Could we stay for a little while, Sheldon?”
It was an empty gesture, really, because Penny already knew what he would say.
“Penny,” Sheldon started sternly and Penny burst out laughing before drawing back and allowing him to pull her up and back to the apartments.
She picked up her stake and stuffed it into her pocket; he gingerly held his crossbow, careful not to touch any part that had intimate floor-contact and between the two of them, neither one let go.