It's raining. Again. Big cold drops gather on the fire escapes above me before plopping down onto the pavement. Like usual. I hate this Midwestern climate- as soon as it turns unpleasantly cold outside it starts raining daily. Which is less of a problem for those who have a home to wait out the storm in than it is for those like me.

Ha. As if there is anyone like me. I'm a unique gal.

I try to curl my body into an even tighter ball inside the cardboard box I've taken up residence in, wrapping my tail tight against my legs. The box doesn't do much to keep me dry or warm, but it does hide me from prying eyes. That's enough. That's the most important thing.

Eyes closed, I try to figure out what month it is. Probably early October, judging from the Halloween decorations that are just now appearing everywhere. It's especially cold for October- it can't be more than 40 degrees. With the rain it's becoming dangerous to live in the alleys like this. Not like I have much of a choice, though.

God it's cold…a sound makes my ears twitch and I wince as they move. If it's cold enough that my ears are starting to hurt, it's too cold to be out here. Maybe I should start working my way further south at night before it's too late. Before the real winter starts. For the millionth time since the summer ended I wish I was furry all over like a real cat, instead of just having fur on my head and tail as a half-human freak. At least then I'd be warmer.

That sound again- it's a woman's stiletto heels against the pavement. There's also the softer, heavier thud of a man's shoes. Since it's 2 am there really shouldn't be much foot traffic around here, except for college students. And even they rarely come around to the nastier, darker alleyways that litter this part of town.

The sound is coming this way and I try to curl away, turning my face away from the light. I'm pretty much invisible from behind in the dark, what with my black fur and clothing…maybe they won't see me. As long as I keep my white skin hidden, maybe they won't notice the monster in the alley.

Damnit, they're coming this way, coming down my alley.

The woman tries to scream and the man clamps his hand over her mouth. I hold my body completely still so they won't notice me.

The man drags her to the back of the alley where there are no lights, where people go who don't want to be seen. I'm hiding not five feet away from them, praying they don't see me.

The woman tries to run away, but he throws her against the wall and starts ripping at her clothes. I can smell her fear, the acrid scent of panic.

The man flicks open a switchblade, a soft sound that no one but me is around to hear. I grit my teeth and fight a war in my head.

I know what's coming just as much as that woman in the stilettos does. This man smells of lust and he's brought her where no one else would go, where no one else could see. She's trapped in a dark, damp brick alleyway far away from help, from light, from safety. He's stronger than her and with those shoes she stands no chance of outrunning him.

I know how afraid she is, how alone she feels. She knows no one cares, no one's here.

I know that I can't interfere without risking everything.

This woman, this man, this alley…I know what I have to do and I know it's crazy.

Before I can argue myself out of it I've sprung out from the box I hide in, body still in a feline crouch. A low growl is coming out of my throat and as the man turns to notice me I do the best I can to look fierce. My retractable claws extend, my large furry ears pull back against my head. The man let's out a barely audible "what the hell?" and I open my mouth to hiss at him, hoping he can see my pointed fangs in the dark alley. It's not what I can do to him that's my best weapon, it's his fear of my appearance. He sees a monster before him, something he can't understand. In the fear of the moment he's forgotten the woman, stepped away from her and focused all his attention on me. I hiss and spit before turning to the woman frozen behind him.

"RUN!" I scream at her, aware that there's a bit of a hiss in my voice still. "Get to the cops or a phone or a crowd or something. GET AWAY!!"

The woman doesn't need to be told twice. She's running away in terror. Not to get away from the rapist with the knife. She's forgotten him as much as he's forgotten her. No, she's running away from me. It's me she was focused on in terror before she fled.

This leaves me alone with a large man armed with a knife.

My back arches as I face him, arms extended so he gets a nice look at my claws. I swipe at him, barely missing. I miss on purpose- all I want is to scare him off so I can go back to hiding. There's plenty of space for him to just run off and I'm careful not to back him into a corner. Please, please just run away and let me be.

He looks sideways, towards the exit, still holding his knife towards me. I can see him shifting his weight on his feet, preparing to run. Just another minute, just please run away and leave me alone…

My ears twitch at new noises, at the sound of more voices coming this way. Oh please, not now! Please, please, there can't be more people coming this way now when I'm out in the open!

While I'm distracted the man takes a swipe at me, and he doesn't miss. The knife bites into my arm and he laughs in triumph. Then he hears the voices coming this way and decides he'd rather not face a crowd. Finally he runs away, shoving his way through a handful of college students that have come this way, blocking the exit.

Damnit. I have a second before they see me where I can get away. With a nimble leap I jump up to grab onto the fire escape, hoping to pull myself up and out of sight before the humans can spot me in the dark. My jump is sure, my aim is good and I grasp the wet bars sure of making my getaway…

And then I fall squarely to the ground. The metal was wet, but worse than that my arm is cut more badly than I thought. I can feel blood seeping from the wound. The pain is shooting through my nerves and for a second I sit there holding my arm, whimpering. For a moment I give in to the cold and the damp, the pain and the fear, the frustration of living like this.

One moment too many. They've seen me.