The Orange Glow

​I sat in the dark in my bedroom and looked out into the night which meant staring into the wall of the building directly across the alley from me. My window was open and off in the distance I heard a car horn honk and someone scream. But the rest of the night was eerily still as if something in the air would break through to shatter this silence. 

​I tilted my head down and looked into the dark depths of the alley which were still wet from the evening storm and tender blue lights from a far away street lamp bathed the water in light neon blue. But in front of my window and to its sides everything was black. The street post light above my window had been knocked out long ago by some kids and the city hadn't got around to replacing it. That was over a year ago. The area was in decay and the building across the alley was empty except for the rats that called it home. Awhile back there had been some addicts living their but they had moved along some time ago.

There I sat looking into nothing. Then out of the corner of my eye I saw spark of orange skid across the pavement and fizzle out with one last blink. I waited to see more and then from a window in the opposite building I saw the pulsing of an orange glow which quickly disappeared. I sat with my window open to see if I could hear anything and then examined the windows opposite me for any movement, but saw nothing. 

My head then snapped to the side when an orange flame arced through the air, burning like an orange comet and disappeared in behind a hulking square mass deep in the darkest shadows. Then only moments later another orange glow hit the pavement and I watched as its afterglow slowly ebb away. Then a final orange dart appeared out of the darkness and splashed against an unknown object causing a flash of sparks to appear in mid air. I continued to watch.

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On the other side of the alley a man took a pull on on his cigarette which lit his sinister face in an orange glow and said, "Do you think he has seen us or heard us?"

Another man took a drag on his cigarette illuminating his jagged face in a horror like orange and grunted, "I think he has, he's been listening there for a while I think. I don't think we can take any chances "

A third man sucked on his cigarette flooding his face in orange light revealing a countenance that had lived a lifetime of evil and said, "He heard us."

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On the other side of the alley I watched for another orange glow from the window, still wondering what all these glows could be. The next thing I saw was the orange tongue of a flame licking out of the side of a revolver...