The cool evening air has settled in from the stifling summer sizzle during the day. Twilight has settled in upon the park. Even though it is the middle of summer, locals are smattered scantily throughout this recreational area. A few men are gathered at the basketball court playing two-on-two and trash talking each other. A young couple are walking their retriever down a path into the woods. Various others are walking or jogging through the meandering trails. Most are heading out of the park because soon the only lights that will be on in the park will be at the basketball court.
Out of the north entrance, a voluptuous red-head girl, about 30 yrs old, starts off on her evening run. It was something she has done dozens of times before. This city girl was really starting to enjoy the peace and quiet that a small community affords. After work, several times a week she sets out on her run after work. The criss-cross paths that cut through grassy fields, past a duck pond, then next to athletic courts/fields, finally through a small dense wooded area and back around again. This allows her to enjoy the diverse views, something you don't get jogging through the urban areas she moved from. To get her 3 miles in, she has to loop around 4 times then back out to her home a block away.
As she was past the pond for the third time, she tripped on a rock and twisted her ankle. She could still walk on it, but the day's run was over. To walk it out, she continued on, past the basketball court. As she was walking past, she noticed the 6 guys at the basketball court checking her out. She hadn't noticed this before because she was running past them before. A slight sense of anxiety swept over her. Her thoughts raced. She knew if her ankle wasn't hurting, she could probably out run them, but not now.
The path weaved around a corner into the woods. A quick glance looking back, she didn't see them looking/following her. She breathed a sigh of relief. She stopped a moment to rest her ankle when all of a sudden, those men sprinted through the trees to catch up with her. Quickly the encircled her. She was scared and didn't know what to do. There were too many of them to fight off.
The tall lanky leader of this brood said, "You shouldn't be here so late at night. You never know what kind of animals that you can stumble upon out here."
Eerily one of his compatriots started to howl.
Her fear was palpable. Her mind was racing and she figured that she wasn't going to go down passively if they were going to rape her. The men tightened the circle and she figured this was it. But behind her, someone started shouting at them.
"Fuckers, you better back off."
A man around 45-50 was approaching them with a knife.
"I think it is best if you leave this girl alone."
"Oh yeah," blurted the smallest guy in the pack. Before being pulled by the shirt by his friend. They all started to back away. Not turning from him until they were about 30 yards away. They continued walking away.
"Are you ok?"
"Yes, just a little scared."
"I saw you limping, did they hurt you?"
