Peeking around the car, I saw a flash of blonde hair as he pulled someone up to stand, bright against his dark clothes. Holy shit, there was a girl. He was going to do it again. Adrenaline charged around my system, nerves firing. I had to do something, but I couldn’t move, my head swimming. If I called the police, they wouldn’t get here in time. I had to stop him now. I had to stop him doing to her what he did to me.

Cold sweat trickled down my back, pooling at the waistband of my leggings. The waistband. I always ran with my rape alarm. Ducking behind the car, shielding myself from view, I pulled the compact alarm out from my trousers and pushed the button as hard as I could. Nothing happened. My hands were slippery with sweat and it was stiff, not wanting to give. After a few failed attempts, I felt it go. An intense shrill siren filled the air. The sound was deafening, and I dropped the alarm under the car to cover my ears.

I peeked over the bonnet, but the man was already running down the street; spooked by the wailing. I saw him pull his balaclava off as he went. Then I caught sight of the girl, huddled on the ground, but there was no time. I couldn’t lose him now.

Pushing myself away from the car, I gave chase, as fast as I could move without my footsteps giving me away. He pelted along the opposite side of the road, putting some distance between us, but then he turned into a side road and immediately slowed to a brisk walk, running his hand through his dark hair and pulling out his phone. To anyone else, he would have looked normal, not someone who was escaping the scene of a crime. I hadn’t seen his face, only glimpses of his profile. He didn’t turn around to see if he was being followed. Was his heart pounding as loud as mine? The sound of it was all I could hear.

A few minutes later, he turned right into another residential street, which narrowed to a single lane winding underneath a railway bridge. I quickened my pace, assuming he would walk under the bridge; but he turned right again, and I lost sight of him. Shit. Where did he go?

I sped up, reaching the spot where I saw him last; and followed the path to a newly built block of apartments. There looked to be around eight from the number of floors, although I couldn’t be sure. The outside was sandstone with white brick detailing around large sash windows. All the balconies had seagrass surrounds, allowing the residents privacy.