More than one of the stories in class proved that if you were attacked by surprise, it wouldn’t matter if you were a good fighter. Your chances of getting away safely were greatly diminished. I rubbed at my arms as goosebumps rose. Looking over my shoulder, I didn’t see anyone. The wind blew my hair around my face, and I had to pull the strands away from my eyes to see properly. I would’ve sworn someone was watching me, but I couldn’t see anyone.

“You’re losing it, Kirby.” My voice echoed quietly in the night air.

Slipping my hand into my purse, I pulled out my keys, stuffed them in one pocket, and put the small bottle of pepper spray in the other. As I continued on my walk up the street, I slid my fingers between the individual keys to give me a vicious set of knuckles if needed and gripped the pepper spray tight.

The loudest thing on the street was my sneakers on the sidewalk and the sound of my breathing. It seemed to get colder the further I walked, which was ridiculous, but I couldn’t shake the cold sensation pressing in on me.

Although I understood and appreciated the wall of bushes that lined the sidewalk surrounding the dorm buildings, they unnerved me whenever some of the leaves blew in the breeze.

A car came in my direction along the road, and my shoulders tensed as the new style of bright purple lights blinded and hurt my sensitive eyes. I was shamefully startled as a blue pick-up truck drove past, but neither vehicle stopped nor had someone tried to drag me into their means of transportation. Even though I knew I was being silly, I couldn’t stop the jitters.

The bushes suddenly rustled behind me, and I jumped and spun around as I whipped the pepper spray out of my pocket. My heart was pounding hard in my chest as I searched the shadowed street for the attacker.

“Jesus,” I swore as a cat darted out of the bushes and bolted across the street. “What kind of agent am I going to be if a freaking cat scares me? Not exactly tough agent status,” I mumbled and stuffed the pepper spray back into my pocket.

Turning around, I froze. There was a shadow across the road about a half mile up the street’s pavement. It looked like a man in a hoodie, but the hood was pulled up, blocking all facial features. Another car drove up the street, and the shadowy figure was gone when it passed the spot.

“What the fuck? I need to lay off the stalker movies.”

My body relaxed once I stepped onto the school property. The massive complex of buildings and parking areas had cameras positioned all around it, and security guards were always watching.