The man pulled the zip up on his jacket to keep the warmth in; it was unusually cold that night and he stuck his hands in the pockets of his scruffy jeans to keep them toasty. The street was beautifully silent, the only sound coming from his solid footsteps and the faint wash of cars in the distance. Streetlights coated the road in rich gold and he followed it almost merrily; a smile on his face and a skip in his step.

A tinny tune brought him out of his smiling daze and he pulled a phone out of his pocket. The screen flashed blue words at him and buzzed excitedly in his hand.

“Hi hon.” He answered. “No bad, the boss was on my ass for some of it though, but he was happy when I got the job done. Yeah, yeah I got the weekend aff. Nah, no trouble, Gerry’s coverin for me. Nah he don’t mind. Alright, I’m almost home. Aye, that’d be great. See ya soon. Bye. Wha? What’d ye say?” After a pause, he laughed. “I love you too hon.”

He hung up and slipped the phone back into his pocket. His chest warmed happily at the thought of dinner waiting for him at home, hot and ready to be eaten. His eyes looked around the golden hued surroundings, not paying attention to the crack filled pavement. His foot was caught, and he fell straight to the ground with his hands stuck in his pockets. The man pushed himself up and used his sleeve to wipe a trickle of blood from his nose. He pulled his hood over his head and clenched his fists as he strode on home, hiding his burning red face from embarrassment.

He continued on for another ten minutes, occasionally wiping his nose on his sleeve, when the car rolled round. The man’s house was at the end of the street – his eyes resting happily on the fresh coat of paint that seemed to glow green in the light – but the white lights of the car shone brightly, blinding him from whoever was driving. He brought his bloodied hand up to shield his eyes to see four policemen filing out of the car. They walked towards him as he stood startled and dazed in the light. His arms were secured behind his back with two policemen holding him steady, he was too shocked to resist. The other two stood in front of him, they were nothing but huge, menacing silhouettes against the glaring headlight.

“This ‘im?” the larger of the two silhouettes asked.

The other silhouette grunted in confirmation. He was hunched over with one arm hidden as though he was nursing something.

“Right.” Replied the first one as he cracked his knuckles. The man sunk to his knees, doubled over, as he was brought back to reality with a blunt punch in the stomach. He was hoisted to his feet again only to be hit again, his chest and stomach throbbing in pain. He tried to cry out, but the air was stolen from his lungs.

“Wait, hold on here.” It was a voice coming from his right, “Are we sure this is the right guy?”

“Of course we fucking are,” the first silhouette replied, “the bastard has a bloody nose and everything.”

“But why was he walking towards the scene?”

There was a pause. “Well this is the guy that attacked James. Right, James?”

There was a nod from the second silhouette.

“James, are you sure?”

The second silhouette inched forward and bent down to see the man in the face. The man lifted his head and looked into eyes that shone with fear and embarrassment. The man widened his eyes, silently pleading to the policeman, an eternity passing in those few seconds.

“Yeah,” a small, hurt voice spoke, “yeah it was him.”

They furiously beat him; taking vengeance for their hurt officer. They bludgeoned his face and pummelled his stomach, even covering his mouth to muffle the scream as they twisted his arm until it cracked. For a frantic second he broke free and saw his house resting at the end of the street, shimmering with light, before the policemen were on top of him again. After one calamitous blow to the head they disappeared; car doors slammed shut and they sped away into the golden lights. The man slumped down against the base of a lamppost, his feet stretched out in front of him. Every inch of him hurt, and he dared not look at his arm that screamed with a numbing pain.

Thoughts flittered through his fading mind. Thoughts about his job, his house, his family; they were too sweet to think of the shadows creeping in. He smiled a bloody smile that spread merrily from ear to ear. The blood on his shoes sparkled ruby red in the streetlight, and – summoning all his strength – he clicked the heels together three times, and died.