Alexis stepped out onto the almost empty tube platform and paused, wary of the dimly late station. As late as it was on a Sunday night, there was a learned need for care and she looked over the other people before making her decision to continue or retreat.

She dismissed the young couple on the farthest bench from the entrance. They were relaxed and giggling to each other as they playfully flirted after a late-night drink. His hand rested on her thigh and she leant in, breath hot on his neck as she teased him.

About halfway between them and Alexis was an older man, wearing a suit with the top buttons of the shirt undone and his tie hanging halfway out of a jacket pocket. Flashy watch on his wrist and thinning hair with too much product in it than needed.

He swayed where he stood as he turned his head to look at her, a leer forming on his lips as he looked her up and down, clearly seeing something to his liking. That was the response she wanted to avoid and she pulled her worn jacket closer around her body and stepped back towards the exit.

The man’s leer grew as he turned fully towards her. She knew what would come next, it had happened many times before and was why she needed to be close to the exit. A lecherous stare, a pickup line that wouldn’t have worked even if he’d been thirty years younger and far better looking, and a casual touch of her arm, or worse, her hip.

He would lean in close, breath laced with alcohol, and make a lewd suggestion which would be followed by an offer of cash or help when she refused. It was far more than she needed and she glanced behind her, seeing only the empty stairs and darkness beyond.

She shivered, not just from the cold, as he took his first halting steps towards her. When she didn’t immediately flee, his confidence grew and he squared his shoulders, lips moving as he rehearsed his line.

Without warning he stopped, dead in his tracks, eyes rising to something behind her. Grumbling, he swivelled and returned to where he had been waiting as Alexis looked back over her shoulder.

Three men walked out onto the platform and she almost let out a gasp as she had not seen them a moment before. The first, head and shoulders taller than her at six and a half feet, walked with a confidence that bordered on arrogance.

Broad of shoulder and slim of waist, he moved with the grace a dancer would envy, and his head moved from side to side as he took in every faded poster on the walls and piece of rubbish on the tracks.

His gaze swept her and another shiver ran down her spine. She felt, at that moment, that she had been assessed and found wanting, not worthy of more of his time or attention. She didn’t know whether to be pleased or insulted by that.

Black trousers and sweater, beneath a long woollen jacket of grey that ended mid-thigh. His dark beard was touched with grey, though kept neat and the lines at the corners of his eyes suggested that he smiled often, though he was not doing so just then.

Behind him, his companions loomed over him. Both with stubble on their scalp that suggested they were bald through choice, they were each taller than the first man and wider to boot. Black jeans and thick bomber jackets, their appearance screamed out to anyone who looked that they were not to be messed with.

Something that Alexis had no intention of doing. She pressed herself back against the grimy station wall and wondered if she could slip past them without bringing their attention down on her.

The first man raised his hands, each of which glittered with rings on every finger, and formed an ‘L’ shape with each hand using his thumb and forefinger. He placed one atop the other, creating a square, through which he looked.

First towards the station’s far end, past the young couple on their bench, so wrapped up in each other that they hadn’t noticed the strange trio, then up track towards the nearer tunnel. He gave a soft grunt and waved towards the far entrance.

The two burly fellows behind him set off without a word, their heavy footsteps echoing throughout the station as they passed the older man who looked away to avoid meeting their gaze, and on towards the young couple.

Alexi’s touched the pocket of her jacket with one hand, feeling the comforting weight of her phone there, and watched those men carefully. While hesitant to be involved, if they began to harass the young couple she would quickly call the police.

“No need.” The man’s voice was a smooth baritone and it took her a moment to register it as he seemed to be answering a question she hadn’t voiced. “We are not here to harm them.”

As if proving his point, the two men walked straight past the young couple towards the end of the platform and Alexis glanced at the first man, wondering. He merely smiled and tilted his head to the side as though listening before letting out a soft, “ah.”

There came a rumbling from deep within the darkness of the tunnel and all on the platform turned to look that way, then up at the board hanging from the ceiling that announced arrivals.

“It’s early,” Alexis murmured to herself as she shifted her bag on her shoulder.

“That’s not the train, young, Hedge,” the man said. “You should leave.”

“Hedge?” She looked back at the man, brow furrowing and it was his turn to be surprised, eyebrows rising.

“My apologies, I thought…” he waved a hand, shaking his head. “No matter. Best still be off, lass.”

The rumble sounded again, louder and again, Alexis turned back to the tunnel. No matter what the man said, she needed to catch the train if she wanted any chance of a sofa to sleep on for the night.

Behind her, the man shrugged and raised his hands once more, speaking in a low tone, the words barely audible as he placed hands together, fingers moving in an intricate pattern. Sweat beaded on his brow, despite the chill, and the rumble grew louder still.

A high pitched shriek came from the girl on the bench as a rat ran up her leg and across her lap, leaping past her to the bench as it raced away from the tunnel. The man beside her joined her in crying out as more appeared, swarming out from every nook and cranny.

They scurried from the tunnel entrance, scrambling up onto the platform, their high-pitched squeaks of terror rising like a clarion call. The older man almost hopped back as the rats ran over his shoes.

Alexis pushed herself back against the wall as the rats ran past her, turning into the exit tunnel and heading up the stairs to the dark streets above. The man beside her didn’t seem to notice as he continued speaking softly, hands and fingers moving.

Another rumble from the tunnel and something burst out of the darkness, clawed hands grasping the tunnel’s edge and spiked carapace brushing the ceiling. Its fanged maw opened wide as the young couple screamed in terror.

The two burly men pulled knives, almost long enough to be short-swords, from hidden sheaths beneath their jackets. The blades flashed like silver as they ran at the beast, while Alexis stood still, rooted in horror at the sight of the creature.

A man cried out as claws ripped through him, his blade vanishing into the darkness beneath the edge of the platform as his blood and entrails spilt across the platform. The other man slashed, blade cutting deep into the creature’s other arm as smoke boiled out of the wound.

Screaming, the young couple ran and managed only a few feet before one swipe of a clawed hand sent their bloodied bodies onto the tracks. The remaining man kept hacking and slashing at the creature as he ducked and rolled, twisting this way and that, to avoid its deadly grasp.

The older man had turned to run and barged past Alexis in his haste to escape, while she remained, transfixed by the creature that swung wildly at the man fighting it.

Something screamed past her, a distortion in the air that collided with the creature’s armoured skull. That bone armour cracked and it lifted its head and howled, the sound sending fear through Alexis, her legs trembling and knees weak.

From the platform behind the creature, there came a wet tearing followed by a howl and then another beast of nightmare joined the fight. Shaped like a man but covered in short, black, fur and a face stretched and distorted into that of a canine, it leapt from the platform onto the back of the creature, claws sinking deep into its armoured hide.

“Back, lass,” the man beside her warned. Sweat streamed down his face as he made gestures in the air in front of him.

Another distortion burst from his hands and flew straight at the creature. It howled once more and as it did so, a silver bladed knife sank deep into its underbelly. The beast on its back clawed its way up towards the skull and began beating on the back of its neck, breaking through the armour and clawing at the foul, grey, flesh beneath.

“Help me,” the man said, and Alexis stared at him, wide-eyed and not understanding. He nodded towards his hands. “Watch me and copy what I do, then repeat the words.”

“Why?” she asked, but he had turned back to the monster that was desperately trying to fend off the two attackers.

Without understanding, and too scared to do more than obey that hurried demand, Alexis watched the man’s hands and began to do as he did. It felt strange and foolish, but as he made a circle in the air, so did she. When his fingers moved, she tried to mirror that movement. Then he began to speak.

The words were alien and strange in her mouth, some language she had never heard before, that almost made her jaw ache as she tried to copy the pronunciation. Her skin began to tingle, an electric feel to the air around her, and her eyebrows rose as her shoulder-length hair danced around her head on invisible winds.

Heat ran through her followed by a cold so deep that her bones ached, yet still, she continued, the words spilling out of her mouth almost as though they were coming from deep within her and not merely echoes of the man’s voice beside her.

His voice rose, becoming a shout and then a roar, as the screamed those words at the monster and she followed him, matching her voice to his. Her head was thrown back, eyes rolling up to show just the whites as something more powerful than anything she had ever felt rushed through her and was expelled in an explosion of energy that ripped through the station.

Alexis blinked, eyes gritty and sore. She lay on the cold platform, limbs shaking as though suffering aftershocks from some seizure. The man smiled as he looked down at her, gently brushing hair from her face.

“You did well.”

“W-wh.” She swallowed, mouth dry and tongue feeling too large for her mouth. “Wh-what was that?”

“Something unexpected.” He looked across the platform and she followed his gaze.

The monster was gone and all that remained were the bloodied remains of the young couple and the two large warriors, one naked and hairless, with the fading pink scars of vicious wounds across his torso.

“What the fuck!” Alexis pushed against the ground but her arms gave out and she flopped back into the arms of the bearded man. “Who are you?”

“A friend,” he said, musingly as he returned his gaze to hers. “You will suffer no harm from me, young hedge.”

“Why do you keep calling me that?”

He grinned then, showing straight white teeth, and a low chuckle issued from him. His head shook from side to side and he hesitated, as though unsure how much to say. Finally, he nodded, as if coming to an agreement with himself.

“Forgive me,” he said. “I thought at first that you were a Hedge Witch, but I realise that I was wrong. You have talent, there’s no denying that and I would have struggled with the Gasclaw. Damned thing must have been feeding on the rats in the tunnels for a while to have grown so large.”

Alexis wanted to ask what a Gasclaw was but he continued on before she could speak.

“You have not had any training.” He paused and looked over, noting the worn jeans and the battered pumps she wore. Her bag lay beside her on the platform and he peered at it as though trying to see through the material. “Where do you live?”

“None of your business!”

“Of course.” Another pause. “Orphan?”

“No.”

“Adopted then?” When she shook her head, he muttered something she couldn’t quite hear. “You clearly have ability, your parents must have been aware. Why did they not provide you with training?”

“I’ve no idea what you’re talking about,” Alexis said as she attempted to push herself up once more. It worked, and she climbed carefully to her feet, one hand resting against the wall as a wave of dizziness overcame her. “I think I need to go before the police arrive.”

“There’s no police coming,” he said and tutted. “Homeless or just too poor to buy decent clothing?”

“Fuck you!”

His grin widened and he looked over at his two companions. “Where is the nearest portal?”

“You don’t know?” The clothed of the two answered with a smirk.

“I’m not familiar with this area,” he replied primly.

“Two streets over.”

“Good, not far then.” He looked back at Alexis and gave a curt nod as if he had come to a decision. “You will come with us.”

“Like hell, I will.”

“Young lady, you have just helped in the casting of powerful magic. You will be lucky if you make it up the stairs before passing out. Now, you can spend your night sleeping wherever you fall or you can come with me and I will give you answers to the questions you undoubtedly have.”

Alexis eyed him warily. “Yeah, and I bet you have a van with some puppies in it.”

He blinked at her and she shook her head. While she wasn’t at all sure what had just happened, something certainly had. Her entire body still trembled with the aftermath of whatever it was.

“Fine,” she said. “I’ll come with you but if you try anything dodgy, I’ll call the police.”

“You’re welcome to.” He brushed off his hands and waved to one of the two men who stepped forward and picked up her bag.

“Hey!”

“Not to worry, your meagre belongings are safe. You are welcome to carry them if you like?”

The very thought of carrying her bag was almost enough for her to sigh, but she refused to let her only possessions in the world be out of her possession so she held out her hand and almost wept as the heavy bag was passed to her.

“Come along then, we don’t have all night.”

Alexis pulled the strap of her bag over her shoulder and turned to follow the man. She took two steps and her eyes rolled up and she collapsed, unconscious. The man glanced back at her and tutted before waving at his companions.

The clothed man lifted her as easily as he would have a child and carried her in his arms up the stairs and to the street above. There were few people out on the streets at that time on a Sunday night and the first they saw was an older man in a suit who stood at the top of the stairs, looking around in puzzlement.

He didn’t seem to notice the three men, not even that one of them was naked, and just kept scratching at his head as though trying to understand how he had come to be at the top of the subway stairs when he clearly remembered waiting on the platform below.

The three men left soon left him behind and, with some prompting from the clothed warrior, the Witch led them two streets over to a plain-looking door in a nondescript red brick building. Without pausing he walked straight up to the door and pulled it open.

Light flooded through and the three men stepped through, the door closing behind them on the empty and silent street.