The girl blocks your path, her yellow eyes locked squarely on the grocery bag you have cradled in one arm. You're not far from your apartment but it doesn't look like she has any intention of letting you leave. She's standing directly in the center of the alleyway, refusing to let you pass. Her expression is flat but her little hands shake slightly. She's holding a large shard of broken glass, half of it wrapped in cloth and tape to form a makeshift knife. She doesn't move, doesn't say a word. It seems like she's not quite sure what to do from here. You notice her clothing: ill fitting shirt and shorts, both very dirty. Around her neck is a dog collar, with the tag "KATHRINE" dangling from it. She's quite clearly homeless and has been for a long time. Her fair skin is flushed in this cold weather, her nose red and her breath visible.

"MMmhph"

She grunts, at you

"Mmmhm"

She holds the shard of glass with all the menace a malnourished girl can muster.

Behind her, on the dirty concrete and tucked behind a dumpster, you can just see an old sketchbook with lots of nubs of colored pencils and crayons scattered around it. It looks like she might have been drawing before she leapt out to ambush you. As the pair of you stand in silence the first few flakes of an evening snowstorm begin to fall.