the strange man

It had been a cold night. Ray hated cold nights. "But then again" he
thought "the cold air keeps the mind alert." He was walking along a
narrow alleyway, seeming to disappear and then appear a little farther
down the alley, his deceptively small body moving from shadow to
shadow as fluidly and silently as a snake stalking its prey. He was in
massive trouble, he knew. "Someone must have set me up." He thought

The police had arrived at the door, grim faces set in scowls. He was
fortunate enough to be at a window when they came, and, somehow, he
knew they were coming for him. So he had gone to the fire escape and,
as the name suggests, escaped "Somehow, they must have overlooked the
possibility of a fire escape," He thought, "unless..."

Suddenly, The cold hand of fear gripped him as he realized "they must
of set a trap!" he thought to himself. How could even think that he
could get away that easily! And then an even colder hand gripped him.
A real one this time, On his shoulder.

"Follow me. Quickly!" A gruff voice said, allowing no argument. Having
nowhere else to go, he followed the man, who was concealed behind some
sort of hooded coat, oddly with no arm holes, up another fire escape,
which he only just noticed.

As he climbed up the steps, he looked a bit closer at the man who had
saved him. "At least, I think he saved me." Ray thought. The man was
small. That was the only way to say it. That was all that he could see
though, the odd coat blocking any more insight.

When they reached the top of the fire escape and Ray thought it was
safe enough to talk, he asked, " who exactly are you?" Or at least he
would've asked, except for the fact that at that moment, the man
clamped a hand over his mouth and said as if reading his mind, said,
"move now. Questions later."

Ray climbed through the window, followed closely by the man, who
pulled him along, with surprising speed and strength, through a series
of seemingly endless hallways, staircases and doorways until, finally,
they stopped on a bustling street "There, that should do it." said
the man, who was not nearly out of breath, to a heavily panting Ray.

"Now, there should be time for a question or two before we move on”
said the man. "Who... Exactly... Are... You?" asked Ray, struggling to
catch his breath. "Speak up boy," said the man "we haven’t got all
day." "Who are you?" Ray asked, finally managing to catch his breath.
"I’m a Ranger.” Said the man.