The alley is dark, the streetlight barely reaching a few feet past the entrance, but I can see well enough to navigate. I pick up my steps, regretting wearing my wedges. Next time, I’m opting for flats.
Yeah, right. I always say that.
I keep walking, putting as much distance between me and the club as possible. When I look back over my shoulder, the alley is deserted. The guy must have given up and turned back. Good.
Exhaling shakily, I stop near a fire escape to catch my breath. Tilting my head back, I close my eyes, trying to work out a new plan through my hazy thoughts. If I wasn’t tired before, I definitely am now, and my hotel is starting to sound nice.
I can curl up with a blanket and pass out watching TV. Maybe soak in a warm shower to soothe my aching muscles first.
Realistically, I’ll probably just flop onto the bed without even taking my makeup off and crash as soon as my head hits the pillow?—
A roar splits the air, a horrifying sound straight out of a nightmare, and every hair on my body shoots up in response. My eyes pop open and I whip my head around, searching the alley for anything out of place. However, there’s nothing odd shifting in the darkness.
After a minute, I’m starting to think I hallucinated the noise.
It was deep, guttural, and didn’t sound human. Like some kind of animal, but it would have to be a large one.
What kind of wild animals would be roaming the streets of Denver?
Another minute, and I’m convinced I made it up. The alcohol and exhaustion are twisting my mind, making me hear things.
I chuckle and shake my head, feeling completely insane.
But then I hear it again…
This roar is accompanied by a gravelly growl and a hiss, some freaking monster shit you might hear in an alien movie. Only, I’m nowhere near a residential area.There’s no way someone is watching a movie that loud with the windows open.
No, the noise isreal.
Nausea rolls my stomach as I swivel my head from side to side, looking for movement. Whatever made that noise is definitely worse than the red shirt guy from the club, and not something I want to face off against alone.
Trembling, I hurry further down the alley, running toward the road, only to find the alley doesn’t lead to the street like I thought. There are more buildings, more corridors, like a maze of concrete surrounding me.
Fuck.
Another growl hits my ears, this one sounding further away. I sigh a tiny breath of relief; at least I’m heading in the right direction.
I make a left, moving as fast as my aching feet will allow. My fear is burning through the alcohol in my system, and it’s getting easier to think clearly, but that doesn’t mean I’m out of the woods. I finally catch a glimpse of the road up ahead, a way out of the alley, and I pick up my pace.
I don’t make it more than a few steps before something enormous and black jumps into my path with a screech that makes my ears ring. I scream, stumbling backward and falling onto my ass. Pain lances through my tailbone, and I fight to catch my breath as I take in the thing before me.
It’s a hulking slug-shaped monster with massive arms that nearly reach the ground. Its face is melded into the place where its shoulders meet; no head, no neck, just a face. A giant mouth hangs open to reveal rows ofrazor-sharp teeth. Its skin looks like charred meat, uneven and crispy, and the stench?—
Bile burns the back of my throat. Rotten meat mixed with sulfur farts fills the alley, and I scramble backward on the ground to get away. The asphalt catches on the material of my dress, scraping my thighs, but I hardly feel the sting. The monster’s multiple red eyes are focused on me and a deep, unsettling growl rolls out of it.
I don’t know what the fuck this thing is, but I know exactly where it came from.
Hell.
This is some kind of creature from the bowels of Hell, and it’s staring at me like I’m its next meal.
Fuck.
A human man I can probably defend myself against, or at least injure pretty well.
This thing? I don’t have a shot.
I’m so dead.
