Chapter 1-2

"Had a few too many, eh pal?" I joked awkwardly, suddenly becoming all too aware that he'd somehow managed to get between me and the alley entrance. I knew that approaching people whilst they were high was a dangerous game as they could get violent and hurt themselves, so I tried my best to defuse the situation, "Nah, I feel you. Same here. Eurovision, am I right? Gets to us all..." "Mate..." He once again growled lowly. F*ck my life. "Wow! Listen I'm all for making new friends but I think this is a tad bit soon-- Argh!" I exclaimed as he suddenly went to grab for my waist and put his lips dangerously close to my neck. Slipping out of reach just in time, I staggered backwards and managed to keep some distance between me and lover boy. He was off his head! "Oh, come on, man. I tried to help you." His face contorted as he shut his eyes and exclaimed loudly in supposed pain, stumbling back into the damp wall which gave me time to put even more distance between us. I really didn't want to punch a crackhead today. "Stop..." "Listen, mate. If you don't let me get by right now, you're going to get your arse handed to you. Do you understand?" I warned, my annoyance rather over taking my fear as I attempted to hold my ground and warily brought up my fists as a show of strength. So much for the non-violent approach... My words didn't seem to do anything but spur him further, his whole body tensing before he suddenly lunged off the wall with the intent to do Lord knows what, "Mate--!" His words were cut off mid-sentence as my fist flew out and smashed him right in the shnoz; the resulting crunch causing me to wince as I realized that I maybe put too much force into that hit. But it had the desired effect as the man stumbled back with a groan, clutching onto his nose and bending over in pain. "And there's more where that came from!" I declared, slowly backing up into the alleyway and shaking my hand out. I'd have to try and make it passed him to the street, but I really didn't want to turn my back to this man. The alleyway behind me was a bit of a maze so the quickest way out was the way I came, "So just f**k off!" He took a few seconds to gather himself, but after a shake of his head and the crunch of his nose being put back in place, he eventually straightened himself out to a relatively decent stance whilst looking up in confusion. He'd stopped shaking, and with a couple of heavy blinks I could've sworn I saw his eyes gain clarity before slowly morphing into a dread filled gaze, "Oh shit..." What the f**k was wrong with this guy? The strange shift in mood only caused my anxiety to worsen, "Y-yeah shit, what's wrong with you dude?" "I-I'm sorry," He eventually choked out, hesitantly taking a step towards me, "Please, let me--" "Back up, Bitch!" I exclaimed out of panic, accidentally knocking into a bunch of trashcans. "Listen, just hear me out..." He repeated, using full sentences for once as he held his arms out to grab me again, "...look at me for a second." "I said f**k off!" I proclaimed, snatching one the lids from said trashcans before lobbing it Frisbee style towards his head. He dodged it by mere centimetres before turning to me in shock, "Hey, whoa--!" Continuing to throw everything I could find at the man in front of me, I commenced to lob a whole array of inventory including my bag, both my shoes and a whole bin of rubbish. He grew increasingly angry with every item, and after one final throw of a brick; he ended up catching it in mid-air almost effortlessly, the action causing me to freeze. "Enough!" Now, I've been hungover before. I've experienced the entire earthly spectrum of emotion that comes with the joys of drinking until you can't stand. I've seen, felt, smelt and heard things that upon reflection a sober human being wouldn't necessarily do. There was very little I couldn't chalk up to the consequences of my own actions whilst recovering from a particularly heavy night of partying. But as the stranger in front of me demanded me to stop, his entire appearance morphed into something vile. And I can honestly say that was a first for me. His eyes turned black like ink, his teeth extending to sharp points as dark veins began forming up his neck, crawling to join in a tangled web of visible webbing beneath his skin. The man I'd only a few minutes earlier considered attractive, had now become one of the vilest creatures I'd ever seen. Definitely not a crackhead. "Holy f***ing crap!" My brain couldn't even begin to process what it had seen before my body took over and went into fight or flight mode. My legs started to shake as any adrenaline that had previously been pumping through my veins tripled in quantity in a matter of seconds. "No wait!" He shouted as I bolted down the alleyway, an almost cartoonish cloud of dust left in my wake as I made like road runner and pegged it out of there, "Son-of-a—" I was significantly less bothered that my back was turned as I attempted to get as much distance between us as was physically possible. My mind whirled, my heartbeat in my ears as I sprinted as fast as my legs could carry me with my breath barely able to keep up. I'd always been a good runner, but I truly believe I beat my personal best that day as I ran like my life depended on it. Because it probably did. I was bare footed from throwing my heels at the creature but in retrospect this worked to my advantage, as I pushed away from the ground with all my might and pumped my legs three times faster than I would've been able to if in stilettoes. The feeling of various bits and jagged edges of the ground scraping and scratching at the soles of my feet didn't even register-- as I tried to process what I'd just seen whilst simultaneously attempting to get away from it. What the Hell was I even running away from?! Ignoring it calling out for me to stop, I turned a corner and quickly realized that I'd made the wrong decision and was now just in a maze of alleyways. Kicking myself for not taking the right turn, I frantically began searching for an exit, all thoughts of the hangover from Hell completely forgotten as adrenaline took the wheel. I pulled out random bins and empty skips to attempted to block the path behind me as I ran, my heart skipping a beat as I heard it exclaim in surprise and trip over one of the trashcans I'd knocked over. It sounded a decent distance away, but not wanting to take my chances I bolted a random left to try and find any other form of civilization. I wanted to scream when I ended up in a dead-end of skips and locked back-doors. My second mistake of today. My worst possible result had come true, and in panic I went to bang on every door within the vicinity, "Help! Please!" No one answered. I turned and tried to find somewhere else to go. But there was nothing but the alley I'd just come from. And it was on its way. "Oh, God," I gasped, fully hyperventilating as I desperately began spinning around on the spot to find a place to hide, "Please, God-- please!" Placing a hand on my forehead I tried to calm down, keeping on eye on the entrance to watch for the monster in pure fear. They'd never trained me for this, this was never a thing! Monsters weren't a thing! It was going to turn that corner any second and I was going to become dinner. My mind was quickly spiralling into a familiar downward path, my chest tightening as the beginnings of a panic attack began to set in. What do I do? "What do I do?" I mumbled in desperation, clutching onto my roots so tightly that I could've easily ripped them out, "Chto ya—? Chto—?" [What do I--? What--?] Whipping around on the spot in one last desperate attempt to see if there was anywhere I could even hide behind, I considered climbing into one of the skips as a last ditch resort before by sheer dumb luck I clocked the elevated fire escape on the tall building to my right. It was high, and it was a risk. But I'd scaled higher things in the past. I could make that jump... It was about four metres off the ground and would be tricky without shoes, but knowing I only had one real chance at this I couldn't take too long to deliberate. I quickly discarded my coat into the gutter and took two large steps back to gain momentum, praying to whatever God was listening to help before taking a deep breath and sprinting full speed towards the fire-escape. Kicking up with my right leg, I pushed against the brick wall next to it and jumped as hard as I could, effectively pulling off the closest thing to parkour I'd done since army training. My leg burned in protest instantly but by some miracle I was close enough to grab for the bar, thankfully managing to clasp onto the bottom with a heavy clang of the metal. Losing grip for a mili-second, I cried out in panic and mustered all the strength I had left within me to quickly grab on with my other hand. Readjusting my grip I clumsily hauled myself up to the second bar of the ladder with a heavy grunt. It took a moment, but I was eventually able to crawl up onto the platform, staggering over the barrier with a cry of triumph. Military school finally pays off. Taking a second to catch my breath I stared at the corner I'd come from in fear, my heart jumping as I saw the vampire jog to a stop whilst scanning the empty dead end in confusion. I didn't even blink before running up, the large amount of noise caused as a result making me instantly regret my decision. His shout of acknowledgement only made me run faster, and I cursed every god that had ever existed for making me stop to try and help this thing earlier. Hearing a familiar clang and feeling the metal staircase shake violently, a startled scream escaped my mouth as I paused to look over the railing to see that he was now on the lower platform quickly following me up. How the Hell did he get up here? Groaning I didn't waste another second as I clambered up the rest of the staircase, finally making it to the roof about nine stories later. Staggering to the middle of the open space with laboured breath, I had to try and stop the world from spinning as I looked around and came to a realization. What the Hell was I thinking coming to a roof? Running to the edge I leaned over to see the busy street below, nothing but small window ledges lining their way to the ground which were way too risky to even try and descend. Panicking, I heard the staircase footsteps grow louder and subsequently closer. Oh God! Glancing around the roof frantically, I spotted the door that lead to the interior of the building. Relief washed over me as I sprinted over, banging against the metal entrance from the force and ricocheting off. Jesus, I did not estimate the right distance for that. Yanking it open I slipped into the dark staircase, making sure to shut the door behind me as I hurriedly made my way down. My pace picked up once I got close to the fire door, the dim red light of the exit sign above it my only guide to safety. Scrambling to find the handle, my mild optimism quickly dissolved into an even deeper dread as my hand came across nothing but smooth metal. My heart fell into my gut as I quickly realised it was a safety door with a bar to open, but the bar was on the other side. "Net... Net--!" [No... No--!] I cursed desperately, slamming my palms against the metal entrance in frustration which caused it to violently shake in return. It doesn't look that sturdy... I debated on what the possibility of me knocking this thing down was, but when push came to shove, I decided that I didn't really have a choice in the matter at this point. "Hello?!" I heard it yell distantly, making that possibility become much more likely since the clock was ticking. Taking a step back, I took a moment to pump myself up before I slammed into the door with my shoulder to knock it open. Key word here being tried. The thing was stronger than anticipated. Hissing from the impact, I took a step back and tried again. Nothing. The roof door opening behind me was my last warning. Taking two steps back, I mustered everything I had left before bringing my leg up and kicking it open with all my might. Finally, it burst open. Stumbling into the building, I dared not look back I ran down the luxurious hallway holding my burning shoulder in pain. Turning countless corners, I could have sobbed in relief as I eventually found the sign that read ELEVATOR. I called out as I hurried towards the already open doors, where an older well-dressed woman and a businessman were walking in. "Help me, please! Help me!" I cried, begging for the people to keep the doors open and essentially let me live. The man stared in confusion, holding his hand out just as the door was closing and complying with my request. Staggering into the compact metal box, I panted as I finally made it to safety collapsing against the side of the lift, "Thank you! Thank you so much..." I'm alive! Noticing the woman staring at my bare feet, I shook my head through my heavy breathing, "I had to run." Her upper lip curled. "Are you alright?" The businessman asked in concern, watching the hallway I'd just emerged from in trepidation as I practically hid behind him, "Who's after you?" I shook my head, attempting to swallow to counter my sudden dry mouth, "I don't know, I don't know what it was..." The doors slowly began to close just as the monster turned the corner, my laboured breath hitching as I pressed into the lift walls even further, "There it is! That's it!" I was saved as the doors shut in his face. The businessman turned to me concerned, "Are you okay? What did he do to you?" "He? You're kidding right! That thing is some sort of... some sort of vampire or something that's not a him!" I practically cried, staring at the man expectantly but only being met with a pitying gaze in return, "I mean, i-it had fangs! And its eyes, they were black. A-and--" "Calm down, hey..." The man attempted to sooth as I began hyperventilating by the end of the sentence, my head spinning as the lift descended to hopefully the ground floor. "Listen, do you want me to call someone? You're obviously pretty shaken up... want me to call 911?" "More like the FBI, mate!" I cried exasperated, gesturing wildly at the door before grabbing onto the guy's jacket subconsciously to press my issue further, "Didn't you see his face? He wasn't human--!" "Oh, leave her be, Nicholas. She's obviously some junkie that's wondered in off the street, listen to her! She's high as a kite," The older lady interjected, turning to face me properly since I entered the lift. "Listen, if you're so worried about this man then go to the police yourself. Otherwise, leave the building or I'll have you escorted by security. We don't need your looney lot around here. That man who we saw was as human as you and me." My breath hitched. If possible, my eyes grew impossibly larger, "... B-but I saw- " "Elizabeth, stop. Look at the poor thing she's obviously terrified, you're not helping," He scolded toward the older woman, turning back to me in concern, "I'm sorry. Are you sure there's no one I can call?" I turned back to him, my mind whirling in confusion and fear as I tried to make sense of the situation, "You saw it right? The... the creature?" He paused, his face grimacing slightly before he shook his head no, "I'm sorry, I didn't..." My whole gut dropped as I tried to comprehend what I had just seen. There was definitely a man and I was definitely grabbed but... did I make up the whole vampire part? My mind flashed to the bottle of paroxetine pills currently sitting in my bathroom medicine cabinet back home, the newly prescribed anti-depressant suddenly dawning on me as I began to try and justify what I had just seen. Were they not working? Was the PTSD that strong? This had never happened before not to this degree at least. Had I really imagined the entire thing? "Listen, let me call security. They'll look after you and contact the police-" "No..." I blinked, coming back to reality as I began realizing that I had made a pretty big mistake and probably looked like an absolute lunatic right now, "No sorry, don't worry about it. I must've seen wrong, sorry for worrying you." At my words the lift doors opened to a busy lobby, the timing perfect as I stepped out and thanked the gentleman before tentatively speed-walking as fast as I could out the building. I could feel their eyes bore into my back as I slipped out and into the now drizzling New York sky. Spotting a taxi bay right out front I quickly jumped in and slumped back onto the seat, my whole-body pulsing as the world began to spin. "Where to beautiful?" The Jamaican driver asked. It took a second for his words to register, my mind going a mile a minute as the confusion and trepidation began to escalate. "337 East of 33rd street, please." I said once I caught my breath. The driver nodded before pulling out, the action allowing me some relief as I wanted to put as much distance between me and the mugger as I physically could. Just as we were leaving I glanced out the window only to jump out of my skin. The very man I was trying to escape was stood outside the building only a few feet away, his whole body slowly dampening from the rain as he watched us drive away into the Manhattan traffic. Luckily for me it seemed to be moving at a relatively quick pace and wasn't in its usual land locked state which really was a miracle for this time of day. I couldn't read his expression as we locked eyes, too busy frozen in fear at the man whose face now looked as human as mine-- not a trace of vampire in sight. Either way, the whole experience shook me to the core as I watched him slowly fade into the distance the further away we got. "Friend of yours?" The driver remarked once he was out of sight. His voice cut through the pounding of my heart-beat as he weaved us through traffic to take me home. I pealed my eyes away from the window, my body still tense as I made eye-contact with him in the rear-view mirror. "No," I mumbled dryly, not really in the mood for conversation as I shrunk back into the seat and began working things over in my head. There was definitely something wrong with the medication. There had to be. Doctor Patel put me on a lower dosage last month and it must be messing with my head. It was the only explanation. It had to be.