Infected: Chapter 3
The air was brisk and dry as Braden stepped out into the open city air. He wrapped his jacket around his bulky frame as he walked along the sidewalk and looked down at the city ground.
A few people were walking along the evening New York City streets as everyone was either heading to a bar or going straight to their apartments.
Braden felt a bit of jealousy at the people who were heading out to a local bar. He would love to just sit and relax for a bit and to unwind from a hectic day. But he knew that more work needs to be done before his and Hadera’s presentation.
The narrow city street became crowded with young couples and drunken men as they walked loudly through the streets. Braden’s mind wanders off about his co-worker.
There was no doubt that he was worried about Hadera and her ongoing health. She’s been coming to work tired and agitated. He thought about what he could do to make this project go faster. Do they need to lower the amount of dosage used? Should they come in at a later time to get those tests done? All of these questions kept racing through Braden’s mind, and he didn’t know how to answer them.
Braden couldn’t take the screeching noise from the busy city anymore and decided to take a shortcut through the alleyway. He has always made these short cuts through the alleys at night. Nothing seemed weird to him as he stepped in a small puddle and kept his eyes to the ground.
Just as he was passing a dark green dumpster in the foggy alleyway, a solid figure was standing at the end of the pathway.
Braden looked up to find a man wearing a dark hoodie. He was all in black, and his face was not visible to the dimly lit alleyway. Branden stopped in his tracks and kept his eyes on the eerie figure that was far off in front of him.
“Hey,” Branden called out as he slowly started to walk back to the busy street that he came from.
Before Branden could think or move, the substantial figure was already in front of his face and gave him a dead look. Branden could easily see his pale but gaunt face; the pit of the man’s eyes was inky black with a hint of crimson red. His whole form brought Braden to utter terror.
“Hey,” the inhuman man said in a faint deep voice. The sinister man grabbed Branden by his stubby throat and picked him up off the ground. Before Branden could make any noise, his neck was snapped into two, and the intimidating man threw him up against the brick wall.
The man removed his hoodie to reveal his raven black hair that was curly but slick. His eyes were still black, but his mouth was filled with ragged sharp teeth. His pale face flushed into the night air as he stepped over Branden’s lifeless body and smashed head. His blood plastered over the brick wall.
The inhuman man made his way to the end of the pathway where Branden walked from. He could feel her…he could smell her scent from such a distance…all he had to do was find her…
