Vivisection (Bob Velseb x Original Character)

The Alley

All was silent, there was no rain, no wind, not even the distant squealing of children or the murmuring of traveling adults. Just Alex and her own misery. She spent most of these quiet, fall nights outside, wandering around the small town, weeping to herself about the life that could've been.

She was going to have it all, she was going to spend the rest of her days with her family, her closest loved ones, but no, fate wouldn't allow it, her family wouldn't allow it. She shook her head, furrowing her brows. If there was anyone out here tonight, she wasn't about to let them see her wallowing in her own sorrow.

The woman took a sharp turn to the left, dipping into the nearest alleyway. Her form sank into the darkness, peering out into the light of the dimly lit street. Alex covered her face as tears started to well up in her eyes. It had been like this every night for almost a year now. She couldn't help it.

Her gaze fell to the dirty, trash littered ground beneath her. Salty droplets joined the litter as she wept pitifully. She remained quiet, though, not wanting to gather any unwanted attention.

Understandably so, as she stuck out like a sore thumb now. A black, inky substance covered the right half of her pale, freckle-covered face and her left arm. The darkness had eyes of its own that she couldn't control.

It was the result of some stupid decision she had not so long ago. Now she looked like some sort of eldritch freak. All because I thought they cared about me like how I cared about them. She must've never loved me.

Her clawed left hand reached up to her face and rubbed away the pooling bunch of snot and tears. Alex's breath hitched in her throat, cutting through the quiet night for a split second. She expected silence to follow, but instead heard the sound of heavy footsteps approaching the alleyway.

Alex strained her ears, her dark eyes desperately searched the space in front of her. Nothing. Just her and the dark alley that yawned out before her. At the very end, however, there was a street light perfectly illuminating the ground beneath.

If her mood hadn't been so sour, she would've shivered upon seeing such an eerie sight. But no, not tonight, not when she was like this. And so she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, collected herself, and stood up. She had to do something productive tonight, even if it was just cleaning up her dinky little apartment.

There it was again... those footsteps. Heavy, earth-shaking, rhythmic almost. Alex looked up slowly, dreading the worst. Was it some sort of animal? No, there weren't any animals this far into town! Did something fall? No, why was the sound continuing. It was getting closer now.

Her eyes shot up, adjusting to the darkness.

Oh no.

A figure stood at the end of the alleyway. It was large, no, massive. Piercing eyes watched her from afar, pinprick pupils stared into whatever was left of her cursed soul. Their shoulders were broad and their head were adorned with horns. Whether they were actually attached or not, well, she wasn't quite sure.

Maybe those nasty monsters I made that deal with sent this creature after me. Alex pressed her back against the frigid, brick wall behind her. She wanted to squeeze her eyes shut, but they were glued to the figure that was now slowly approaching her.

Thump, thump, thump, thump.

Did she want to die? Would she be okay with dying right now? Again, she wasn't fully certain. Was she going to die, though?

The figure's massive grin that glistened in the dim light confirmed her suspicions. Was she going to fight back? Or let this beast do as it pleased?

"Excuse me?" She whimpered out, "Can I help you with something?" Her voice wasn't as sing-songy as she had hoped and was instead strained from her crying.