Amidst the Curse (ON A CURRENT HOLD)

Sudden Inconvenience

The dimmest, ever so visible ray of sunlight that was just barely visible to the human eye was snaking its way into a dimly lit and shaded alleyway. Jagged cracks in the faded asphalt, some old and withered, others new and sharp, littered the deserted road.

The black roads had layers and layers of dust that no one had bothered to clean over the decades. Unrecognizable papers, wrappers, and all sorts of other trash that had been stepped on so many times they were all practically one with the ground, and bits and pieces of dirty, foul-smelling corpses.

Who in their right mind would've entered this eerie space alone by their will? They could've easily gotten robbed, attacked, harassed, or even murdered by literally anyone who was lurking in the shadows of the tall yet crumbling buildings—even breaking the stiff silence that had settled in the atmosphere would've felt completely wrong.

A certain thrill-seeker, though, dared to shatter the reticence by stumbling into the alley, completely out of breath. Bloodcurdling, nightmarish screams followed close behind a hooded man's clear but frantic footsteps. His silhouette was barely visible under his dark cloak. He sprinted, clearly exceeding the speed of a regular person.

Something twitched under his hood with every thud of his foot against the worn-out road. His glittering golden eyes frantically darted around, possibly searching for something that obviously wasn't there.

The man, upon hearing new footsteps in the dozens, extraordinarily synchronized, skidded to a stop as quickly as he could, almost tripping forward and landing on his head. With a gasp, he managed to regain his balance and duck behind an abandoned dumpster before the eerie footsteps caught up to him.

Only after many anxious checks did he let the puffs of air held in his lips escape, desperately trying to catch his breath, only to instantly regret it. The revolting smell of gods knows what rotting inside—but far from limited to—his hiding space, made his nose crinkle with disgust. The bitter, coppery iron taste that had settled in his mouth didn't help him feel any less sick.

The man peeked out cautiously from the dumpster, wanting to know if his pursuers knew where he had gone. Sure enough, two tall, lanky men, similarly dressed in a stiff military uniform coloured quite darkly, were parading around the alley, their scrutinizing eyes searching for him like vicious predators hunting prey. The man internally scoffed upon spotting their uniforms—what kind of military suit had shiny, good-for-nothing badges, flashy decorations made of silk, and absolutely nothing that could be used for protection pinned to it?

The hooded figure snorted to himself quietly before he carefully removed himself from his hiding spot, hastily moving away from the putrid-smelling dumpster, rather not spending more time torturing his nose. With a few quick glances around, to make sure it was safe, he swiftly scurried away behind the supposed guards, not wasting a minute to be suffocated by the fumes of the dumpster or to be caught by anyone wearing a trophy of uselessness.

Breathing was a challenge with the state of this place in general. The air was suffocatingly foul. The smell of cigarettes and sewage was the most bearable scent that lingered here. It only made matters worse that his ability to smell was enhanced, forcing him to suffer even more.

The man made a sharp turn down a street, only to curse under his breath in regret. A figure from a large group in the infamous military uniform trotted down to the very place the hooded man turned on. The hooded figure abruptly came to a stop, skidding on the pavement and mistakenly drawing attention to himself. Multiple heads all snapped towards the disruption. A sweat bead rolled down the man's forehead as dread filled his body, realizing just how bad the situation had become. He swore to himself he would need to be much, much more careful if he were to survive - but that was if he survived this encounter.