Death City (Book 1)

Prologue

There was no way out. No way in. And the journey was over before it began.

But for young, high school students Jason and Hailey, that grim reality had not yet set in as they traversed through a seemingly endless maze of towering fir trees. Students at the local private academy, they had departed campus early to meet with a friend in a long deserted town now claimed by nature.

As rain clouds slowly emerged overhead in the damp, gray sky, the two began to worry that they would be caught in the approaching storm. It was not long, however, before they reached a gated district deep within the forest. Just outside the metal boundaries, leaning along the chain-linked fence, awaited their acquaintance dressed in a hooded jacket.

"About time you guys got here," said the boy.

"You can blame him," said Hailey. She pointed back at Jason. "Anyway, let's just go already. I have to pick my brother up at three."

"My bad Ax," said Jason. "It's easy to get lost out here."

"It's whatever." Ax shrugged. He kneeled down and pulled back a broken off panel of the fence, holding it open with both hands. "Go ahead and crawl through."

Hailey dropped down to her knees and began crawling through the hole in the fence. Jason hunched over and began to follow, but abruptly stopped, hesitating for a moment. His fingers dug into the wet dirt.

"Wait, are you guys sure about this?" he asked. "I mean...there's a reason this place is closed off."

"You already came all this way. No point in turning back now," said Ax.

"Yeah come on Jason," said Hailey. "We'll be back before sixth period. Trust me, I don't want to be here either."

"Something doesn't feel right," said Jason. "And I don't want to end up like those—"

"Grow a pair, bro. You're acting like a little baby right now. Like Hailey said, we won't be long."

Jason stared at Ax, shaking his head before crawling under the fence. As he crawled under it, his school blazer was caught in the barbed wire, tearing a shred of fabric off as he passed through. On the other side, he shook his head again after noticing what had happened. Ax smirked at Jason before proceeding through the fence behind him. 

Once on the other side, the three stared in awe at the town before them. Numerous buildings and structures in ruins, or on their last legs as if the area were a bomb site. Empty and abandoned, there was a certain calmness to the area, but also an undeniable eeriness. The deathly silence of the town made them feel even more uncomfortable, prompting them to quickly move onward.

Ax led Jason and Hailey on a short walk along the outer edge of the town before stopping at a small, lone building on the dead end of a street, which appeared to be a body shop. While Ax and Jason propped the heavy wooden door open, Hailey observed their surroundings. Many of the empty buildings had open windows, through which only pitch black could be seen. She suddenly grasped her arms, overcome with chills as she spotted a shadowy figure looming on opposite end of the street. She frantically ran over to Jason and Ax, nearly stumbling onto the broken pavement.

"Guys, I saw something walking over there!" she exclaimed.

"Where?" asked Jason.

"Over there!" yelled Hailey, pointing to the street corner. "I think we should go back."

"No one lives here, Hailey," said Ax. "It's just your imagination. The plants are in the basement of this place. After we grab them, we can go."

"Okay, fine. Let's just hurry," said Hailey.

The three of them entered the body shop, closing the door shut behind them. Nearly completely dark, the only light to be had was that which shone in through the broken window pane. Jason kicked around shattered glass and rocks as he tried to make his way around the place, while Hailey attempted to use the light from her cell phone screen to illuminate the building. 

Ax walked into a room on the left with a counter and cash register. He then disappeared into the darkness as he walked further into room. Jason peered into the room, but with no visibility, he backed away and simply waited for Ax. Moments later, he called out to Jason and Hailey from a distance.

"I need a light," he shouted. "One of you guys bring your phones here. I'm in the cellar!"

Irritated, Hailey shook her head and stomped off into the black room. Jason stayed behind and patiently awaited their return while watching the door. Outside, he could see that it had begun to sprinkle. With thick rain clouds also hovering from above, it appeared to be nighttime. He waited for nearly ten minutes, fidgeting with his phone and periodically poking his head through the door. 

Just then, as Jason had begun to contemplate going after them, a horrible, agonized cry came from the cellar downstairs. Jason's phone dropped to the floor as he stood in shock at sounds of screaming. It was Hailey. As he trembled with fear, staring into the darkness ahead there was no doubt, that she had been hurt—or worse.

Her screams then came to an abrupt halt. What followed was utter and complete silence. Eyes widened and visibly shaking, Jason slowly walked through the doorway. In the far right corner of the room, he could barely see the open cellar door, but nothing more in the opening. Step by step, Jason made his way down into the cold, dark cellar. As the wooden steps creaked and he looked at his feet below, Jason was violently dragged beneath and pulled to the floor by an unseen force which seemed to engulf his entire lower body. He yelled and screamed until he finally hit the ground.

Bloodied and battered, Jason gathered himself onto all fours to make it out alive. Trying to find his way through the dark he moved his hand around the floor, until he felt out a pool of warm liquid. The realization set in immediately. It was blood. And his friends had been killed. As Jason stumbled about in the dark, he felt a lifeless, skeletal arm beside him. Jason didn't stop to find out to whom it belonged.

Crying and afraid, he forced himself to limp back up the staircase. Moments later he was back in the entrance and for a split second, he was relieved to see the exit. That relief soon turned into despair once again as he realized that he was locked inside. He scurried into the other room to his left, only to be met with the unimaginable pain of his flesh being pierced and torn off his arms and face by an unseen entity.

Faced with the inevitable, Jason crawled back to the entrance with the last energy left within him. He slumped up against the doorway and rested his head on the door itself, staring off into the dark room and awaiting its return. Jason reached his blood-soaked hand across the floor and grabbed his phone. Scrolling through numbers, he dialed a contact and waited several rings until a woman's voice on the other end answered.

"M-mom," he said through tears. "I'm sorry. I messed up badly. Tell everyone I love them."

Jason set the phone down and turned his head, as footsteps in the nearby room grew closer and closer. Eventually they stopped and Jason could feel the weight of a presence hovering over him. He exhaled deeply and shut his eyes closed, for what would be the final time.