HEAT |OMEGAVERSE| ⚣ ✔️

The Alley Part 1.

There are two questions I didn't think I'd be asking myself today.

Where the hell am I?

And what happened to me?

After waking up ten minutes ago in an alley, I was hit with a terrifying realization. I'm now lying on a thin and worn-down mattress... one that has me questioning any mattress I've ever called "too dirty" to sit on. My nose flares as the moist and sour air fills it. I can't help the gag that comes as I glance at the nearby dumpster just a few feet away. I guess, for the most part, that explains the putrid smell.

Like any sane person who wakes up in an alley alone, my first reaction is to try and move, to sit up—anything.

Unfortunately for me, though, moving my sluggish body seems to be an Olympic-level task; the god-awful sensation that I might've been hit by a semi-truck settles in, my muscles tensing in response to my brain firing off orders.

Panic starts to weigh heavily on my mind as my eyes flicker up to the sun setting behind the tops of the buildings. I'm not sure I'd make it. Through the night that is...well, not without something happening to me. At this point, I'm just laid out like some cheap Chinese food buffet, waiting for somebody to either make use of an easy target, or take my wallet... That is, if it's still in my back pocket.

Deciding to fight the vigorous battle against my weakened limbs, I am graced by everything good in this world, gaining just an ounce of strength. With that bit of strength, I use it to dig in my pocket and pull out my phone. After clicking the button a few times like the damn manic person I've become in these short twenty minutes, I realize it's dead.

I'll be the first to admit in all honesty, that the current situation I've found myself in is far from ideal, and quite frankly—if I may say—fucking shitty.

To make matters worse, I can feel that sickening warmth spreading through me, my body's natural response to active heat. Something I'm unfortunately all-too-familiar with. Of course, with my luck, it started prematurely. And judging by how hot-n-bothered I feel, like my skin is itching all over, I'm starting to release a good amount of pheromones too.

Then, topping off this shit-sandwich I'm force feeding myself, my brain has forgotten any minor details regarding how I ended up in this position, and why I feel like somebody Batista bombed me off the side of a building.

Can I even remember when I left my apartment?

I try with every brain cell I have left in my head to remember anything from today's events. And then some fog clears up, opening the first door into how my day began.

I got up at eight am sharp, as usual, to get ready for work. Then made sure I had my suppressants in my bag before I packed my lunch. Though I'm not entirely sure, I don't believe anything eventful happened between home and going to work, because the next memory I have is me feeling both happy and relieved that my shift ended earlier than usual.

And then—what?

I take a deep breath and close my eyes tightly, trying to cohere myself into remembering more.

God damnit. Think, you useless brain.

More fog clears. That's right—my coworker Ryan. He stopped me while leaving work, asking if I'd grab food and a few drinks with him.

At the time, I had a small workplace crush on him. He's taller than I and seductively handsome with a strong build. I'd been seeing him more around the office, and he had caught my attention on several occasions as we worked together to resolve some issues within our department. His well-groomed features were always catching my eye, and I could have sworn there were a few times his lingered on me too.