ILLEGAL

Prologue

Alfred Hixon kissed his wife on the cheek before entering his garage and driving to work. He was an employee at a coffee shop, making low income as his wife used her own creativity to write children's stories. They had been married for two years, and were a young couple. His dark, sleek hair was combed back and his brown eyes were curious.

As he stopped at a stoplight, he glanced to the side of the road where a newspaper stand was. The headline read,'Masked Murderer Claims Another Victim!'. He turned back to the road and pushed on the gas pedal when the light turned green. Murders and suicides happen all the time, he thought, half of them probably aren't even announced to the public.

He was one for politics and was trying to work his way up the government ladder. Currently he was at rock bottom. He pulled up next to the store and got out. Walking in early to get things ready, he put on his blue apron and wiped down the tables. He turned on the coffee grinder and it began slicing the beans to dust. He had always been so fascinated with objects, in his childhood being an inventor was a priority.

It was a usual day at work, people ordering the same things, signing a name, latte, espresso, blah blah. He hit the cash register's button for the last customer of the day and it slid open, making a loud rattling noise. The jingle-jangle couldn't be heard over the machines making the popular caffeinated drink, though.

He wiped off the tables once more and swept away the crumbs into the trash. With ease he hung up his apron and walked out the door. It was seven - thirty, and Hixon yawned as he approached the grocery store. He got his bread and milk, paid, then continued walking down back to his car. He arrived to the exact spot it had been and realized he had parked in a place he was not supposed to. His car had been towed.

In frustration he kicked the wall and then quickly regretted his mistake as his foot ached all the way down. Oh well, he would haves to walk home. It was only a mile and a half, but that was if you took the long way. He thought he knew a shortcut that would cut the distance in half. People said not to go near it, for it was a dark alley and no one liked creepy places. But Alfie Hixon wasn't afraid, he marched into the alley.

Passing by rotting garbage, he scrunched up his nose. It seemed as he had been walking forever, and the groceries were getting heavy. The sun had started setting a while ago, and the sky was almost completely dark. He thought he heard the sound of footsteps behind him. Hixon whipped his head around. The alley behind him was empty.

He kept walking. When was it going to end? If he had remembered correctly then he should've been home by now. He heard the sound again, and he paused. The noise had disappeared almost immediately, so he continued walking. It had been another couple of minutes and then he heard a clanging sound. He spun around. He saw nothing or no one. He glanced down. A dark shadow was plastered to the ground. There was just the slightest movement to confirm it was a person. Then the shadow disappeared. Faster footsteps neared Hixon.

He broke into a run, tossing the groceries aside. He sprinted down the alley, and ran into a wall. It was a dead end. He pounded on the wall with his palms as the figure neared closer. The shadow walked calmly towards him, but there was still no sight of the person.

Suddenly, the shadow dashed off the other direction. Alfred Hixon took deep calming breaths. He was going to live.

But not for long. Before he knew it, the barrel of a gun was pressed to his temple. Scared tears dripped down his face. "Please," He softly whispered.

The gun went off.