Chasing Golden

So this is hell?

The sky was pitch black, and aside from my black and red hoodie, there was no color at all. As I made my way down the street, the number of cars on each side seemed to decrease. The apartment buildings on each side of me loomed overhead, and it felt like I was being watched from every window there. There were no lights on, but the street lights flickered on and off as if they didn't know if they wanted to be functional.

It was the beginning of winter. Not enough snow on the ground to cause people to want to wear snow pants, but just enough so that you can feel it soak into your shoes. Why was I outside, in the dead of winter, without a jacket on? I couldn't even tell you.

This area had been known for the many disappearances sighted from here. I had no business on this side of town, but I kept trudging past for the sake of it.

My apartment building was a few more blocks away. My curfew was at 11, but I guess I got too caught up at my friend's house. I pulled out my phone to see what time it is.

11:26

Mom is gonna KILL me, I thought to myself. Like a block ahead, there's an alleyway that Is almost like a direct path to my building. I decided that I might as well try not to be later than I already was. I made my way over to the alley, careful not to go too fast, because it was freezing and I didn't want to be tired on top of cold. I get to the alley, and I'm not gonna say I was surprised by what was there. As I walked I saw more and more valuable things people seemed to have lost. I found a wallet, a necklace, some broken toys, and, of course, trash. What else would the dumpsters be for? I stopped kneeling and started making my way back through the alley.

Wait. Kneeling?

I fell down again, as if my leg was physically telling me it wouldn't work for me anymore. I looked down to see what had happened. There was blood running down my leg, and there was a lot of it. Had I scraped my leg or something. Did I fall on a big piece of glass?

Just as I was asking myself these questions, I noticed something in the corner of my eye. I turned my head around to see a man in all black aiming a gun down my face.

"h-hey?" I said, frightened for my life. "What is it you want? If you want money, you can have it! You can take all of it!"

Dammit, I thought. Is this really how I'm going to die? Mom always did tell me not to wear headphones while I'm walking in the dark.

The man said nothing, and instead, it seemed like time had stopped forever. Then, he pulled the trigger, seemingly, I was dead.

Or was I? I woke up, but still surprised by the fact that I'm supposed to be dead right now, I didn't notice that I was actually standing up. I pulled my phone out of my pocket to see what time it was.

11:26

What?

I looked around me, only to realize that I was in the exact same place I was earlier, as I was walking home. As I regained my thoughts, There was one thing I couldn't stop thinking about; The alleyway. I ran over to it as fast as I could, only stopping once I made it to the entrance. Like I had thought, there was nothing there. No body, no sign that I or that man had ever been there.

Wait, I thought. That man.

I turned around as fast as I could and started to run in the other direction, only to run into something on my out and stumble. I looked up, and dread filled my face. It was the same man that had shot (Killed?) me earlier.

"What the hell is going on here?" I yelled at him. "You shot me over there just a few minutes ago but there's no blood, no footprints, my body isn't even over there. I blacked out and then suddenly I'm back in the same spot I was in earlier."

He stared at me. This time, I got a good look at his face. Or I couldn't. It was hard to tell what he looked like. I looked at him, and I saw the face of your average male, maybe around twenty five-ish. I blinked and looked again, and I saw the face of a woman, maybe in her forties. Every time I blinked, his face seemed to change, but the scariest part about him wasn't his changing face or the gun in his hand. It was eyes, his cold, dead, red eyes. They glowed so brightly that I couldn't tell if I was looking at a ruby or a living person. Just as I started to get up, he pointed the gun at me again.

"Welcome," He said. "Enjoy your stay in hell."

He shot me again, but this time I was able to dodge it slightly. In the next few moments, I felt the impact of the bullet forcing its way through my stomach. I grabbed my stomach. The gut-wrenching pain was unlike any pain I've ever felt.

As I lifted my trembling hand from my stomach, I nearly threw up from all the blood that stained my hand and the ground. I stumbled onto the snow that riddled the alley. As I landed on the ground, the pain intensified tenfold. Despite being shot earlier, I couldn't even remember what it felt like, but I could tell that that wasn't a normal bullet.

"What is this?" I asked him.

"Exactly like I said. Welcome to hell."

Things went on like this again.

And again.

And again.

Forever.