Prologue
A sky darker than obsidian ensnared the city in its inky net obscured by the thick clouds that loomed over the city of Manhattan, heavy and hideously disfigured from the weight of the rain they carried. Neither the moon nor the stars illuminated the night, caged like prisoners behind the clouds, powerless to stop the oncoming storm.
In the city below, colorful neon lights refracted through the various windows scattered across the buildings, fleeing onto the streets in an attempt to escape the mass of writhing bodies cram packed into the barely lit clubs; their bodies sweating and moving in an erotic dance.
The bright lights occasionally blinded the pedestrians whom were in the process of hurrying home whom dared to look up at the neon lights that dazzled obnoxiously, acting as a homing beacon to draw people in and like moths to a flame, they came.
Music from all walks of life strutted up and down the streets, competing with the incessant honking of cars and taxies that veered up and down the roads into a mixture of tumultuous sounds that invaded people’s homes, preventing them from surrendering to the sweet embrace of sleep.
A living kaleidoscope of color and skin walked continuously up and down the paved paths that snaked through the city; the street lights above illuminating their way. The under aged youth of the city stumbled clumsily out of the clubs, heavily intoxicated by the cheap alcohol that they were sold as they moved onto the next lively club with silly, drunken smiles plastered on their pale faces.
When the city was being built into the glorious place it is today; the coming and going of a time was captured in still motion by the skyscrapers a testament of the blood, sweat and tears of dreamers gazing in wonder at the skies for all to remember. Brick by brick the foundation of a new structure was formed each grander than the last. Steel beam by steal beam the buildings grew taller in a bid to reach the sky.
Nestled in the center amidst a sea of grey like a precious stone on a silver wing was a park so beautiful and alluring in the serene tranquility it whispered faintly into the ears of those who spared a lingering gaze. Such beauty lay in the trees planted as far as the eyes cared to wander where small woodlands creatures scampered on all fours, flew, twittered, quacked and chattered amongst themselves. It was easy to get lost admiring the almost zen-like tranquility and forget what lay beyond the gates.
A bolt of lightning raced across the sky, illuminating the city as though it were morning. A resounding clap of thunder boomed into the night, the echo resembling that of an army of horses, galloping into battle. The wind wailed as the clouds opened their bay doors and began their heavy assault on the city, the rain falling with such intensity that it left little room for visibility.
The trees were forced into a violent dance, bending to the point as were they would snap, groaning in a painful cry, begging for mercy against the torturous assault. A noble security guard gripped his raincoat tightly; his knuckles turning a ghostly white as he attempted to stay dry, muttering obscure curses to himself as he continued to making his way through the night.
He followed carefully along the curving, cracked cement pavement, holding his only means of guidance through the stormy night, a heavy and bulky flashlight that he held nimbly in his right hand as he walked forward. A yelp was released from the man’s lips as he barreled towards the ground, landing on his back with a heavy splat, similar to the sound of squashing a bug beneath your feet, into the water that had gathered on his path.
The man groaned as he sat up, his hand massaging his lower back to dull the pain he was feeling in his lower back. He muttered a foul curse towards the sky which rumbled right back at him, as if it were laughing at him. He got onto all fours and carefully stood up, praying to the gods that he didn’t fall right onto his bottom once again.
He gained his balance, searching around until he noticed his flickering flashlight that was laying a short distance behind him from where he landed. Groaning in pure annoyance he leaned over to pick up his flashlight and continuing his patrol, not caring that his trousers were already drenched.
He had only been on his patrol for a short while when he saw something move up ahead of him as he continued his way forward against the violent gusts of wind pummeling him from all directions. Through the rain, which seemed like a raging waterfall barreling gallons of water to the ground in thick walls, saw something once again ahead of him, not entirely sure what to think of it.
He called out as he approached the figure that was standing a good distance away from him. He couldn’t tell why this crazy person would be willingly standing out in the middle of the closed park, completely vulnerably to the rain.
“You need to leave. No one is allowed here after hours.” He ordered, slowly approaching the figure with the same caution that a person has when they are approaching a wild animal that they had cornered. The person said nothing, did nothing so the young guard reached for his belt, debating whether or not to call for back-up or deal with the intruder by himself.
The young guard ended up grabbing his baton and raised it defensively, approaching the figure once again.
“I said you need to leave!” The guard ordered once more, shouting as loud as he could through the rain in an attempt to make himself seem brave and unafraid. He raised his flashlight and looked at the face of the figure; his eyes were squinted to get a better view of the man’s face that was obscured by the falling rain and by the flickering light of his flashlight.
The rain had slowed down to a faint drizzle but the boom of thunder could still be heard in the distance.
The man that stood before the guard said nothing, he just groaned in annoyance at the young man who covered his mouth in an attempt to force down his dinner that had crawled its way up it his throat as he looked at the man in disgust.
The overpowering putrid smell of rotting flesh rolled off the man in waves, the smell violently invaded his nose leaving no room for the scent of the damp air it made his stomach violently twist. Moments later he found himself hunched over emptying the contents of his stomach onto the ground until all he could heave was dry air, still he heaved loudly unable to hear the shift of material over his pitiful groans of nausea.
A noise resembling someone slapping water caught the guard’s attention as he looked up and saw that the man had taken a step towards him, automatically frowning at the sight of the disgusting man before him. The man was nothing more than a hobo, his clothes torn and worn for god knows how long, his long grey hair covering his face like a mask.
“Alright. You need to leave man, the park is closed!” The guard spoke out, his baton at the ready. The man let out a long exasperated breath and did absolutely nothing. “I said you need to leave!” That was when the man lifted he lifted his bare left foot off of the ground and took a step forward, dragging his shoe covered right leg forward as if his leg were paralyzed.
“Stay away!” The guard ordered shakily, raising his baton higher, showing that he was armed. The man ignored him and moved forward, groaning once again. “Move one more step and I am gonna have to arrest you!” The guard ordered bravely but truth be told, he was terrified right now because the homeless man continued forward, forcing the man to start stepping backwards in attempt to maintain the current distance between them.
The man growled, as if he were a vicious animal as he picked up speed and before the man could react, the man grabbed his arm that held the flashlight in it and bite into the guards flesh, an ear piercing scream erupting the silence of the park as the flashlight fell from his hand, rolling a short distance away.
No one was around to see the horrific shadows that were projected onto the trees by the flashlight, as the man ripped into the young guard who tried to fight off the inevitable as he fell to the ground at the mercy of the man.
When the scene was finally over, the blood pooling beneath the lifeless guard mingled into the water staining it an opaque ruby red as it slowly washed away from the body, the hobo stumbling away, blood dripping from his open mouth that was filled with rotting, cavity filled teeth with flesh between his teeth, leaving the mauled guard on the floor, a tear running from his eye as his eyes remained permanently glued to the sky.
Little did anyone know that this was only the beginning because many more were coming, no one would be able to run, no one would be able to hide because the end had finally begun.
