Chapter Three The Alley

  Chapter Three
        The Alley
    As my bike turned left, I noticed that I had never been to this part of town before. Ever. Go left into the  alley. The voice said sharply. ‘Are you insane?’ I asked in my head. I was right in front of the alley now. It was dank, gloomy, and had a ghastly green color to it. Go! The person urged. My feet hit the pedals without me telling them to.
    The alley was empty and creepy. I saw a few spiders climb on the walls next to me, but other than that, there was no source of life anywhere. Suddenly, my feet stopped pedaling, right in the middle of the strange place. Leave the bike here.
    I did as told and let the bike fall to the cold damp floor. Go forward. I took one unwilling step deeper into the alleyway. Then another. I was then walking down the passageway subconsciously.
    Did this ever end? I kept walking and walking and soon I was so far away from the entrance that there was no more light to guide me down the obscure lane. I stopped. Keep going.
    “I can’t see.” I didn’t mind talking out loud to the voice now, because there was no one around to hear me. Keep going. The voice ordered again.
    “I told you, I can’t see!” I said through clenched teeth. You don’t need sight to see what’s around you. The voice said wisely. What was that supposed to mean?
    “What?” I asked irritably. Keep going! The voice sounded impatient now. “ I told you I can’t-” my voice broke off as a thrust of energy forced me to stumble forward. Go.
    I was being completely controlled by the voice. By now, it was pitch dark in the alley, and I had to rely on the person controlling my body to keep me from knocking into things. My feet moved on awkwardly as I tried to fight against them. It was no use. I ambled clumsily on, down the opaque passageway, wondering what was wrong with me.
    I stopped to catch my breath, but the voice’s power sent me lurching forward again. My legs ached, my stomach growled, and my mouth was even drier than before. Then, an idea hit me. I was dreaming. This was just a dream, an illusion. The voices, going to the park, being controlled. None of it even happened. I was still tossing and turning in bed, and this was the thing troubling me.
    I seemed a little happier at the thought and something else came across my mind. ‘Maybe losing Bruno was a dream, too.’ So I had noting to do but listen to the voice and amble on through the alley. Until I woke up of course. ‘Just wait until you wake up, and everything will be back to normal.’ I told myself. ‘But when will I wake up?’ The thought made my heart almost stop. Usually, whenever I figure out I’m in a dream, I wake up. But this was different. I haven’t woken up, and I’m sure I am asleep.
    I would have pondered more on the subject, but something caught my eye. I could see a bright opening at the end of the passageway. Like the headlight of a train coming through a tunnel, only I wasn’t walking on tracks. It occurred to me that the alley was finally coming to an end and I would be out soon.
    Head toward the light. The voice said. “Okay,” I replied. After five more minutes of silence, I finally realized that I was in a dangerous situation. Usually, dark, empty alleyways are the settings where a lot of homicides and deaths occur. How did I know that this voice wasn’t trying to send me toward my death? I stopped.
    Keep Going! The voice ordered. “How do I know you aren’t trying to kill me?” I said suspiciously. The voice made a noise like a sigh. Keep Going. It repeated flatly. I shook my head and stood my ground. Once again, I was forced to move one foot after the other. I tried with all the strength I had left to stop walking and to  turn around, but my body didn’t allow me. Shortly, I had arrived to the light and was at the end of the alley.
    “What now?” I groaned. Step out. I did as told and stepped into the dazzling sunlight. I rubbed my eyes to get them used to the light. It took a couple of minutes to get past the blurry vision, and see what was around me.
    I almost screamed in terror. I was at a square thronged with people. Groups of people. They laughed and hollered and shouted at each other. They were gangs.
    I found that the alley was much safer than this. I turned around to head back. Where are you going? The voice sounded perplexed. ‘Away from here!’ My thoughts replied. I tried to make a run for it, but I felt as if someone pulled me back by the collar of my shirt. Don’t be foolish. I sighed and turned around. Go forward. I didn’t budge.
    “I-I’m s-sc-scared.” I squeaked at the voice. “They could k-kill m-me.” The mysterious person sighed. They won’t lay a finger on you. “Yeah, why do that if they have a gun?” The voice was impatient.
    Just go. Nothing will hurt you. Trust me. Trust it? How could I trust this thing? But there was nothing I could do. I took a deep breath and stepped into plain sight of them all.