Welcome to Coma City

First creative writing assignment for a class in two years, and it wasn't even for English...

Kicking my legs back and forth, I whistle a tune, something catchy I heard on the radio. Today was good. My shift wasn’t too hard, I got a raise, met a cute guy, and am watching the sunset from the rooftop of my apartment building. Seeing the city, hearing it going to sleep, as the sky dims and electric lights flick on, the streets slowly empty, from rush hour to practically deserted, is very relaxing.

I finished college six months ago, then moved here a few months later, looking for work, and have enjoyed my stay so far. Haven’t found a real job yet, but I’ve sent out my application, had a few interviews, and in the meantime, I have a pretty good gig waitressing at the Bluebird’s near my apartment. I don’t mind working there; we had one back home, and it was always my favorite place to eat.

Sirens wail, and a police car races past my apartment building, chasing after a car with tinted windows. That’s the one drawback about this place: the crime rates. According to the news, it’s the most crime-ridden city in America. Both of them. But I didn’t let that scare me away. And hey, as bad as it sounds, more crime means a greater need for nurses. I'm waiting to hear back from the two hospitals in the city right now, actually.

Stomach growling, I grab my wallet, knowing I'm out of food. I walk down the street, toward the nearest convenience store, and make it two blocks before I realize I left my phone in my apartment. Whatever, I'm basically at the store already. I pick up a few snacks and some food for tomorrow, then start the trek back to my apartment. I really need to get a bike or something. On a hunch, I turn into a dark alley and ignore all the warnings my imagination gives off, hoping for a shortcut. My heart skips a beat when I hear footsteps behind me. Not daring to glance behind me, I quicken my pace. Adrenaline from my adrenal gland sends epinephrine, increasing my heart rate, and norepinephrine, constricting my blood vessels, and kicking my body into fight or flight mode. My mind fills with medical charts explaining everything that's happening in my body as I start to panic, but I push it away to focus on the situation at hand, hoping that I'm overreacting. Hearing the footsteps speed up, I break into a run and drop the bag of groceries in my terror. Seeing the end of the alley, I feel hope rising in me, until I run right into something, knocking me backward. I scramble back until I hit the wall, sending refuse and hypodermic needles rolling.

I look up to see a dark, hooded figure standing in the alleyway. I feel my pupils dilate as my mouth goes dry. I had thought that he was just an urban legend, or at the very least that the tales of him had been greatly exaggerated. He advances slowly, footsteps echoing in the empty alley. His cape sways gently in the breeze as he walks toward me. The very shadows seem to shy away from the monster in front of me, as if even they are scared of him. He seems to regard me curiously, as if I’m some foreign animal. But I’m pretty sure most people he encounters are terrified to death.

“Darknight,” I breathe, saying the name some won’t even dare to mutter. He’s the one that you tell your children, Be good kids, or Darknight will come for you! He’s the boogeyman, the ultimate evil, the villain that almost took down the whole of the government single-handedly. I had thought that it was all myths and conspiracy theories, but I was wrong.

I might be imaging it, but I think I can see a smile in the shadows under his hood. “So you know who I am.” It’s not even a question, growled in a deep, masculine voice that promises torture and terror. I nod frantically and break into a sweat, trying to figure out how I can get out of this situation alive, if not unharmed. He lifts his arm, forming a dagger out of the living shadows that fear him as much as I do. I let out a cry of nonsense and wet my pants, which Darknight chuckle at.

Bending over, he brings the knife closer to my face. I am frozen in fear, like a deer in headlights. I’m going to die. I’m going to die, alone in an alley, without a fight. No one will even notice that I’m gone. Darknight moves the knife, resting the tip on my jugular. I immediately stop breathing. I know exactly what happens if you so much as nick that artery. He trails the knife over my throat, up my jaw, across my cheek, and through the tears running down my face. I can see under his hood now, the black mask that covers the upper half of his face, his blind left eye, the glee in the right, the scar on his right cheek that runs across his blind eye, barely held together by crude stitches, exposing bone and flesh and tooth underneath, his lips twisted into a wicked grin.

“Welcome to Coma City,” he grins, then vanishes in a burst of shadows. I slump against the wall, trying to get my breathing under control. I sit for a few moments, to make sure that he’s really gone, and to make sure that I’m really ok. I pick myself up, brushing off the dirt that clings to my pants as my heart rate starts to decrease, but not my paranoia. The adrenaline gradually stops pumping through my body, leaving me fatigued. I wipe the tears off my face, grab my groceries, and start to walk home. Without going into any dark alleys this time.

Once I’m back at my apartment, I make the wise decision and get the hell out of this city.

Reviews

[Jay_Bluefire]

Niiiiiiice =D
I think we should release this as sort of a prologue to the Coalition Files, so people can get an idea of what Coma City is like.

[Locke Redwyne (night sys)]

... Maybe
That's actually a really good idea, I never thought of that
kinda explains why all our characters live in the riverside area

[Locke Redwyne (night sys)]

did you...
did you give me a 93.5 rating?
like
first of all
was it that bad
second
.5??
pourquoi????

[Jay_Bluefire]

What I put in 100/100 for the rating thingy

[Locke Redwyne (night sys)]

odd...
it says 93.5 rating and this is only review...
huh weird
(it just says my overall rating needs to raise like 2% to get a patch/medal thing