WARNING: Foul language, violence etc ahead. Just to set up the realism.
Running. Panting. Aching calves and sore throats.
Blaring police sirens echoed in the streets as a scraggly group raced down the rough sidewalks of a neighborhood in San Fransisco. The chilling sea air roared in the group's ears, and it cooled the beads of sweat dripping down their faces. Full tattered pillowcases dangled in their clammy fists. The former quiet town stood in the dark with only the rusty street lamps and the red and blue flashes illuminating the night.
"Why the hell did you park the car so far away?!" A rangy, scrawny young woman with mangy red hair hollered.
"There was no parking!" replied a heavy breathing, chunky younger boy. "There was a party goin' on at that pizzeria across the street!"
"I told you to stay in the damn car", muttered the skinny red head. "Your dumbass had to come with us."
"Hey, I wanted to do to something for once!" refuted the chunky, young, dark haired teen.
"Justin, your fatass would've been more helpful if you did what I told you."
Justin's face reddened as his dark, coal eyes hardened. "You guys do all of the action."
"Well you did something", the older girl mumbled. She then gestured her hand to the cops drawing nearer and nearer.
"ARE YOU FUCKING HAPPY NOW, YOU IDIOT?!" she yelled.
"You idiots need to zip it", a girl with short, dark, gelled hair with a blond streak snapped. "Just keep running and don't let them see your face."
"Well, they're going to see our faces anyway, aren't they?" the taller one exclaimed. "Someone had to go and park the damn truck so far away!"
"You know what, Vanessa", growled Justin. "I'm really getting tired of your-"
"Oh my god, seriously, shut up!" the other girl grunted. "The car wouldn't even work anyway. Look how close they are!"
The police squad was almost at their heels and officers were already yelling for them to halt.
"Casey's right", the youngest boy with jet black hair agreed. "We wouldn't even get time to start the car." He lowered his head. "But I think think I can help..."
They all glanced at the timid, pale-skinned boy, and faced their path once again.
"The ghost finally speaks", Vanessa muttered.
The buildings began to grow more distant as the gang ran down the steep path. The fishy air became stronger, and the air grew more colder.
"Alright", Vanessa started. "There are some allies down there that we might be able to use. They're pretty dark too."
"Can't he just do it now?" Justin whined.
"Nu-uh", Vanessa answered. "There's no time. There are many turns down there that the cops can't get to. If we do it now, they'll know what he is, and we can't have that. Charlie..."
She peered over her shoulder, staring at Charlie's startled, obsidian eyes. The edges of Vanessa's mouth twitched and crept across her face, baring her snake-like grin.
"Charlie's our weapon", she snarled.
Charlie looked back into the older teen's empty eyes, yet furrowed his eyebrows and nodded. Vanessa turned his head and saw a possible path.
"Aight. Turn right now."
The group did as they were commanded, and the tires screamed as the police cars swerved. The passage was too narrow for the vehicles to enter, so the officers jumped out of their automobiles and dashed after the kids.
The group kept racing down the dark pathway. "Now? " Justin asked.
"No. Keep moving!"
They swerved through turns and tight narrow dirty paths with crusty, battered brick walls looming over them. They came at a halt when what was in front of them was a rusty iron fence and a few grimy garbage bins.
Vanessa cursed under her breath and ran her fingers through her greasy hair. Justin held his nose at the horrid smell, as Casey examined the run down fence. There wasn't enough space to climb the fence itself, for there were dumpsters on each side of it.
Dumpsters...Casey thought. Casey tied the bag on one of the belt straps of her pants. She bit her lip and clenched her hands around one greasy edge of the dumpster. She could feel her last meal bubbling inside her and wanting to escape out of her mouth just at the sight at what was in the trash itself. She climbed up and placed one foot on the slimy edge that faced the other giant trash can. She quickly swung her foot on the edge that was closest to the fence, and she grabbed the rough top of the gate and threw herself over. She felt a sharp sting as she landed on her feet.
Her friends eyed her every move as footsteps grew nearer and nearer.
"Guys, c'mon!" she urged.
"Get up there, Jus", Vanessa hissed as she shoves Justin's shoulder. The fat boy scowled as he tried to repeat Casey's moves, and he did so clumsily. He jumped over and landed on his side, and yelped as a searing pain crept across his forearm to his hand.
"AH FUCK!" He hollered. "MY ARM!"
"We don't have time for this!" Casey yelled, as she grabbed Justin to the side as they waited for the others to jump across. The circular lights from around the corner appeared on the walls as the steps grew louder and faster. Vanessa's heart rammed against her chest and a hundred thoughts were swimming in her head. She panicked and hurriedly jumped across the dumpster and over the fence. Her friends looked at her with large eyes.
"Where's Charlie?" Justin whimpered when holding on to his arm.
Vanessa felt her hands tremble at those words as she quickly spun around to see if he was still there.
"Hey Kid?!" she cried.
"I'm right here."
They all spun around to see the young hooded boy ahead of them. Vanessa let out a soft chuckle of relief and the rest looked at him with awe.
"THERE THEY ARE!" The officers pointed their lights at the kids.
"Go, go, go!" Casey helped Justin up as they all hurried down the large brick hall.
Left, right, right, forward...
The allies was like a huge maze, with rodents squeaking and scampering off to the sides, and putrid odors burning their nostrils.
"He can't send something to distract them?" Casey panted.
"No!" Vanessa yelled. "They can't know."
Then they came to a stop. The end of the ally. A large crusted wall stood in front of them. There were no windows or doors on the sides that they could reach to. They were stuck.
"Dammit!" Casey growled.
"Hey", Vanessa said softly as she walked over to Charlie. "We need you to do your thing."
The young boy pursed his lips and gulped.
"I-I'll try", he stammered.
"'Try?'" Casey marched to Charlie. "You don't get to 'try'. You do it."
She switched out her blade that glowed in the moonlight and held it at his face. Charlie stepped back as he eyed the knife.
"If you don't get us out of here-" she snarled.
Vanessa threw Casey's arm away and shoved her off to the side.
"Get off of 'em", she growled. She placed her hands on Charlie's shoulders and looked him straight in the eyes.
"You can get is out of here, right?" she said.
Charlie was shaken, but he nodded and shut his eyes tight. Vanessa backed away as Charlie held out his hands in front of him. Soft, dark particles of sand curled around his fingers and his palms. The sand was as dark as midnight, and it crept from beneath him and began to wrap its tentacle like arms around the legs of the gang. Casey gasped and Justin's eyes grew to the size of baseballs, but Vanessa knew what was happening and stayed put.
The lamps in the ally flickered as the sand crawled on the walls, devouring any visible light. The flashlights appeared again, and the crew could hear their voices grew louder.
"Hurry up, kid!" Vanessa exclaimed.
Charlie's eyelids pulled apart, revealing glowing golden irises with scleras as dark as the sand that was engulfing the area. The dust began to stir like a blizzard, and his appearance began to fade.
Like a ghost.
The others began to notice that they too were also starting to disappear. The cloud of black sand began to grow darker and was practically swallowing them whole. Their breathing became shaken, as their environment began to fade. They all stared at the boy with menacing, glowing eyes, like those of a tiger who is creeping in the dark forest, ready to feed on its prey. They felt like trapped prey. The group's hearts were pounding as they fell into the darkness.
Then Charlie clenched his hands, and everything started to swirl.
The cops were sprinting down the ally and they swerved around the corner to the dead end. Except something wasn't right. The lights were back on and everything seemed normal. Their flashlights searched the area, but nothing seemed to be out of place. They were already bewildered by the fact the group just suddenly disappeared. That was until dark flakes began to drift from the sky.
The confused officers just assumed these were ashes, but they caught no sent of flames. Only the salty sea smell and the litter on the ground. The police were baffled and searched the area again and again.
The group was gone.
S