On one hand, it’s the stupidest idea ever. No doubt about that, especially considering the circumstances that lead here. On the other hand, his curiosity is unwavering. What does the symbol mean? Why is there an arrow there? He could easily be walking into some cult activity, but the likelihood of that happening was slim to none, right? Besides, isn’t that what he was supposed to be doing? And even if there’s something dangerous waiting for him, he could deal with it pretty easily. He won’t forget how he tore apart those men back at the ritual. The hunger for answers wins out against his common sense and he steps into the alley.

After hopping the chain-linked fence, he finds himself behind all the buildings and immediately spots another strange symbol, followed by another arrow. Whoever drew these symbols must’ve drawn them to leave some sort of crumb trail to find. This symbol was simply a pentacle, with nothing much else to note. He takes another picture and puts the photo away. The trash and numerous metal staircases attached to the backs of the buildings make the alleyway feel more cramped than it actually is, putting Kyle slightly on edge. If something bad were to happen, he wouldn’t have a clear escape. He tenses up a bit but shakes the idea off. It’s fine, he’ll be cautious just in case. Kyle heads in the direction of the next arrow, still unable to shake the feeling of something watching him.

Yet another drawing. It’s just a plain triangle... the person behind all these drawings must have been running out of time, as the next arrow is hastily scribbled too. Is this some kind of joke? Maybe some rowdy teens were doing some vandalism and he’s stupidly fallen for it. Even so, he already started, so he might as well get a picture of this one. The arrow is pointed in the same direction as the last one, presumably leading him to the end of the passage. He’s both eager and worried to get moving again. Eager to find out where all the symbols have been pointing to, worried that his arrival will be met with something unpleasant. He continues onwards, finally reaching a wall. Kyle is stunned. Four words are written on the wall in big capital letters, surrounded by a myriad of unfamiliar symbols. The marker is discarded on the floor, still slowly rolling in a small circle.

‘YOU SHOULD BE DEAD’

Is that a threat? Specifically to him? It wouldn’t make any sense if it was just any random person, so considering the circumstances… Kyle turns around and starts bolting out of the alley. The faster he gets out, the better. He’s not going to be just some sitting duck or the stupid side character in a horror movie that opens the door for the killer. Sure, coming here in the first place and going further was dumb, but at least he’s not stupid enough to stick around any longer. He takes out the walkie-talkie.

“I-Is anyone there? I think I-” The walkie-talkie flies out of his hand and clatters onto the ground, buzzing with electricity. A bullet nestled right into it. He spins around to find who shot the walkie-talkie out of his hand. A person wearing a hood stands behind him, holding a pistol. Ah, shit. Time to pick up the pace. He continues running, but now in a zigzag pattern as the person starts running after him. Several bullets flash past him and hit the walls as he sprints faster. Too bad the alley is so narrow, at this rate he’ll get shot. He notices a large metal trash bin up ahead. Maybe he can juke out his pursuer if he hides behind that! With a quick dash behind the bin, the person runs past him for a moment, but it doesn’t take long for them to look back.

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“Ahah. Nice try, but I can’t be fooled that easily.” They say. Immediately, they point their pistol at the trash bin and shoot. He jumps out of the way and the bin is pierced. It starts leaking some sort of dark yellowish fluid and suddenly combusts. It is a literal dumpster fire, with the trash on the ground burning too, cutting off his way of escape. “Well, well, well… seems like we meet again. I know what you did to them. Don’t think you can just walk away like nothing happened, demon.” He’s sandwiched, with them between his escape and the fire raging behind. The person walks menacingly towards him, pointing the gun at his face. Kyle holds his breath. “See you in hell.”

Kachink.

The pistol doesn’t fire.

“... fuck… come on… not now…” They mumble as they shake the pistol, trying to get it to work. The cartridge slides out and pathetically lands on the floor. Now’s his chance. He throws a punch at their head and scrambles to get upright. They stumble back and the hood falls, revealing her face. He doesn’t recognise this person at all, but she seems to know him.

“Who are you?!” He raises his fists and gets ready for another hit. She puts her hand on her face to soothe the pain, but then a sly grin spreads on her face.

“Heh, didn’t you see me? Oh, who am I kidding, I’m way too good at my job for that,” she sneers while flipping her hair. “Gotcha with the metal pipe, remember? Or did I hit your peanut-sized brain too hard and you forgot?”

… This asshole. He tries to hit her again, but she moves out of the way and returns a strike. He takes a step back and clutches his chest. She throws the empty pistol into the fire and cracks her knuckles. Her grin grows wider.

“This’ll be easy.” She launches herself forward and collides with him. The air is knocked out of him, but he keeps his composure. He’s a lot bigger than her, so he shouldn’t be worried about her overpowering him. With a slam, he throws her off him into the wall behind them. She collapses onto the ground from the impact but quickly gets up again. She runs back at Kyle, her fist about to make contact with his side. He grabs her arm just before that and twists it away. She hisses in pain but suddenly dramatically spins around to regain the upper hand. Using her free arm as momentum, she swings Kyle around. He trips from the unexpected move and she takes advantage of his imbalance.

“I’ve been craving a barbeque,” She remarks as she violently shoves him into the dumpster fire.