Clouds loomed overhead, he had checked the chance of rain this morning and had seen that this was likely, but he had decided to risk it. He had wanted to make a quick run to the shops before early afternoon so that he could get his favorite coffee brand. The storm today seemed to be more aggressive than anyone had anticipated which was causing quite the blockage on the roads as for some reason. people forgot how to drive when it was raining. The sky was black and showed no signs of calming down soon, so he tried to hurry along.
The chatter of the people surrounding him was blocked out by the screaming alarms from the ambulance rushing past.
"Someone must have crashed." he thought to himself as he pulled the hood of his jumper closer over his head to block the rain.
buildings blurred by as he sped into a jog, out of the corner of his eyes he saw the lights of the multiple billboards dotted around the busy street, it all seemed to try and reach to him, as though the billboard was right next to him. Shaking his head to get the droplets off of his face he continued down until he came to an intersection.
waiting for the light he decided to try and see if there was any way undercover he could run through to avoid getting too wet. There was a side alley next to the hotel on the corner that he decided would be worth running through, it would more than likely save him around 3 minutes of being in the rain which he would prefer over getting sick.
With the light shifting green and the familiar beeping sound of the sidewalk telling him to pass he quickly ran to the other curb trying not to slip as he did so. working his way through the small crowd of people standing under the tarp stitched to the side of the building he finally got to the side alley.
the rain had died down immensely now that he had some cover, so he decided to slow down. the alley was dark in a way that made him uncomfortable, as if the shadows where deeper than they were supposed to be. this sent a tingle down his neck as he begrudgingly moved forward trying to calm his nerves.
as he walked through the alley, he heard a sudden rustling behind him. quickly turning around adrenaline spiking he looked over to where the sound had come from.
a small mouse had run out from behind on of the bins lined up next to the wall of the hotel, it looked wet and bothered as it ran down the alley trying to find somewhere dry to rest.
"I need to calm down" he thought to himself as he slowly turned back around.
The feeling of cold steel pressed against his neck stunned him from his thoughts as he heard a gruff voice.
"Money jewelry now!" he heard from behind a dark colored mask the large man was wearing.
"What, okay okay, I don't have much but take it, please don't kill me" he said as he shakingly reached to his pocket to grab his wallet.
"Don't be loud kid just shut your mouth and do as I say, no one needs to be hurt just be smart" the man said as he snatched the wallet out of his hand.
The feeling of cold steel held against his throat was the only thing keeping him standing, he tried to stand as still as he could to avoid sudden movements that could cause the blade to cut, he felt the feeling of his heart pounding through his chest as he tried to remain calm, failing. He hadn't even had time to react before the man snatched his wallet. what should he do? he needed that wallet; without it he was going to starve until his next paycheck.
His mind suddenly went to the thought of his job, he worked a dead-end job at an accounting firm, he spent his days slaving behind a computer. He couldn't think of a single thing he liked about that job, after high school he had wanted to study history and maybe teach it, he wanted to be so much and yet after getting fired from his part time job he ran out of money and became an intern at an accounting firm near his house.
after not having enough time in the day to study and keep paying his bills he had reluctantly decided to drop out of university to stay afloat, that was his biggest regret, he knew he should have stayed in school and done what he had dreamed of.
"Hey kid! stop daydreaming and listen to me" the man said angrily, knocking him out of his thoughts.
"Why am I thinking about work right now?" he thought as his eyes snapped wide remembering what was happening.
"You are going to wait 3 minutes before calling for help otherwise I will kill you right now, do you understand?" the man said as he grabbed him by the cuff of his shirt threateningly
He swallowed as hard as he was daring as to avoid getting cut by the knife as he tried to speak.
"o..okay I swear I wont" he squeaked out as he tried to memorize any features about the man.
He couldn't see much past the mask the man was wearing but he could see brown eyes staring threateningly at him as he looked the man over. As he was looking into the man's eyes, he saw the reflection of a group of people walking behind him. a sudden rush jumped into his chest as he felt a wave of relief wash over him.
the man seemed to notice the on comers as his brows furrowed into a look of rage. the man had let go of his grasp on his neck and was starting to make a run for it. He spun around to see his saviors as they came closer, he felt a wave of relief wash over him as he tried to process what had just happened to him.
the two heroes finally made it to him as they shouted at the thief with such a look of worry on their faces. this look quickly turned into horror as one of the men rushed to grab him.
"Why are you guys so worried for you saved me?" he thought as his legs began to buckle underneath him. he had assumed that the adrenaline had finally shut off and his body was starting to go into shock.
"Someone call an ambulance!" the man trying to hold him up shouted.
"An ambulance, what for? I'm okay thanks to you guys" he tried to say as he realized the sound wouldn't come from his throat, the taste of metal quickly flooding his mouth as he tried to cough.
looking down he saw a torrent of blood rushing out of somewhere on his neck. just moving his head had made blood squirt out in large clumps. his hands were red, a sickly red that made his body run cold. the feeling of warmth from his hands and the sudden scream of pain in his head informing him this was real.
A deep gash had been cut into his neck as the man had turned away to flee.
Blood. His blood.
The pavements he was laying on was a strange shade of red as the puddles in the alleyway mixed with his blood creating large pools of a nearly pinkish liquid. his vision was starting to turn white as he looked up at the man who "saved" him. a deep sense of pity fell over him, this man was going to have to carry this with him for the rest of his days, all because he decided to walk down this alley.
he tried to smile up at the man as his vision turned fully black, but right before all went dark a strange grey color appeared ahead of him
Welcome challenger to the coliseum of death. As you have qualified to enter on the brink of death you have gained a bonus attribute. Welcome to the graveyard of mortal's, challenger. May your fights be bloody and your death beslow.