Thermopoly Chpt. 2

The First Encounter: 72:00:001

Jaime Denton stepped from the news van, followed quickly by Natalie. Adrenaline was pumping through his veins, excitement and fear pushing him to higher levels. 2

      “Come on Natalie, move yourself! There’s no time to lose!” He whispered excitedly.3

      “I’m going as fast as I can!” She replied. She finished gathering her equipment and hurriedly followed after him. Their chase had started four blocks back, where they were originally covering a four car pileup; but the fight that he had seen between two strange looking men caught his eye. He had decided that it had the chance to be a better story then the accident, and there were already several other camera crews at the site.  It took him a few minutes to convince Natalie, but at last she had agreed. 4

       Now, looking down the ally in front of him, he wasn’t so sure it was as great an idea as he had originally thought. Trash cans that were overflowing with all kinds of disgusting things emitted a smell that was absolutely terrible, and vision was very limited; even with the flashlight Jaime carried. Overhead, black clouds covered the already dark sky, leaving no room for any light from above. 5

       Jaime gulped through a tight throat, but continued on. They arrived at a corner, and Jaime stopped at the wall. He heard heavy breathing from around the corner. His training kicked in instinctively, and he peeked carefully around the corner.  One of the men he had seen was leaning against a dumpster. The strange man had his head lowered and appeared to be hurt. Jaime could see a pool of blood collecting at the man’s feet. He signaled Natalie to turn on her camera, and waited for the red on light to come on. 6

       “This is Jaime Denton, WNN. We’re presently located in an unknown alley on the night of June 9th, 2005,” he whispered. I’ve tracked a rather strange man for several blocks, and now he seems to have stopped.” Natalie pointed the camera around the corner as Jaime stepped out to confront the man. “Excuse me sir! Are you all right?” 7

        The man stopped breathing hard. Slowly he started to turn his head.8

       “Sir?” Suddenly the man turned in a blizzard of black…somethings. Jaime got a glimpse of pale skin, red eyes, and fangs before the man smashed through a low window…Through the metal grade that covered it. Natalie screamed and Jaime ducked quickly. 9

       “W-what was that?!” Natalie asked in a terrified voice. 10

       “I don’t know. Don’t worry. Keep rolling. I don’t know what the heck that was, but its going to make us huge!” He said, putting his arm around her comfortingly. “Come on, lets see where it went.” He took Natalie’s hand and walked slowly toward the broken window. An inky blackness obscured their view, but Jaime squinted into the darkness, putting his head a few inches into the building. He saw nothing. 11

        With speed that amazed even Jaime, the man attacked. Jaime felt something in front of him. Suddenly two blood red eyes opened in front of him like flowers blossoming. He felt two hands grab his shirt. Sharp pain erupted from the spots where he was grabbed. An unearthly scream erupted from the unseen face of the creature that held him, and a stench worse then anything Jaime had ever imagined hit his face. He felt the hands pull him toward the window, then fling him back with terrific force. He felt his body sail through the air, and vaguely realized he was smashing into the brick wall behind him, making a deep dent. Somewhere, something in his mind told him to get up, fight back, remember what his drill instructors had always told him, protect Natalie; but everything was moving sluggishly, and soon saw the edges of his consciousness slipping down to cover his eyes. 12