I hobbled down the dark, trash littered alley, barely managing to take each step. Every bone and every muscle in my body screamed at me in a painful language that was both sharp and throbing. I was completely amazed that my will was still strong enough to keep me upright, let alone moving forward. Shouts and insults echoed off of the dingy brick walls that pressed in around me. Beggars, theives, murderers, and every sort of terrible person infested every foot of this shadowy, shifty path. None of that bothered me, after so many years, you can get used to just about anything. 

The first time I stepped foot in this dark and dreary alleyway was a little over five years ago. I was only fourteen years old at the time and every noise, every slight movement made me jump and made my skin crawl. My eyes darted back and forth and I wanted to turn around and run away, but I couldn’t, it was a trip I had to make. I also remember my reasons for going down this path, Jacob.

My best friend since I was six years old; Jacob had always been rash. I used to consider him brave and heroric, but now I look back on it and all I can see is ignorance and overconfidence. Though even to this day, I admire him, he always went after what he wanted and his determination kept him going no matter what. Jacob and I used to pass by this alley every day on the way back from school. At the time we thought it was just like any other dark, deserted corridor in this city, but we were soon proven wrong. When we were twelve, a man in his mid thirties, dressed in an Armani suit, walked past us with great strides and turned down the alley. We looked at each other with shock and concern, perhaps the man didn’t realize what he had just done, it was extremely dangerous to go off of the main roads, especially dressed like that. 

We peered into the alley from the main street and they slowly took a few steps in. The man was gone and the alley was too dark and far too dangerous for us to continue, but Jacob swore that there had to be something special about that alley and he was determined to find out what it was. The next year, when we were thirteen years old, Jacob disappeared. Everyone else assumed that he had been murdered or abducted, but I knew the truth. I knew that he had found something in that dark, ominous off street. I was extraordinarily scared, but I could not let Jacob go, so I swore to myself that I would find him and I would in turn find out what secrets the alley held.