DESPERATION AND DARK ALLEYS
1969 Words
That night, Zoe found it difficult to sleep as her mind was restless. When she finally slept off, it got accompanied by a dream she didn't wish to have.
---
Dream Sequence:
The morning sun rays was so bright that it reflected into the studio. Zoe stood at an easel, holding a brush in her hand and canvases surrounded her. Alex sat close by, shirtless and grinning lazily.
"You know, I'm no doubt your favourite model" he teased.
She looked at him, smiling. "You’re barely top three."
He stood up and started walking round the room. He got to her, snatched the brush from her hand. She burst out laughing, surprised, but before she could say anything else, he carried her up to the velvet chaise, gently dropping her.
Her laugh faded into a nervous grin "What if someone walks in and sees us?" she whispered, aleady breathing fast.
"Who cares?," he softly said, his lips finding hers
Zoe began moaning softly in her sleep.
---
Reality:
She speedily sprang up, breathing hard. Her sheets stung around her legs, already filled with sweat.
"Thank God, It was just a dream," she whispered. "There's nothing to worry about "
But there was, and if she wasn't careful, she'd end up right back where she'd end up exactly where she had pulled herself from.
She sat up and brought out her laptop. The list was endless, from bills to rent to Casey's school supplies. Job listings blurred on the screen until something caught her eye:
GALLERY DIRECTOR – GETAZARY GALLERY, BROOKLYN
Salary: $600,000 + Bonuses per annum.
Zoe got more interested. "No way, Getazary?" It was one of the top art alleries in the city. She clicked the link and scanned the qualifications. Bachelor’s in Fine Arts – check. Curatorial experience – check. Passion and vision – hell yes.
With trembling fingers, she applied. What was there to lose?
Three days later, the phone rang.
"Zoey Lopez?" a polished voice asked.
"Yes?"
"This is Fiona from Getazary Gallery. We’ve reviewed your application and portfolio, and we’d like to offer you the position of the gallery Director."
Zoe stared at the phone speechless. "You mean... an interview?"
"No, Ms. Lopez. It's an offer, full-time. You would be Starting Monday."
Zoe blinked rapidly. "You want me? Why?"
"You have something unique. We’re excited to see where you take us."
She accepted before the woman could change her mind; and the moment she hung up on the call, she let out a loud scream, running round the room, dancing like a maniac and dancing to herself.
For the first time in what felt like forever, it actually seemed like things were actually falling into place.
---
But the joy was cut short almost immediately.
Few hours later, there was a loud knock at her front door. Zoe rushed to open it only to find Lucas, gasping for breath, panicking.
"Lucas? What’s wrong? Where’s Casey?"
He grabbed the doorframe for support. "I've searched everywhere, but he’s nowhere to be found."
Zoe’s heart stopped. "What do you mean gone?"
"They were on break during practice. When they came back, Casey wasn’t there. I searched everywhere. He’s not in the field, nor in the locker room, I don't know where else he can be."
Zoe stumbled back, she was running mad already. Then a familiar voice shouted from the stairs, it was Tommy, a teammate of Casey’s, skidded into view.
"Coach! Coach Lucas! Mikey saw something, he said two big guys in black jackets grabbed Casey and pulled him into that alley by the old hardware store!"
Zoe’s blood went ice cold. The world narrowed to a pinpoint.
Lucas didn’t wait. "Let’s go!"
Zoe followed, her legs barely functioning. Her son was missing, Someone had taken him.
And in the back of her mind, she already knew who had planned it,
It was Alexander Blackwood,
Or maybe, omeone even more dangerous.
---
Zoe stood still for a moment, stunned. She saw a group of men in black jackets dragging Lucas, and all she could hear was Alex's father's warning to her "Leave now before you get hurt." .
They ran through the wet Brooklyn streets, their shoes hitting hard on the tiled road, water splashing up with every step as the rain kept pouring, soaking them all.
Darkness has already covered the whole place when they got to the alley behind the old hardware store. The place had a scent of rust and old garbage, with graffiti covering the brick walls and rainwater gushing from the gutters above. Lucas held up his phone for light, with his hands shaking , he called out with a rough and a tight voice.
“Casey! Casey, answer me!”
Zoe ran past him with her shoes sliding on the wet concrete. “Baby!” Her voice broke. “Casey, it’s Mommy! Please!”
There was no response. All that could be heard was the rain drops and the wind.
---
SCENE SHIFT: ABANDONED WAREHOUSE – UPPER FLOOR
Casey’s head pounded as the heavy door slammed behind him. The place was very big and dark. His hands were tied, his mouth taped and his drenched clothes stuck to his body. He was freezing. Two huge men carelessly dragged him through the floors; and then he saw her.
Sabrina Hawthorne stood calmly in the middle of the room. She turned and thought she had been expecting him all these while. The click of her heels echoed in the room as she walked towards him.
“Well, well, look who we have here” she said in a very cool voice staring at him like a cat watching a cornered mouse.
One of the goons muttered something under his breath. Sabrina ignored it, walking a slow circle around Casey as the men dumped him unceremoniously onto the floor.
"Is this really necessary?" one of them grumbled. "He’s just a kid."
Sabrina stopped. Her eyes were hard as obsidian. "Do I look like I need your moral opinion?" she said sharply. "Your job was to get him. You’ve done that, now shut up."
Casey tried to talk, but he couldn't, all that came out was a weak cry through the gag. His wrists burned from the rope. The warehouse smelled like mold and danger. He watched Sabrina closely, his heartbeat ran faster.
She knelt down slowly, bringing herself to eye level with him. “I’m not going to hurt you, sweetheart,” she said with a voice full of fake warmth. “I just need your mother to understand who’s in charge. She’s being... stubborn, Staying in New York, acting like she belongs to our world.”
Her voice sharpened, bitter. “She’s playing with fire.”
She stood and turned to her men. “Watch him, don’t let anyone in. I’ll be upstairs coordinating.” She finished with the last of her drink she walked in with and let the flask fall on the ground with a metallic sound.
The rain beat on the warehouse as though it was trying to have it's way inside.
But inside Casey, something was changing.
His skin prickled. His chest rose and fell with a sharp, unnatural rhythm. The fear wasn’t just in his chest anymore,it was spreading, turning, something unpredictable,
His eyes flared open, not like a human. They turned gold, just like a molten sunlight, as though a wild creature had opened its eyes.
One of the men recoiled. “What the...?”
Casey was still bound, still gagged, but a low and primal sound emerged from him. It emerged to a deep growl that was impossible for a child to make.
Sabrina had turned just in time to see it. Her expression froze. She stepped back, visibly shaken. “Oh my god.”
His eyes glowed with power when the storm lit up the room with a heavy lightening. He was struggling to breathe as his chest breathed faster.
Sabrina’s lips parted. “Is he... Is he Alexander’s?” she whispered, horrified.
Then she realised that,
He isn’t just Alex’s son but also a werewolf.
Then she screamed. “Get out! NOW! Leave him...go, go, GO!”
The men didn’t hesitate. The growl had built into something vibrating the walls, like a storm made of fury and instinct. Right behind the was Sabrina, stumbling on the stairs in her panic.
Casey was left alone, still bound and shaking, but not afraid anymore.
---
BACK IN THE ALLEY
“Casey!” Zoe sobbed, running toward the tiny form curled up in the corner of the alley. He was soaked, shaking, but still alive. Her hands shook as she pulled him into her arms, inspecting him and kissing his cold cheeks.
He tightly hugged her, crying. “They took me...but they've left. The lady was looking scary, but they were scared of me too, but I don’t know why.”
Lucas dropped beside them, brushing Casey’s hair off his forehead, his voice low and calming. “You’re okay now, buddy. You’re okay.”
Zoe’s mind reeled. What had made them leave? Why dump him back here, untouched? Unless...unless something had scared them off, something in Casey.
The memory from years ago—the golden glow in his eyes when he was scared shone again. She’d written it off back then.
She pulled him close, her heart pounding. "Baby, don't ever scare me like that again"
Casey looked up at her, she was still in tears. “Mom… Is that man in New York my dad?”
Zoe froze.
She swallowed hard. This lie had gone far enough.
“Yes,” she said quietly. “He is.”
Casey looked down, playing with the hem of his damp shirt. “Is he bad?”
Zoe hesitated. “No, He’s... complicated, and he has a lot of power. But you’re not bad and neither is he. You’re just... different.”
“Like the gold eyes?”
Zoe blinked. “What?”
“I saw them in a reflection in the warehouse, They glowed but I don’t know why.”
She brushed his hair back again, her heart still pounding. “It’s okay, We’ll figure it out together.”
---
LATER THAT NIGHT
Zoe continued to stare at the ceiling as Casey slept beside her. Her mind refused to stop spiraling. The kidnapping, the warehouse, the glowing eyes, the job offer, al of it connected. She could feel the invisible threads from Sabrina, Alex, Mr Blackwood, and if she stayed in New York, would Casey even be safe?
Her phone buzzed. It was an email.
Subject: WELCOME TO GETAZARY GALLERY TO
It was her job offer. The one with the impossible salary. It's already been processed and finalized.
Her gut twisted.
Was this really a job she earned or something arranged behind the scenes?
---
SCENE SHIFT: BLACKWOOD INDUSTRIES
Rain hammered against the windows of Alexander Blackwood’s penthouse office. The city was a sheet of steel and glass beneath him. Inside, the room was silent, except for the clink of ice in his glass and the low voice of Mason, his right hand.
“It’s done,” Mason said. “The gallery has hired her. She starts next week.”
Alex didn’t move at first, Just stared out at the city.
“She took the bait, then,” he said eventually. It wasn't a question, but a confirmation.
Mason nodded. “You want me to keep tabs on her?”
Alex finally turned. His face was unreadable, but his storm-grey eyes (those same eyes that lived in Casey’s face) were harder than stone.
“Watch everything, especially the boy.”
“And Lucas Anderson?”
Alex’s expression darkened further. “Find out who the hell he is and why Zoe let him get so close to my son.”
- Writer
