Chapter 2:I Need Medicine
242 Words
Andrew kept one hand on the alley wall as he walked, steadying himself against the slow pulse of dizziness that came with every other step. The night air was sharp and bitter, the kind of cold that found gaps in your jacket and settled there. The streets were empty. Not quiet-empty — wrong-empty. No distant traffic. No drunk stumbling out of a bar. Just wind moving through dead streetlights.
He spotted the green cross sign half a block down, one letter flickering weakly. MedQuick Pharmacy. The door was unlocked, which bothered him more than it should have. A small bell announced his entry into the stale, fluorescent-lit interior.
He moved quickly through the aisles — gauze, antiseptic, medical tape. His police training took over where his throbbing head couldn't. He found everything within two minutes and lined it up on the counter, reaching into his pocket for his wallet.
That's when he heard it.
A wet, rhythmic gnawing coming from behind the door marked Staff Only at the back of the store. Low and persistent, like an animal working through something stubborn. He stood completely still, cop instincts overriding the pain in one cold rush.
Too heavy to be rats.
His hand drifted to his holster. He unclipped the safety strap slowly, deliberately, without making a sound.
The gnawing stopped.
For three seconds there was total silence.
Then something on the other side of that door inhaled — long, slow, and searching.
- Writer
