9:37 am.
Underneath one of New York's many bridges. A cop car pulls up and parks near one of the support structures.
Sophia steps out of the passenger side and steps onto the dirt road that leads all the way back and merges with the main road.
A male officer steps out of the driver side door and takes a look around before slamming the door shut. "I knew it. It's just another shithole."
His cocky demeanor frightens some of the hobos that call this place home. They don't usually see cops down here, and some of them drugs they'd rather not have confiscated.
"At least we're not on the quadruple murder case anymore. Murder scenes make my stomach upset."
Sophia waves away his comment. She was one of the first officers on site. She had to see the bodies, but he didn't. "Do you think the tip we got is accurate?"
"Hard to say." The male officer says as he walks towards the sewer drain. "It won't hurt to look."
He takes his flashlight out and shines it down the dark tunnels. "Remind me to ask for a raise when we're done."
"What? Are you scared?" Sophia teases him, knowing that he doesn't like to be made fun of.
"No. I just get claustrophobic." The cop motions for her to go in. "Ladies first."
Sophia takes a sigh. "Fuck." She takes out her flashlights and heads inside. "You really are useless, aren't you?"
The smell of rotting flesh hits their nose. It's almost enough to make them throw up.
"Tim, breathe through your mouth." Sophia tells the cop when he starts gagging.
Tim takes a second to make sure he doesn't puke. He takes a few deep breaths to make sure he's okay. "I hate sewers."
"We have to keep going. Several people say that they've heard screams."
"Probably just some kids messing around down here."
Sophia doesn't think that's the case. She can sense that something is off. Something sinister lurks in the shadows. "Keep your guard up."
"How is the smell not getting to you?" Tim says as he takes a position next to her. "I'm not going that far in. You can easily get lost in these tunnels."
"We won't get lost." Sophia points her flashlight on the corner of a wall. There's a spray painted arrow pointing towards the exit. "Like I said, we won't get lost. " She says with a smile and continues forward.
"We'll, aren't you the survival expert."
After walking down a few passages, static comes over their radios. Tim tries adjusting his radio to get a better signal. "The tunnels are blocking the radio waves. We need to head back."
"Just a little further. The smell is getting stronger."
"Oh, my God." Tim says out of frustration. The further they go, the more anxious he gets. "Sophia. I'm going to head back. My claustrophobia is kicking in."
"Fine." She doesn't want to argue with him.
After a few more twists and turns, Sophia walks into a large cavern that acts like a central hub for all of the converging pipes. It's quiet except for the occasional water droplets falling off the pipes into small puddles.
She has to cover her mouth and nose. The smell here is far worse. She knows it might be the decaying corpse of a dead animal, but something deep inside her tells her otherwise. An inkling in the back of her mind tells her that it could be a dead person.
She needs to know for sure. The homicide that happened three days ago has everyone on high alert for a serial killer. She draws her pistol just in case.
....
10:09 am.
Tim tries to make his way towards the exit, but he soon finds himself lost. He had mistakenly forgotten to check two of the turns he made for arrows that point him in the right direction.
"Fuck. I knew this would happen." Tim searchers for the arrows, knowing that it's his only way of getting out of this filthy place. "SOPHIA!" He yells, hoping that she can hear him.
His voice carries throughout the tunnels. However, even if Sophia was able to hear him. She wouldn't be able to track down the location of the sound. And that's if she dared to venture off course.
"SOPHIA!" He yells louder. He starts to panic. The walls feel like their closing in on him. He keeps looking behind him, feeling as if something or someone is watching in the shadows.
He pulls his gun out, ready to shoot at a moments notice. "SOPHIA!" He yells again, hoping to get a response this time.
He heart stops when he hears something crawling around the corner of the tunnel. He walks towards it slowly, mad at the fact his flashlight gives away his position. "Sophia, is that you?" He whispers.
The noise stops as he gets closer to the corner. His hands are shaking. His legs don't want to move forward, but he pushes on ahead anyway. 'Please be a rat.'
He turns around the corner and aims his gun down the tunnel. There's nothing. He takes a sigh of relief and relaxes by pointing his gun down. "This place is going to give me nightmares."
He is about to continue onward, but them he hears the noise again. This time, it's coming from behind him. He's too afraid to turn around. A shroud of darkness closes around him, gripping his body tight. Unable to move.
Every fiber in his being wants him to stand still. Pretending to play dead. Telling him that he'll be safe if he doesn't look at it.
He feels like he's drawing in an endless ocean of despair. Sinking deeper and deeper until the light can no longer reach him.
Eventually, he manages to force his body to move forward despite feeling that someone is staring at him. Hostile.
He can't take it anymore. He needs to know what's behind him. But if he looks, he's afraid that he would die from fear when he sees it.
He feels a hand on his shoulder. He looks down at it, his heart sinks into his chest when he sees the fur covered hand with claws. It tightens its grip, sinking its claws deep into his shoulder. He flinches in pain, his body still refusing to move.
"I love the smell of fear." He hears it whisper in his ear. Its hands quickly grab each side of his head and twists it, breaking Tim's neck. Daren twists harder while pulling at the same time. The skin of his neck starts stretching and ripping until his head separates from his body.
Daren throws the man's head onto the ground in disgust. How dare they trespass onto his territory. The proper punishment for such a crime is death.
Daren smells another scent of a human. Female. This could be the best opportunity for him to recruit someone into his pack. He doesn't have to turn her. He needs someone on the outside to run things for him. Then again, she could become a part of the herem he's been dreaming of.
He only gets one shot at this. He has to plan accordingly. Fear is always a good motivator, although he will have to eventually gain her trust.
'Wait. What if she isn't my type?' There's only one way to find out. He needs to be confident in his approach, something that he's had trouble with in the past.
'I'm not the fragile human that I used to be.' He tries to give himself confidence. 'I'm a monster that should be feared. A monster that should be worshipped.'
Daren shakes his head, trying to get these narcissistic thoughts out of his head. He has no idea where they are coming from. He never had these thoughts as a human. Maybe his new wolf nature is messing with his thought process?