They say the alley buzzes with flesh-eating flies. What nonsense, Hugo thinks, as he jogs by the narrow passage that stinks like someone used it as a public privy. He looks around to see if there are homeless people or a passed out drunk lurking about, but the area seems deserted. Although the sky was clear when he started out his early morning jog, a cloud appears to hover above. He shrugs and sprints. A few blocks down, his curiosity gets the better of him, so he retraces his steps. Still jogging in place, he peers through the alley and sees nothing unusual. Just an alley, for heavens’ sake. What the hell . . .

A thousand buzzing chain saws roar in his head, as he runs through the tunnel-like stretch. The length of the alley looked like only a few feet from the outside, but now he  finds himself running like he’s on a race track. He feels palms touching him from both sides, turning into slaps, getting sharper by the second and starting to feel like snaps. His heart palpitates, and not from what seems like miles of running. When will this end? He can feel bits of his skin getting nipped. The dimness of whatever hell he’s in doesn’t allow him to see what’s biting him. Why did I go here?

Unbelievingly, he sees light ahead and with all the remaining strength he has, he races out toward the opening. At last, he’s out. He stumbles. Something doesn’t feel right. He wipes off the sweat from his eyes to look around. He sees bodies in different stages of decomposition tossed about. A gust of wind almost knocks him out as he looks up to see its origin. Hovering above is the biggest, fattest green-eyed fly he will never witness again in his life.

©2015 Karina Pinella