Half-Soul

Chapter 2: Depraved Art

4:32 P.M. Tuesday, June 6th, 2015

Chicago, Illinois

What are the chances of him showing up here? Honestly?

And just to make this even more hopeless, how much do you wanna bet Lu that there's a cop or cops here in case Joseph decides to pay a visit?

Lulu was in one of the worst moods she'd been in in quite a while. To say she was soaked was an understatement, the woman felt like she was now made of water as her umbrella flopped uselessly in the wind. The poor thing had been torn apart after about an hour, and Lulu was fairly certain her coat and clothes were completely ruined by the sheer amount of rain that had fallen on her.

Grand Crossing..... 7415 Kimbark...... Just focus on getting there. Once you're inside you'll be happy Gilmore.

Just sleep in the fucking lobby tonight so you don't have to walk in the pitch black dark, AND THE RAIN.

She looked around the area, looking for building numbers and landmarks as her eyes fell on a tan colored apartment complex. Overflowing trash cans, graffiti, and the sight of several cars with towing stickers told her everything she needed to know about the area, Lulu slipping a hand inside her coat to grip her pistol before she pushed open the iron gate leading into the complex.

Not here to deal with anything except spooky stuff. Please God let me only have to deal with....

.... God there's just no winning today is there?

For the first time in hours, Lulu had a dry spell as she swung out her hair and sleeves, noticing a directory on the wall. The entryway she was in was dimly lit, a single lightbulb barely providing visibility as lightning flashed in the distance, accompanied by the sound of booming thunder. Lulu paid it no mind though, just wringing out her clothing and looking at the directory for the apartment number.

Apartment 923.....923.....9...2......3.......

A faint buzzing noise in her pocket snapped her out of her focus, Lulu dreading it until she realized it was just her phone. She pulled it out quickly, the Caller ID saying it was from her landlord Juan. She flipped it open immediately, holding it to her ear with a smile.

"Hola Juan. Is something wrong? Or just checking up on me?" Lulu asked cheerfully to hide her irritation. Her facade came apart rather quickly however, as a heavy breathing sound came out of the other end, Lulu blinking and noticing that the light above her was flickering erratically, the hairs on the back of her neck stiffening while her heart stopped again.

"Who is this? You're not Juan." Lulu said as boldly as she could, knowing that whatever she was talking to now, it wasn't friendly. The breathing continued however, Lulu breathing faster and glancing around, she wouldn't have her back turned for longer than a second she thought to herself. She wouldn't let anything catch her by surprise as she looked at her phone and spoke in the most threatening tone she could muster up.

"Whoever, or whatever this is. You won't stop me, nothing can." Lulu said defiantly, her eyes narrowed angrily as her anxiety was still threatening to break her. The breathing on the other end had stopped as the light above her had stopped flickering, Lulu thinking at first that she'd scared off whatever it was on the other line.....

When the same growling noise from the hospital filled her ears, a dark shape peered around the corner of the entryway, its white eyes burning into her skull as a deep, black voice whose origin would've been in nightmares spoke.

"I will feast on what little soul you have left, little girl."

Lulu wanted to scream as the voice made her want to curl up and die, it took everything she had not to scream as she heard her phone beep and took off out of the entryway, a roar behind her speeding her on even quicker. She heard it splashing behind her, catching up even faster than it had in the hospital as she ran up a flight of stairs and nearly slipped from how wet they were. She saw a brief outline of its shape in the courtyard, animalistic and bestial with arms that were far too long while Lulu ran inside the apartment building and slammed the door suit, running down a yellow lit hallway as she moved based on the directory she'd had only a few moments to memorize.