And so it begins...

They claimed the apartment had a view. Some view. Below the fire escape of a balcony, the darkness of a deserted alley emanated a putrid odor that could only be described as death. The whole city was a wasteland, like something out of an old black and white horror movie. Overcast on all but the most fortuitous days, the sky was eternally ominously gray. Solitary pieces of paper fluttered from side to side as if afraid to attract the attention of a solitary passerby. But though there were never any stray pedestrians in this area of town, people nevertheless shied away from distinguishing themselves for fear of catching someone, anyone’s attention. Sometimes, if you were lucky, you could smell the sweet smell of the sugary treats being baked down the street. Kids gathered from miles around, lining the alley below in a single spontaneous moment of eager anticipation. But with the moment vanished the eager innocence and carefree civility of the children. Within seconds, the alley would be filled with a throng of slavering, slobbering hyenas, eager for their own chance at the small slice of heaven that the sweet smell portended. When all the treats were gone and the sweet smell had been replaced by the same putrid odor, only stronger, the alley once again resumed its lonely solitary existence only a few red stains worse for the wear. How different this life was from the one he had imagined.