The Dark Alley (tentative title)

I have no idea what to do with this yet. I need some constructive criticism. Does it work or are there areas that need refining. If you have any suggestions or comments, I would love to hear from you. Plus if you have any ideas of where to go with this story, that would help too.


CHAPTER ONE
As she walked down the eerie dark street, Lily wished she had heeded her mother’s warning not to travel alone at night. The sound of her high heels click clacked loudly in the night air. The street lights were sparse and the light from one barely managed to reach the other. Several buildings had night lights just inside the doors, but these only reached out a few inches. A couple of times Lily had to walk very close to the shadows to avoid pieces of rubbish scattered thoughtlessly around. When this happened, she felt very nervous, as if somehow they were alive and reaching for her. Once she caught a glimpse of red glaring eyes staring out from the darkness. Fear gripped her heart in a stranglehold. Lily quickened her steps, praying that nothing would jump out and grab her.
As Lily turned the corner, she became aware of the absence of sound. There were no dogs barking, or people talking, in fact the only sound she heard was her own footsteps. Her heart beat faster and she shivered, her whole body tensed. Suddenly a car horn blasted nearby making her jump and squeal, sending her thumping heartbeat into overdrive. Shaking her head, she took some deep breaths to calm her nerves. Lily heard voices whispering and felt momentary relief. Whispers meant people and people meant safety. Glancing back at the shadows, she felt a cold chill spread up her spine. The whispers were coming from the shadows! She ran. She almost sobbed with relief, when she realised home was just around the corner.
The figure moved silently through the shadows, its shape constantly changing; first on two legs, then on four. The only sensation coursing through it was hunger. It wanted food. It needed food. It lifted its head sniffing the air. Food was coming. It sniffed again. No, food was already here.
Lily didn’t hear any footsteps, or see the dark figure stalking her. She never saw the long curved claw, as it slashed towards her. Lily experienced no pain, just a warm trickling down the side of her neck. She reached up with her hand to touch the side of her neck. Confusion ran through her when she saw blood.
‘What the …...’ muttered Lily. She felt woozy, took two steps, and fell down. As death descended upon her, she gave one last sigh as her mother’s warning fluttered briefly through her mind. Never walk alone at night.
When Lily fell down, her body landed half in light and half in darkness. No one saw her. No one saw a monstrous hand with long curved claws reach out and grab her leg. And no one heard the sound of a body being dragged, or bones breaking.
All they found of Lily was a pool of blood and some drag marks, but they never found her body. They assumed she was the victim of a mugging gone wrong. That night Lily Jenkins, aged 22 simply became a statistic; an unsolved mystery. They never suspected something evil lurked in the shadows at night.
And they never suspected for a moment, that evil was feeding.

CHAPTER TWO
Amanda was pissed off, and a bit scared. She was angry about missing her bus and having to catch a different one. Now as she looked around at the unfamiliar buildings, she knew she was lost. ‘I must have gotten off the bus at the wrong stop’ she mumbled to herself. ‘Maybe I’ll find someone around the corner who can tell me how to get home‘. She blew on her hands, trying to warm them. ‘Mom told me to bring my coat’, she grumbled. ‘I hate it when she's right.’ Her mother had also warned her about walking home alone at night. She made her daughter promise that if she worked late, or missed the bus, to call home. Someone would meet her at the stop and walk her home. Amanda almost always did as her mother instructed, but her mobile phone had run out of charge, just as she boarded the bus. Not to worry, she thought. It was a short distance from the bus stop to her home. She reasoned if she cut through the narrow lane that ran behind the buildings, she would get home even quicker.
As she watched the bus pull away, she felt a sense of abandonment and a tiny bit of panic. Taking a deep breath, she looked down the empty street, shrugged her shoulders and began to walk. Normally Mandy wasn’t scared of the dark, but she had to admit the streets had a creepy feel to them tonight. She bit her bottom lip and thought about the few defense classes she'd had. What was the number one rule they stressed? Oh yes, ‘never walk alone at night’. Great, well, no choice here people. The other rule was ‘always stay in the light’. That would be fine if there were street lights, especially ones that worked. She tightened her grip on her handbag. A myriad of thoughts began invading her mind. Great, what am I going to do? Ask the mugger to hold my bag, kick him in the nuts and then run away screaming. Sure, that’ll work. Or, I could belt him over the head with it. Yeah right, not heavy enough, stupid. Alright then, perhaps I’ll belt him over the head first, and then kick him in the nuts. Gee, I seem to be into kicking guys in the nuts. She giggled to herself, wondering what that was all about.
A car slid slowly past, its occupant a mere silhouette in the dim light of the street. She held her breath until the car turned the corner, and out of sight. She thought to herself, okay, let’s just walk faster, and get the hell out of here. She quickened her steps, her high heels click clacking loudly down the dark empty street.
Keeping away from the shadows and staying in the light was proving to be a problem, but for the most part, Amanda managed to do just that. She felt rather than heard, things moving in the shadows. Refusing to look, she stared straight ahead and kept walking faster. Nearing the corner, she realised that her home was now just a short distance away. Quickening her pace, she felt a tiny sliver of relief flow through her. Around the corner and halfway down the main street was her home and safety. She was just making a promise to herself to never walk through the alleyway at night again, when it happened.
Whether it was intuition or something else, she felt something was coming up behind her. She didn’t look back. She began to run. Just as she reached the corner, she twisted her ankle and stumbling fell to her knees. Frantically she scrambled back up and hobbled forward as fast as she could. Overwhelming fear lent speed to her feet. She felt something touch her arm, and then an ungodly screech at the precise moment she reached the corner, She didn’t stop until she reached a particularly bright area. Nausea welled up inside her when she saw blood running down her arm. It had been sliced open from just below the shoulder to her elbow. Although feeling queasy at the sight of all that blood, she managed to reach her front door. She banged on the front door, sobbing and yelling for help. As her mother opened the door, the last thing she thought before she passed out was, I’m safe.