Chapter 2 (Rough Draft)

It's amazing how sinister a simple parking garage can be with the lights turned off. Dan was pacing back and forth. He had been here for at least half an hour already, carefully tracing a path between the elevator doors painted a deep purple and an equally garish door marked "stairs". The garage was dark, it was out of use while the old TWA terminal was being remodeled.

Honestly, he didn't even know why he was there, the guy was obviously a crack-pot. The letter had arrived about a week ago. He wouldn't even had looked at it, except that his old grad school advisor, Professor Martin Stevenson had asked him to. It didn't make sense, really. Half of the letter was gibberish, maybe it would have fooled a layman, but Dan recognized it for what is was, pseudo-scientific ravings. Still bits and pieces of the letter were somewhat intriguing, if off-the-wall. In the end, he decided to come as much as a favor to his mentor as anything else.
Well, he is getting on in years, maybe the senility is finally hitting. Dan smiled to himself, thinking of Martin's reaction to being called senile. He'd probably take me out to woodshed one more time.

Dan's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of rapid footfalls echoing in the garage. There was someone running, but Dan couldn't tell from where. What the hell am I doing, I don't know this guy, except that he's somewhat of a nut. Dan looked around, and took refuge in the shadows of the garage.

A short, squat-looking man ran up the main driveway. He was gasping for breath, and clutching his sides. Between his hunched appearance, large glasses and pointy nose, Dan couldn't help but thinking he resembled a close relative of the badger from The Wind in the Willows. As he got closer he slowed to a walk and and doubled over. "Professor Wei! Professor Wei, are you here?" He could hardly be heard between gasps. He looked around wildly, with a drunken, crazed expression, then his eyes glazed over, and he collapsed.

At first, as this unexpected series of events played out, Dan's instinct was to hang back, and get a chance to evaluate the situation. Truth be told, his heart was pounding in his chest so much he couldn't be sure if he hadn't just been frozen to the spot with fear. However, once the strange man collapsed and Dan realized the severity of his situation, he jumped out his hiding spot and ran over to the body. The man flailed about wildly, he grabbed Dan's jacket, and his eyes focused for a second, then he convulsed, and lay still. His eyes were vacant, and he didn't seem to be breathing. Dan wasn't sure, but he thought he felt a slight, erratic pulse. he reached into his coat pocket to get out his cellphone and call for an ambulance.

"Damn it!" His cellphone had no reception in the garage, and merely beeped at him as he tried to connect the call. He ran back to the stairwell, where interference from the garage would be minimal. He explained the situation to the 9-11 operator, whose professional demeanor was consistent throughout the call, despite the absurdity of the situation. When Dan was sure that an ambulance was on the way, he ran back into the garage, but was stopped cold when he returned to an empty garage.

The body was gone."Wha..., hello? Hello! Is anyone there?" His only answer was the dead silence of an empty parking garage in the middle of night.