Writing Sample for Dead Dreams (novel)

Decided to post a writing sample from my previous novel that I'm actively shopping around to a few agents.

Chapter 3 ....this is where we pickup

The alley taunted him and drew him into the contemptuous darkness. Against his better judgment, he cautiously walked into it. His mind told him that it was just a bad dream, that he would find nothing there. Only the remains of a dying neighborhood as he first thought.

The smell of death preceded his passage.

He covered his mouth and took a step. Something soft and wet squished under his foot. His stomach told him not to look down. He lifted his foot over the sponge like thing and took another cautious step. He felt the ground softening with each footstep, but he didn't want to think about what lay under his feet.

His eyes adjusted slowly to the dark. He extended his right arm into the void as though to feel his way toward the sound ahead and to defend himself in case someone was there. His nervous breath steamed in front of his face. The cool moisture of the night dampened his forehead and he wiped it off with the back of his sleeve.

The alley got darker as he felt his way forward.

He took short, careful steps and scanned the pitch-blackness to be prepared in case someone waited for him. The irregular squish from his shoes echoed off the walls. Further into the alley he began to see a faint glow in the darkness.

The light opened into another passageway several yards away. He reluctantly walked to the light. His heart beat faster as he searched for the turn in the alley. A shrill noise came from somewhere behind him, as though someone ran hardened fingernails down a chalkboard. He pivoted quickly, fists raised, ready and waiting for the darkness to show what it hid from him.

The scratching stopped abruptly. He stared into the dark and heard its raspy breathing. Its panting grew louder and met him in the middle of the alley. Wait or run. His common sense told him to run.