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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lamprolign" data-source="post: 779900" data-attributes="member: 7860">new installment 03/19/03I dreamed about killing you again last nightAnd it felt alright to meDying on the banks of Embarcadero skiesI sat and watched you bleedBuried you alive in a fireworks displayRaining down on meYour cold, hot blood ran away from meTo the sea.- Wilco, Via ChicagoThe sound of keys jingling echoed down the stairwell of the dilapidated tenement building.  A young woman, hardly more than a teenager, sprinted up the stairs.  She stopped at the fourth floor landing and listened carefully.  Living alone in the city had taught her never to rush into anywhere that she couldn't see.  She pushed her shoulder length brown hair away from her ear and listened for several moments.  Silence.  She slowly opened the door to find the corridor empty.  She moved quickly through the dimly lit hall to her door, the old floor creaking with every step.  Jenny Matthews was home.  She slipped through the door and closed it swiftly behind her, locking the deadbolt and clicking the door chain in place.  A small sigh escaped her lips.  The place was a rat's nest, but it offered far more security than some shadowy corner in Union Station or one of the few other indoor train stations downtown.  Libraries had offered occasional refuge, but wherever she went the police were obliged to move her and any other homeless people along.  For months she had wandered from place to place after running away from her parent's home in Antioch, a small town about a three hour drive north of the city.  The streets were terrifying, but her father had been worse.  Jenny finally ended up in a shelter that asked no questions nor required any conversion to their faith of choice.  They simply helped.  The former church building which housed the shelter was her home for two months.  They helped her find a full time job.  Jenny had felt a small triumph moving into her own apartment.  For the first time in years, she was beginning to believe that things were going to be all right. The single lamp lighting the room went dark.  "Crap!" Jenny exclaimed.Power out again?  That's like, what, the third time this month?  Fourth?  After a moment her eyes began to adjust and dim outlines became visible.  Jenny kept candles on the kitchen counter for the frequent power outages.  It usually took hours before power was returned to the ancient building.  A noise scarcely heard caused her to gasp aloud.  Jumpy, she thought, laughing nervously. Just the rats in the walls.  That, or the roaches are getting really big.  Then she heard a sound that froze her in place, raising the fine hairs on her neck and goose bumps on her arms.  Breathing.  Someone else was in the apartment.  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />!  She heard it again, behind her.  Jenny reached into her pocket and pulled out the small can of mace they had given her when she left the shelter.  The sound reached her ears again, and she felt warmth on her neck.  Her hands shaking, she whirled around, raising the mace.  A heavy weight slammed into her.  The can of mace flew from her hand.  She never had time to scream.Sal Colletti sat in front of the television in his third floor apartment.  Final Jeopardy was just about to start.  Dancing cats appeared on the screen, singing about their new and improved litter.  Who comes up with this crap?  What's a friggin' cat care where it takes a crap?  Sal drained the last of his beer and the apartment went dark.  "Perfect."  He crushed the aluminum can, tossed it aside, and felt around the floor beside his chair for the flashlight that he kept for just such occasions.  A loud thump above him gave him start.  He looked up into the dark in time for falling flakes of ceiling paint to land in his eyes."Godammit!" he cursed, rubbing his eyes with both hands.  He had seen the girl who moved into the apartment above him a few times around the building.  She looked bookish, but she had legs that wouldn't quit.  He had tried to start a conversation with her, invited her for a beer at his place, but she wouldn't give him the time of day.  When he brushed up against her "accidentally" in the stairwell, the girl recoiled, like he was some kind of pervert.  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />ing bitch. Probably screwing some dumb punk!  The noise died abrubtly.  That was quick, Romeo, he thought with a snort.  He stood in the dark for several minutes, wondering how long the lights would be out this time.  He followed the beam of his flashlight to the refrigerator and returned to his chair with another beer.  He flopped down in the chair, switched the flashlight off and took a long pull from the can of MGD.  Maybe he would pay the little slut upstairs a visit later on, show her what it's like to be with a real man.  A drop of liquid splashed on his furrowed forehead.  "Dammit! Now what the <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /> is leaking?"  He muttered.Another drip splashed on his forehead. He stood, switched the flashlight back on, and wiped the wetness from his brow.  He glimpsed his hand as it passed on its way to be wiped on his pants.  Bright red liquid was smeared across his fingers."What the?!"Sal looked up at his ceiling.  Liquid the unmistakable color of fresh blood oozed from the myriad cracks in the plaster."<img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />!"</blockquote>

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