"I'm outta here, bitches," I shout over the metal music.
My red leather jacket stinks of smoke, and I juggle my beer as I shove my arms in the sleeves.
"Where now?"
My friends stare at me, as though waiting for the party's location: one rips a bong and the others lounge on the floor and sofas. But I flash them my black-lipped smile and walk out the door without them.
The street is wet and my hair flicks in my face when I hurl the empty bottle at the graffitied brick wall. The tinkering sound of glass on concrete soothes my anxiety as I stomp through the old part of town.
The electronic beep of the door as I enter the store. The tired attendant. The shelves are filled with a selection of long-shelf-life goodies that make humans sicker than before they consumed them.
I buy my smokes and tip the young woman, all pink hair and tattoos, and she smiles as though I've given her a new car.
"Thanks!" she beams as she shoves the cash in her bra.
"There's more where that came from if you're ever down on your luck," I offer, handing her the rubbish from my cigarette pack, and shoving a long thin tube between my teeth.
She looks at me blankly, figuring out if I'm soliciting her or offering her a real opportunity. I hand her my sleek business card and blow her a kiss before I beep my way back out into the dawn.
Lighting my smoke, I squint at the morning. Two blocks down and I descend into my basement apartment. I don't know my upstairs neighbours and I like to keep it that way.
Everything is how I left it. Minimal. Clean. My footsteps echo off the floorboards and I head straight to the back of my space. I punch a code into the wall panel, hitching the lever, the heavy steel door swings open and I slip into the small concrete stairwell. I pull the door behind me with a bit of effort and lock it. The timer light switch ticks as I spin it and make my way down the steps. The door panel scans my eyeball before the door unlocks and I push it open.
I enter into the vast underground space, and my eyes scan directly to the king bed against the far wall. I smile as I lock eyes with the woman in the cage underneath. She's been sleeping, I can see it in her expression.
"How's my kitten?"
Her head pops up and she rolls to face me as I move closer and bend down to pat her long curls through the open door.
"Horny," she says, her voice husky.
"Oh really? I see. Are you coming out to play?"
She nods and crawls through the door, lifting her face to me as she crosses the threshold, and I bend to kiss her forehead.
