Oh My...

34.) Savior from Fiends

I was in a poorly lit basement, the only light provided by a few small candles scattered across the floor. Smoke curled in front of the narrow windows along the the top of the walls. I stared at them blankly, wondering if it was night or day.

Someone beside me nudged my shoulder. With eyes half open, I looked at him; a skinny guy with patches of stubble on his cheeks and wiry blonde hair. He smiled at me--a few of his rotting teeth were missing. "You still on this?"

I stared at the blunt in his boney fingers before scanning the circle of people sitting around me. Crack fiends, people I'd never thought I would associate with. I felt ashamed, but still took the blunt.

"So, you tryna buy?" The guy asked, still wearing an almost grotesque grin. I sighed, passing the blunt to the girl on my other side. After Cee said she could hook me up, I was reintroduced to the world of pills. For the passed two weeks, I haven't been able to feel a thing.

"Yeah," I squeaked. My voice sounded younger than what I actually was, and the girl beside me must've noticed it because her attention was reared towards me.

She peeked at me from behind her long blonde hair. "How old are you?" She wondered in a soft, airy voice. When I was finally able to get a glimpse of her eyes I was shocked to see they were a bright shade of yellow.

"Eighteen." I lied, swallowing.

She tilted her head, her lips falling into a lopsided frown. Her bizarre eyes, however, were dull, like this was the most boring conversation she ever had. "I'm twenty two." She told me as a matter of fact. "What brought you here?"

"What do you think?" I retorted in a low snarl. My shame and anger at myself came out through my tone, and the girl rose a dark eyebrow. I cleared my throat. "Sorry."

"You don't belong here." She said, her voice still sounding far off. "You're too pretty to be a drug addict."

"I don't think it works that way," I grunted. "But thanks."

She stood up. Her legs looked so thin and boney, I was shocked that they could even support her weight. She looked down at me, her eyes so cold and judgmental, I felt like I was being scrutinized under the angry glare of a goddess. "Come on, lets leave."

Even though I wanted to get high, I felt as though saying no to this beautiful woman would be a sin. Hesitantly, I stood along side with her, and she clasped my hand in her chilly one.

The crackhead that was sitting on my right fidgeted restlessly. "Hey, weren't you gonna buy-"

"Not now, Sam." The girl sighed, rolling her honey colored eyes. "Don't corrupt another one."

Sam's thin lips curled over his teeth, displaying a wicked smile. "Can't break what's already broken!" He laughed, emitting so much noise that it seemed unnatural in this dark, eerie setting.

The girl rolled her eyes, flipped her long, blonde hair over her shoulders, and marched out. I was on her tail, trying to achieve the same majesty she had but instead stumbling behind like an idiot.

Leaving the black innards of the cracked building that fiends call home and breaking into the world of sunlight and people was like entering another dimension. I stepped onto the sidewalk, feeling like an alien on another planet. I stared at the cars and predestinations in wonder and awe before an awful feeling of regret boiled inside of my chest. God, how long was I gone?

Memories of Brooklyn swarmed in my brain like enraged bees. I was reminded of my first experience with drugs, and how I easily left the world for months at a time, only to be
suddenly reintroduced and find out that the entire planet has changed. Tears watered my eyes as I realized I was still the exact same fucked up drug addict I always was.

I was drawn out from my self pity when the girl, my savior from the fiends, placed a thin hand on my shoulder. I turned to look at her, only to see that her face was pointed up to the sky, her eyes closed and lips turned upwards with bliss. "I love the sun."

"Can't even feel it passed this awful wind and chill." I complained, flipping up the black hood attached to my sweatshirt.

"That doesn't dampen my adoration for it." She whispered back, her smile widening. "The sun is the source of life. Without the sun, we would all die."

I frowned. "Isn't that a little bitter?"

"Most things in this world are."

I continued to gaze at the girl in wonder. She wasn't like anyone I've ever met, she was cryptic, cynical, it was like she knew a million things that the rest of us couldn't even begin to comprehend. Finally, her yellow eyes opened and rolled down to meet mine. "What's your name?"

"Alex. You?"

"Sabella." Her gaze returned back towards the sky. "You hungry, Alex? I'm starving. You wanna go get some Chinese?"

I looked down. Of course I wasn't hungry, but I also didn't feel like I could refuse her offer. I shrugged and said, "Sure."

She smiled at me again fondly. Taking her hand off my shoulder, she curled it around my fingers and lead the way down the sidewalk. As we walked, I couldn't help but look back at the dark building we had emerged from; a little pocket in the world where time cease to exists, and the rest of civilization moves on without realizing it's even there. A bad feeling rolled in my stomach as I thought about how much time will pass before I find myself stumbling back there, looking for a brief escape that will turn into a life-long ordeal.

A/N:

*takes a deep breath* IIIIMMMMMM SOOORRRRRRRRRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY