A Court of Fallen Heroes

3:33

PART I: Pit of Despair

Chapter 1

" 3:33 "

          " Goddamit, Nadia. I sucked so bad today at that blood donation. " I complained while rummaging in the dark of my bag for the keys to my small apartament. " I have no ideea why the fuck did I sign up for that volunteering thing. "

          The stinging odor of disinfectant irritated my vision. Not to mention the grey walls that were stained with white dots of solution for killing beetles were making me feel even dirtier than I actually was. The neon on the stairwell lights up and a shadow quickly passes by me, causing a moment of internal panic. I don't have time to say a greeting towards the neighbor, but only notice the pair of black boots, which silently climb to the next floor. Quite odd, I thought they were in Italy trying to make an in-vitro fertilization.

          " It wasn't so bad after all, doctor Appleheim didn't stick the syringe down your throat at the end. " Nadia lets loose a high-pitched laughing on the phone that pulls me out of my thoughts, " At least you didn't popped the poor man veins like me. " She complains and I search the red dots splashed on my shoes, remembering the disastrous moment.

          Nadia was my first friend from university and that is only because she basically jumped me on one of the anatomy laboratories, recognizing me from the day we submitted our files. I was quite impressed, I could never recall a person's face if I only saw her once. Well, it was not because I had bad memory or short memory, - I got a handfull of healthy brains in my skull thanks to my reading addiction - but rather because I was not paying attention to anyone near me that day.

          There were actually five girls in our group that we could call quite good friends, but the two of us were always inseparable. We even wanted to do our license together, in the last year of med school.

          The familiar smell from my little apartment relaxes my muscles instantly and I take a moment to shrug the bad energies off of me. Amber, from the parfume I always wear, and hyacinth from the mini freshener I had on the shoe closet. Opening the lights from the main hall, I'm greeted by my cat's deafening meow. " I missed you too, little boy. "

          I throw my shoes on the floor tiles, remembering myself to wipe the dust from the dark cherry color.

          The past weekend was one of the hardest calamities I have ever endured this year. Not that the last of it was any better: my love life was badly affected by my family intrusion of my intimacy and as a repercussion, so was my family life. Also, my grades from med school suddenly dropped as a result of my insomnia and constant tension.

          And I am not even adding that heavy weight I feel on my chest or the fact that I should start working soon because I had no financial support anymore.

          " How do you feel? " Nadia asks after a long pause of silence.

          I still on my own tracks and watch the cat caress my feet. Did I ever told her about my personal problems? Fuck, how could I forget that? I never liked to play the victim.

          Not good, I tell myself. Like I was kicked in the nuts and one of it got stuck in my pelvic bones.

          " You're talking about the fact that I can't catch a vein or?... "

          " Yes, what else? " a note of concern staines her honeyed voice, " Something else happened? "

          Oh, so I didn't tell her.