The Hidden Place

"So, where exactly did you want me to stop you at?" Luke said as he continued to drive along the road.

"Uh, here is fine, I don't mind walking a little." I smiled at Luke, thanking him for always helping me out.

As I got out and closed the door he asked me for yet another time if I was sure that I didn't want to go further. I shook my head once more and walked off towards my destination, as Luke finally just accepted it and sped off.

There it stood before me, the entrance to a simple alleyway, dirty,ugly and damp. I looked to my left and right, and walked inside. I walked further in, and turned right through a corner, bumping into an old and seemingly homeless man. He grinned at me. The stench from his breathe made me feel nauseated. I faked a smile and pushed past him, further in where the commotion was coming from.

It was a sickening and over-whelming site. The smell of cigarettes and cheap booze was in the air. I hung my head low, trying to not get intimidated by the three large burly men standing close by as they glared at me, mumbling between themselves. Then came the moans from the corner. Knowing what must be happening I kept my head straight, shaking my head. Looking to the left at the wall I spotted a naked red-headed woman unconscious with bruises all over her body. Must have been a nasty one.

I walked past small crowds of both women and men who were chatting rather agressively, drinking with shattered bottles by their feet. When paying closer attention I could see some possessing handguns in their pockets and tucked behind their pants under their shirts. Then, I saw him. 'My man'. The one whom I had been arranged to meet, or he looked like him. He was a thirthy something man, nothing weird or unusual about him. He shifted a little impatiently. I walk towards him.

As I approached him he grinned. I assume he must have noticed I was staring at him, and guessed that I was his next client. "You got the money, ay?" He spoke in a thick accent which I couldn't quite identify. I simply nodded, reached into my jean pocket and pulled out what I owed him. He snatched the money from my hands and shoved a small plastic bag with a white-powder inside. What I came for. I immediately walked away from him, from them, from this place. I hid what I had just gotten in my jacket. My treasure, as I left the alleyway.

It was...so simple...nearly easy. Nothing out of the ordinary happened. No formalities, no words, not even any names. We were complete strangers. It's nearly depressing, how lives can be ruined so easily. How fueling an addiction is done like this. It nearly makes me sick...Then again I realise that I cannot live without this 'illness', and then I just feel like a hypocrite. Heh, I suppose this isn't the first time I'll visit that alleyway, the centre of drug trade,prostitution and all bad happenings in this town. I'll once again some time soon say 'Hello' to this hidden place.