Door 160B

Chapter 1

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

1 There is an appointed time for everything,

and a time for every affair under the heavens.

2 A time to give birth, and a time to die;

a time to plant, and a time to uproot the plant.

3 A time to kill, and a time to heal;

a time to tear down, and a time to build.

4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh;

a time to mourn, and a time to dance.

5 A time to scatter stones, and a time to gather them;

a time to embrace, and a time to be far from embraces.

6 A time to seek, and a time to lose;

a time to keep, and a time to cast away.

7 A time to rend, and a time to sew;

a time to be silent, and a time to speak.

8 A time to love, and a time to hate;

a time of war, and a time of peace.

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SPLAT!

I looked down to see my foot engrossed in murky water. It was pitch black in the alley, but you didn't need light to know the water was murky. Everything these days is filled with ash and blackness. Even those who once held innocents and light in their eyes were now stripped and curled up in dark corners. I knew many, but they were nameless flesh to me now. I know that sounds mighty of me, but it is true. Those of us still standing aren't living, were surviving. Surviving means every man for himself. No one who struck out in the bloodbath should survive through the rest of this strife.

Rats danced around my feet, cats spied in the shadows of the dark, and discharged soldiers assaulted old ladies and raped ignorant young girls. Their screams I could hear, but long ago I became numb to them. I went silently down the the narrow alley like a cat. To tell you the truth I had long forgotten how many times I had been down it.

I finally came to an intersection in what the locals like to call 'downtown'. Stupid name for the low lands if you ask me. I guess for an outsider this had become the Slum. If you saw this place with your own eyes you'd know why it is the instead plain old the.

Even after 3 years, my mother's words to always look both ways sounded in my head. Although all those years ago it used to be about cars. I haven't seen a car since the war started. Now a days, I look both ways for those who don't fear who's hiding in the dark. Who could assault me if I wasn't paying enough attention. Sad why I care about my virtue, but to me it is the only stripe of innocents I have left.

I sulked across the 5 foot 'street', and slipped back into the shadows. Noise drifted to my ears, and my brain identified it as techno music from one of the nearby clubs; where women, desperate for survival, danced clad in their underwear. If they caught the attentions of someone decent they might have shelter that night. 

My eyes over the years had adjusted to the dark of night. I look around to find the door I was in search of. 120B... 130B...140B... 150B...160B. Ding, Ding, Ding! We have a winner! Tip-toeing over to 160B, my insides began to roar with the warmth of familiarity and home. In that moment I didn't notice the dark figure behind me until I reached out, opened the door barely 2 inches; when a hand shut it closed against my will. I let out a gasp, the cold air making my warm breath visible. I stood frozen and could feel the figure lean forward from the the warm breath that caressed my neck while he whispered in my ear, "Evening, beautiful."

My breath hitched for all of one second as the masculine voice washed over me. I knew who it is. "Damn, Cas, we got to stop meeting like this," I whispered back knowing only he could hear me.