.:City of Darkness:.

Looking out through the single stained window of their one-room apartment, she saw only run down buildings under a smog-filled sky. Nothing there breathed life. Nothing smiled and laughed and loved. The clouds shifted overhead and pellets of acidic rain cut through the atmosphere. They crashed onto rooftops, onto cars and hand-me-down bicycles, eroding the metals drop by drop. The rain brought with it a troubling stillness, permeating the air with a sense of foreboding doom. "A city of darkness..." She whispered into the quiet, empty room. The wind picked up speed, carrying with it crumpled paper cups and lightweight garbage. Shrieking, it tore in-between skyscrapers, rattling windows weakened by age and poor construction. She hated her home. And she hated him for bringing her there. Somewhere he screamed for her, but her mind blocked out the noise. She closed her eyes, hiding behind the comforting shadows which lay beneath her eyelids. He yelled again but his voice seemed miles away. She had left him far behind, left him alone in his poisoned wasteland. She felt the drugs work their way into her system, felt them take control. Her body was warm...for the first time in years she was relaxed. Her breathing was calm, her heart rate slowed to a deadening crawl. In the distance a faint, almost familiar voice whispered to her. It told her she would be ok.