It was a dark world, these days. It seemed to rain more. Luxuries were more expensive, crime more common, the streets dirtier, the deaths more unpleasant, life harder and meaner and more violent.
This room seemed to be a strong example of the new world. Peeling wallpaper, grime and a bare mattress, tattered condom wrappers and suspicious stains on the sheets. It's a hard place to wake up, especially when memories of how one got there are vague.
A memory of a bite on the neck, sore for a second, and then blissful. Memories of sweaty, smooth bodies... or was that from before? A fever, like a fire inside, and strange voices. A door crashing open, the grunts and thuds of a struggle, and then a scream and the hiss of a sudden, furious fire.
And now... an awakening into darkness, the room dim but still somehow bright, and the distant scream and clatter of a train thundering past.<|im_end|>
Cici rubbed her head, moaning lightly at the headache. Okay. Think. Cute girl, kinda pale. Wanted to get it on. She wasn't waking up in a tub full of ice, that was good. No new scars that she could find. Wallet still there, backpack still there with her paint and markers, her gun still on the bedside table. First clothes, then delicious coffee to make this splitting, head-pounding pain go away, then finding out what the hell's going on.
Standing up, she was still a bit wobbly, but steady enough to dress herself. She'd decided to forgo any undergarments tonight, instead going with a pair of tight jeans, a plain t-shirt, her boots, and her hoodie. She wasn't even going to ask why the hell there was a pile of ash on the bed. Usually better not to ask those sorts of questions. "Suddenly casual sex doesn't seem like a good idea," she said aloud to herself, finishing getting dressed by putting on her holster.<|im_end|>