Oroborous

Chapter one – Day One: Asseholes

‘Hey – Hey pal, are you going to finish that drink or just sit there staring at it?’

The voice faded in and out as my eyes adjusted to the bright lights. Must have dozed off again, working nights always fucks up my sleep cycle.

‘How about you let me finish what I’ve paid for before yelling at a valued customer?’

He rolled his eyes and left muttering something I couldn’t quite hear. The bar was particularly empty tonight, which is unusual for a weekday. All the workaholics come here to take some time out and be alone. Then there are people like me, the people who just want to be left alone. That’s why I like it here. You’d think in a city with this many people that crime, drugs and general disorder would be more of a problem, yet, it’s not. But nothings what it seems around here.

I quickly down my whisky and place the glass back on the bar. The burn slowly trickling down my throat as the dimming lights begin to flicker. I think I’ve had enough for this evening.

‘See you round barkeep’ I turn and walk towards the door, careful not to look at anyone. Check my pockets in case I left anything there. Keys. Wallet. Cigarettes. Lighter. All there. I guess I can get off now then. I can hear the bartender shout something at me.

‘How about you bring some damn friends next time!’ Yeah, fuck you too buddy.

As I leave the bar the air seems stagnant, almost like there’s nothing there anymore. Looking up, I can’t see any stars or clouds, just a vacuous space where the sky used to be. I can’t remember the last time I saw stars or the moon.
The city is bustling as always; people are rushing around trying to get back home or off to work. They push past each other to get to the bus first but somehow no-one seems to mind. Every action is done without any hostility at all and no-one even notices. Like this guy walking towards me, he’s walking at quite a pace, pushing past people and knocking them but there’s no expression on his face. Not even a smirk or a look of desperation. It’s like he’s being an ass just because he feels like being an ass. At least I don’t have to walk far to get home from that dive.

Turning the last corner before my apartment complex I notice a young couple walking hand in hand, almost skipping through the crowds like they aren’t even there. Must be nice to be so in love that you can’t even see the broken pavement five steps ahead of you. Five. Four. Three. Two. And slam. There goes the boyfriends’ ankle as he topples to the ground and fucks himself up. That’s what you get for being an arrogant fuck.

The keys slot quietly into my apartment door and I can already feel the relief washing over me that another long ass day is done with. I slam the door shut just to piss the neighbours off and wake up their kid. As I crash to the sofa I can hear the arguing through the paper thin walls.

‘THAT FUCKING ASSEHOLE NEXTDOOR SLAMMED HIS FUCKING DOOR AGAIN! CAN’T YOU DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT?!’ The woman always screams first.

‘I could but in case you haven’t noticed I happen to WORK EVERY FUCKING DAY OF THE WEEK TO KEEP YOUR FAT ASS HAPPY!’ Man I love drama. This is why I don’t even need tv anymore. The dimly lit kitchen seems somewhat ominous until I open the fridge and realise that, as with everything in this shitty apartment, it’s empty. Nothing in the cupboards either.

‘YOU FUCKING LAZY SON-OF-A-BITCH! I CLEAN THIS HOUSE EVERY DAMN DAY SO YOU CAN COME HOME TO A NICE PLACE. I COOK YOU DINNER, LOOK AFTER THE BABY, DO THE LAUNDRY, WASH THE DISHES, I EVEN FIXED THE FUCKING TOILET YESTERDAY!’ This is about the point that I would usually grab myself a beer and some popcorn and slowly eat myself into a coma, but I forgot to get any beer yesterday, so I guess I’ll just have to go to sleep. Goodnight shit-hole city, I hope you fucking burn.

Day Two: Asseholes part 2

I woke up to the worst noise I have ever heard in my life, my other neighbours fucking so loud I swear I could hear the sweat spraying everywhere. Makes me sick. My shower stopped working half way through as well, so as you can probably tell, it’s going to be a fucking shitty day.

Walking out of the apartment I made sure to slam my door again just to wake the baby. It’s the little things you do each day that keep you sane around here. Toast in my mouth I began the short trudge to work through already bustling streets. I work night shifts at the local substation, so I basically keep this whole block with power. This means that I have long hours, shitty pay and no bonuses or perks. Except the healthcare which as you can imagine, is pretty damn good. Now, I work from 6pm through until 6am every day without fail. I have yet to have a sick day, an accident or any complaint of any kind. Yet, my boss still hates my guts. When I say that you may think I’m exaggerating but I promise you, he fucking hates me.

‘Hey fuck face, guess what? I’m going out for dinner now so you get to look after this whole sector for me while I’m out. Don’t wait up for me’ He always has this stupid fucking grin on his face every time he does something he thinks is funny. God I want to shove a brick down his throat.
Choking back the seething rage I have to mutter.
‘Yes sir. Thank you sir, I’ll be sure to do a good job. Do you know when you’ll be back?’ He laughs his annoying fucking laugh.

‘Yeah, probably around the time you get back here tomorrow night’. I told you he hates me. As he walks away and slams the door my thoughts turn to other matters, such as how many shots of acid I could pour down his throat before he chokes to death. I reckon about fifteen if I’m quick.

After several hours of staring at blinking numbers and infinite dials until my eyes began to burn, I got to clock out. After yesterday’s fiasco of having zero food in the house I decided I really needed to go get something. There’s a little shop just around the corner from work which is on my way home. It’s run by a nice old couple who always stop and say hi to me whenever I stop by. The streets are packed again. Why are people always out so god damn early in this city? As I got closer to the shop I noticed a couple of seedy looking guys enter before me. They quickly walked to the back of the store and I took no notice of them.

I found myself browsing the aisles for what felt like an age, scouring the ingredients on the back of noodle packets and counting how many servings it’d take to go over my daily salt level, I hear this crack and screaming from the front of the store. Carefully taking a look I can make out the two seedy guys from earlier holding a gun at the old lady at the register. Normally I wouldn’t do anything but today, something in me snapped and I rushed up to the counter.

‘Hey assehole, how about you put that fucking gun down and do something useful with your life? Or is that too taxing for your feeble mind to handle?’ He turned and gave me this look of both anger and confusion. I noticed that he had an M3 Benelli pump action shotgun and he hadn’t pumped another shell yet.

‘What the fuck did you just say to me?!’ He looked really pissed off now. I took a step forward and shot a look towards the old lady. I think she knew what I was about to do.

‘I said, are you limp-dick fuckers going to actually buy something or just stand there looking like you’ve got a ten foot pole up your ass and you’re enjoying it?’ His body tensed and the wave of shock washed over his face. I should do this more often. He pointed the shotgun at my chest shakily and took a step back.

‘Have you got a fucking death wish or something?! Shut the fuck up before I blow your head off!’ His left hand is trembling like a bitch now. Fucking amateur. I grabbed the shotgun and slapped it to the side before he could pump it again. His hands lose grip and he lets go of the gun. I manage to grab it and turn it before he can do anything.

‘Now fuckhead, as I was saying, get the fuck out and don’t come back. Do you understand? Or do I have spell it out with pellets?’ I swear I could hear the piss streaming down his leg.

‘Fuck man, please don’t kill me. I wasn’t going to kill anyone. Oh my fucking god please dude?!’ Yeah, he definitely just pissed himself. Well, better let him go then. Lowering the shotgun and smiling, I laughed.

‘Get the fuck out of here before I call the cops on you’ maybe now I can finally shop in peace. He ran out the door dragging his friend screaming. I put the shotgun down on the counter and picked up my basket, placing it next to it.

‘You okay Mrs J?’ Mrs J was a small old lady and she looked like she couldn’t decide whether to be relieved that I’d just stopped the thieves or scared at how easily I did it.

‘Err…yeah… yeah I’m fine. Thank you. Are you okay?’ She always did worry about me.

‘Yeah I’m fine Mrs J. Just these, thanks. Oh, and a pack of cigarettes’ She took a few seconds to realise what I just said but got on with her job.

‘That’ll be eight forty five thank you’ I threw down ten and collected my bags before swiftly exiting the store. Eight forty five for my own body weight in noodles and some sauces. This should be a depressing prospect but somehow it actually made me excited.

I got back to my apartment complex just after seven. It was surprisingly empty, considering the streets were completely packed full of people. I jerked the key in my lock and slammed the door behind me. Dropping my shopping down I waited for the crying, but heard nothing. Fuck. Cant’ even have my early morning laughs. Fucking asseholes.

Day 3:

I was having this dream where I was trapped in an abandoned warehouse with my boss. He was chained to the floor and there were hundreds of menacing looking implements scattered about. I walked around and found a large piece of pipe and picked it up. Casually walking towards my boss I could see him struggling and trying to get free but I just laughed. Tears streaming down his face I ran the pipe across his forehead and I swear he pissed himself. I could not have asked for a sweeter revenge. I knelt down and pulled his head back. As he was choking back screams I forced the pipe down his throat repeatedly. I was essentially face-fucking him with a metal pipe until blood started pouring out of his mouth. A strange beeping started getting louder and louder as the images faded to black. Guess it’s time to wake up.

It’s 5:32 pm and it’s dark outside. I swear I haven’t seen actual daylight in 5 years. I was feeling particularly hungry today so I cooked up some noodles in Teriyaki sauce before I have to drag my ass to work for another painfully depressing night of flickering lights and the constant barrage of hot, searing bullshit from my assehole boss.