!@#$%^

the sheets of rain had bore down on the rooftops moments earlier finally let up. a soft, humid mist now lay across the street below. the slick streets gleamed in the dim light of the lamp posts. the sun had long ago set, the normally crowded streets empty due to the storms that had been passing through the city all evening.

a bottle, launched from somewhere above, hits the ground with a muted shatter. perched atop one of the apartment buildings, she sat patiently, staring at the lone body wandering through the alley. the guy didn't even turn at the noise. she smiled sheepishly, he probably wouldn't have been able to see her anyway.

she listened to the voices floating out of apartment windows. lovers quarreling on the 6th floor. a baby crying somewhere on the 8th. video games and stifled laughter from somewhere far below. music came from a bar somewhere near by, she couldn't fully place where. her senses were dulling as she suspiciously eyed the remaining vodka bottle. the clear liquid always rendered her slower, never vulnerable. it was enough to make her forget, but not enough to numb her completely. she carefully removed the cap and sniffed the contents. sweet, deceiving. she looked up at the sky again, patiently waiting for the rain to begin again. a sign maybe? a sob caught in her throat as she realized nothing would come. she raised the bottle towards the sky gulped down as much as she could before her stomach felt the burn.

it took a few minutes before her head felt heavy. the half empty bottle dropped to the ground. the shattering that normally would have lingered in her head didn't so much as echo. a small laugh escaped her throat as she lay back to stare at the sky. her legs dangled freely over the edge while her mind tried to make sense of the sudden calm. this would be her only escape for the next few hours. for now, the voices weren't raging inside her head. for now, she could barely conjure the images that kept her out of bed, wandering the rooftops during the night and cursing during the day. in this moment she couldn't see her mother's angry face damning her from the only home she ever knew. was this happiness? probably the closest she would ever get to the feeling at this point in life. the thought amused her. instant happiness from a rancid liquid. she covered her mouth as a booming laugh echoed off the brick walls of the alley. her body jerked with laughter.

she couldn't control the chuckling until the sounds below changed drastically. her body tensed and her ears struggled to understand what was going on below. there was a slight change from the steady drone of music and voices. human ears wouldn't have detected the change below. but she was already flat on her stomach peering over the rooftop's edge. human eyes wouldn't have been able to see what was going on stories below in the alley. her spine shivered in response to the change in the air. danger.