Kizzy fly by night.

part 17

A heavy blanket is draped across him with a pillow hastily plumped and put behind his head. He hears a glass of water being poured and placed on the table.

"Now do try not to puke on the blanket, it's very expensive."

Gale nods and closes his eyes as he floats off to Wonderland. Kizzy races through his thoughts. If only she was with him, she'd know what to do.

Kizzy

I wake with a start and curse myself for falling asleep. I tear back the curtain fully expecting to find a Rose or a crazy masked killer. There's no one around apart from the usual London hustle and bustle. I get up and decide to find a payphone to call Gale. Podge follows happy to be out so early.

The number rings endlessly so I hang up and re-dial assuming it's the wrong number. Again there is no answer. My eyes cloud over and my stomach groans. He's always home in the morning, this is strange. A sick feeling engulfs my stomach. No, I assure myself he'll be home, no doubt strung out on drugs after a late client. I consider going to his flat just to check, but I'm wary of going too far from home after last night. Instead, I decide to scope out a new place to live, I walk around checking out possible options. I have to choose carefully as most of the haunts are bursting at the seams with runaways and drug addicts and other misfits of society. My box feels like a proper home and I wonder if I could drag it to a new place without overly drawing attention to myself. I sigh heavily and again ponder on why my life is so complicated.

Gale.

Gale wakes up disorientated. He looks around blearily and throws his head back in dismay. How the hell has he allowed this to happen? He thinks of Kizzy, no doubt she'll be frantic by now. He recalls the last time this guy had picked him up, surely that should have been more than a warning...and what about Lulu... why the fuck hadn't he listened... He hears the key turn in the lock and tenses.

"Good Morning Bunny and how are we? I trust you slept well?"

"I've slept better."

"Aww I'm sorry...The accommodation not to your liking?"

Gale scowls.

"Well I wouldn't worry too much it's not as if you're going to be here forever," he mutters.

A carrot of hope dangles and Gale attempts to sit up and smile. "So you'll let me go then... if I behave?"

The man giggles pinching his nose playfully. "You'll just have to wait and see boo."

The carrot swings faster. "Thing is," begins Gale, "You know I'm a junkie right? Well if you keep me here it's going to cost you a whole wad just to keep me together...What I mean is how can I give you what you want if I get the shakes?"

He looks at his captor hopefully, the desire to live surging threw his veins, and is dismayed to see him yawn bored with the way the conversation is turning.

"Look Bunny would love to chat but some of us have got to get to work."

Hope drains from Gale's eyes. "What so no breakfast then? Surely you're not going to leave me tied up all day?"

The man approaches him menacingly and he shuts his eyes waiting for the blow, instead, he feels his face being licked, wet, and slobbery. The tongue swirls over Gale's cheeks, around his eyes, across his lips, and over his forehead. His hair is stroked kindly as if he were a favored pet. Gale freezes barely daring to breathe.

"Do you know you taste so much better than the little slag I had last week." He smiles, "And the one before that was positively rancid." He shudders as if to get his point across.