Toxin

𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝓢𝓲𝔁

Charlotte stepped into the Underground, her fingers wrapped tightly around her bag. The familiar fear clenched at her chest-how many times had her bag been snatched from her in this very place? She found an empty seat and sank into it, still clutching her bag as if it held her very life.

Across the carriage, a man's eyes bore into her. His smirk was a cruel echo of countless others she'd encountered. Charlotte sighed. Not again.

"Hello, beautiful," he drawled, leaning closer. She took a deep breath, steeling herself against the onslaught of unwanted attention. Ignoring them was her best defence.

Escape-that's what she craved. But Gotham held her captive. She scraped by, barely surviving on meagre funds. Food and rent were her sole concerns.

A physicist by training, Charlotte had once dreamed of unravelling the universe's secrets. Now, with a Ph.D. in hand, she found herself the lone woman among male colleagues. But her days weren't filled with groundbreaking experiments. Instead, she fetched coffee and tidied offices.

The man beside her reached out, tucking a stray strand of her hair behind her ear. She closed her eyes, willing herself not to cry.

"Your beauty is wasted in this city," he murmured, his breath hot against her skin.

"Are you mute?" he continued, his tone mocking. "I've always had a thing for mute women."

Charlotte's throat tightened. Across from her, a sympathetic woman watched, while another man remained silent. He wanted to defend her, she could tell, but fear kept him still.

Gotham divided its inhabitants into two stark categories: the privileged rich, shielded from hunger and rent worries, and the desperate poor, trapped in a cycle of survival. But not all the poor were alike. Some, like the man beside her, preyed on their own.

"Look at me," he commanded, gripping her chin. She met his gaze, repulsed by the countless scars etched into his face. His pupils, dilated from weed, bore into hers.

"If I gave you money, would you leave me be?" Charlotte's voice trembled. She already knew the answer.

"Hmm," he smirked. "Yeah. Why not?"

Charlotte fumbled with her bag, handing him some crumpled money. But he wasn't satisfied.

"No, love," he sneered. "Give it all."

She counted out every last coin, her heart sinking, and she gave them to him. He kissed her cheek, leaving a mark she'd wipe away later. Across the aisle, the woman's eyes held sympathy, while the silent man's clenched fists betrayed his inner turmoil.

Charlotte stared at her empty wallet, wondering how she'd manage to eat that week. In this unforgiving city, survival was a daily battle, and she was losing

Charlotte drew a deep breath as she stepped into the supermarket-the seventh one she'd visited tonight. The harsh fluorescent lights illuminated her tired face as she approached the cashier.

"You again?" The older, stout woman behind the counter scowled. "I-" Charlotte's voice wavered.

"If it's food you're after, then no!" The cashier's voice rose to a shrill pitch. "You always promise to repay within a week, but it's a month before you show up again! Go, before I do something I'll regret!"

Charlotte's throat tightened. "Please," she pleaded. "I have no food."

"Out!" The cashier's pudgy finger pointed toward the exit.

Charlotte sighed, defeated, and shuffled out of the market. The next store beckoned, but the man inside turned the sign to 'closed' the moment he saw her. His disdainful glare cut through her like a blade.