| The party that night was the same as the last, so were the ones they went to every other night that week. Maria was now providing the group with food every day, leaving Kat with extra money to do with as she pleased. Maria wasn't sure where she got her money from, begging or hooking, and didn't care. She shared her own self-made money with Kansas and while the others assumed they were out all day begging, they actually sat in a nearby park or just walked around window-shopping. When questioned about where she got the money, Alli replied, "I've got my ways." Kansas was too meek to question her. One night, about a week after Maria joined them, Kat came home with a "surprise". "So where's the party tonight?" Cal asked her when she entered. Maria had been anxiously pacing their small area, surprising herself by how much she was looking forward to the daily supply of marijuana the parties provided. "Nowhere," Kat replied. "What?" Maria snapped. Every turned to look at her, Kat was the first to realize why she was so anxious, "Relax, I've got a fix for ya," she said. "That's not�" Maria mumbled, shutting up when she saw that none of them believed her anyway. She took a seat next to Kat, peering over her shoulder as she unloaded the "surprise" from her bag�a small bag containing a white powder, followed by a razor blade, and a short straw. She motioned toward Kansas who was already rummaging through her things for a small piece of the broken mirror. Placing it down on the trunk, she kneeled in front of it, eagerly waiting for Kat to divide the treat. Maria watched in fascination as the powder was expertly separated into five neat rows on the mirror. Kat picked up the straw and leaned in to inhale the first. The others followed, leaving one row for Maria to consume. She hesitated, "Wha� what is it?" Kat looked at her through eyes dilated from the drug, "Coke� and I don't mean the Cola," she said, laughing at her own joke. Maria looked at the others to see that they were watching her with hunger, salivating for their next hit. "I'll pass," she said, staring at the damaging substance in Kat's hands. Kat shrugged, "Your loss sister," she said, separating another pile of the powder into even rows. She made five again this time, leaving two for Maria after everyone had taken their second hit. By now the effects were visible in everyone and Maria felt a sadness settle over her. The pathetic wenches looked so happy, like their miserable existence suddenly had some purpose, even if it was only to put the white death to good use. She looked back at the rows of cocaine, innocently staring up at her. Behind them she could see her reflection in the mirror. Her heart froze when she realized that it was Maria who was voicing these objections. Alli, the girl peering back at her from the cocaine bars, would have no hesitations about what course of action to take here. Maria reached over and took the straw Kat offered, leaning in she made eye contact with Alli and stared for a moment, two halves of the same person merging under the watchful glare of Alli's new friends. Maria closed her eyes, and quickly inhaled the rows, one in each nostril and flopped back on the car seat. She instantly knew that taking the drug had been a bad idea. It burned a path from her sinuses, absorbing into her bloodstream and following her veins to the superior vena cava. Entering her right atrium the poisoned blood was quickly rejected as such and her heart exploded in a shower of pain. Her body convulsed, her back arching as her heart pumped again and the blood fell into her right ventricle where it shot into her pulmonary artery, pulsing toward her lungs. When it reached it's temporary destination all of her breath was expelled from her body in a brilliant show of moistened air, hanging above her body before settling on the other four teens in the room. They watched in a transfixed stupor, partially caused by the cocaine high they were all flying on. Kansas started to cry as Alli's body convulsed again and her lungs, disgusted with the useless blood her heart had sent, pushed it careening along the pulmonary veins into her left atrium. There the powerful muscle pumped the vile substance into the powerful left ventricle and out into her aorta, which carried the blood to the far reaches of her body. Alli's body shook as light shone from every orifice of her tortured body, even seeping from beneath her fingernails. Her skin bubbled in blisters as capillaries brought the blood close to the skin's surface. The other four were horrified at the sight in front of them. Each was too embarrassed to speak to the others, wary of the teasing that one who spoke of such elaborate hallucinations received. As quickly as the effects of the cocaine were seen, they disappeared. The second, third, and fourth pump of Alli's heart brought cleaner and purer blood to her body, healing the blisters and dimming the radiating light. Maria lay back on the seat, acutely aware of every violation suffered by her body. She closed her eyes, willing her body to be anywhere else but in front of these people. Slowly her eyelids creaked open, green eyes peering at four awed faces. "Man, what a trip," Cal said, rubbing his eyes with his hands. "I know, hey?" Kat joined in. Maria smiled, joining in their laughter, they were too stoned to believe what had just happened, she barely believed it herself. She reached for one of the joints that Kat produced from her bag, not feeling any further effect of the cocaine. This was a safe drug, she thought. "Nice joint," she mumbled, and in the moment immediately following her body's betrayal, she gave herself over to marijuana completely. TBC |
| Part 14 |
 |