Acid Rain by R.D Rhodes (ebook reader txt) 📕

they concentrating on wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and hunger in Africa when there was poverty right here?

I worried myself, it couldn’t be a good thing to hate the human race, my fellow species, as much as I did. But I couldn’t not hate them, look what they were doing.

I thought the endless maze of houses would never end but suddenly they broke off and a busy road came into view. Cars raced franticly by on all sides. I stepped to the corner and tried to figure out which way to go to get back to the house, but all the streets looked identical. I gazed up and down the road and at the cluttered skyline for the familiar three high-rise flats, but I couldn’t see them anywhere. The chaotic outpours of cars kept shooting past and smothering the air with their screams. I turned back around and picked a street that looked familiar. I couldn’t even bare to look up, I thought I might be sick or have a fit, so I fixed my eyes on the pavement and marched straight ahead. Then in my periphery, I spotted a man. I glanced up as he kept coming, storming straight for me, staring at me through eyes burning with hatred. I crossed the road and sped up and he walked on by. I walked fast. I started to jog to make up time. I jogged back past a teenager dressed in a full blue tracksuit, who picked up a stone and hurled it at one of the steel boards. A little boy tagged behind him and watched as the stone ricocheted of the metal, then he picked up a stone himself and did the exact same thing. I heard the thud behind me as I picked up my pace. Kids were just like mirrors, they just copied everything they fuckin seen.

I jogged on and on until I arrived back at the flats. I sprinted up the stairs and burst in through the door.

Chapter 35

They both looked up from the couch.

“Where have you bee- you okay?” Harry looked alarmed.

“Yeah. I’m fine.” I tried to regain my breath. “Sorry. I got lost. Had to jog back.”

They both stood up at the same time, still looking at me, “We were worried,” Harry said, “you’ve been gone ages.”

“I’m fine, honestly,” I smiled, “You ready to go?”

His eyes lingered, then he turned to Gary and put out his hand. “Well, I suppose then, mate. Thanks again for everything man, really appreciate it.”

“Aye, no bother. Anytime, Harry.” Gary glanced at me. “Here, wait a minute,” he went into the coffee table drawer and pulled out an old portable CD player with a pair of earphones attached, “Ye guys want this? I don’t use it anymore?”

“Are you sure?” I asked.

“Aye, course. Here, take a couple of CDs as well.” I followed him through to his room, to the CD rack with over a hundred lined in rows.

“Take whatever you want. Em, apart from that one, and this one.”

“What about these?”

“Aye, no bother. You only want two?”

“Two’s more than enough. Thanks so much! I’ll give you your jacket.”

“Woah, woah, woah. You’ll need that. It’s cold just noo, and ah have plenty anyway. No, honestly, keep it.”

I pulled the zip back up as he waved his hand away and turned back out the room.

“Come back anytime. Yous are always welcome.” He said at the door. We thanked him profusely and hugged him, said our goodbyes, and Harry and I made our way down the long flight of stairs and out into the street.

“Did you tell him where we’re going?” I said.

“No. He never asked.”

“Oh.”

“He gave us some money.”

“Did he? How much?”

Harry reached into the pouch pocket of the hoody Gary had given him. He had a full rucksack on his back now too. The guy had so little yet had given us so much.

“A hundred.” Harry confirmed. “Should be just about enough for everything we need.”

“What a guy.”

“Yeah. How was your walk?”

“It was alright.”

“Where did you go?”

“Just, ..around the block.” I kept my eyes on the pavement. I felt a little better, now that I was leaving it all behind. I felt a bit of guilt though. Why should I be fortunate enough to leave? I thought. But then again, they weren’t forced to live there. Weren’t held at gunpoint. They could get up today and leave if they really wanted to. Half of them probably didn’t know anything else though, didn’t know what else was out there.

We walked on at a decent pace, following the road for the bus station. It was still only nine-thirty and the streets hadn’t been fully cleaned up yet from the night before. Pavement pizzas of puke coloured the tarmac and full black waste bags were piled up high.

We got back on Sauchiehall Street. All the young clubbers had been replaced with middle-aged slobs out for their Saturday morning shop. They waddled along the pavements with their glaiket eyes, their chins wobbling and their slack trousers held up by their protruding stomachs.

We arrived at the station and waited at the stance. The bus pulled in and we joined the back of the line. As I stepped forward it took good footwork to avoid the many greeners gobbed in little puddles all over the ground.

We got our tickets and walked down the aisle. The bus was almost full. There was spare seats but some selfish bastards had put their rucksacks, handbags and newspapers down to ward off any unwanted neighbours. I stopped at one and asked a man with his face in The Daily Mail if I could sit there? He snuffed, looked me up and down, then reluctantly moved his bag.

Harry was somewhere further up. I sat down and took Nevermind and the CD player