short & horrific

Title - Welcome to Nothing
Author - shorthorror
Pairing - Jimmy Sullivan / Matt Sanders
Rating - NC-17
POV - Alternating
Summary - Jimmy Sullivan has never found so much in so little. His struggles become someone else's struggles after an unexpected run-in. Now Jimmy doesn't have to suffer by himself.
Disclaimer - Purely fictional. The words are mine but the names are not.
Warning - Language, sex and mature situations.






The quiet city below turned gray under the dark rain clouds hanging over it's buildings. Thunder threatened a storm and distant lines of jagged white light lit up the smoky atmosphere with powerful cracks. Every time the rumbling of nature settled the scent of rain wafted through the alleys and gutters of the streets. Driver's sped up in their vehicles to avoid the inevitable downpour along with the few pedestrians and stray cats. Homeless people curled up in their tarnished shelters of sleeping bags, newspapers and boxes. The day had been calling for rain since the break of dawn, but the sky was only just bearing it's pluvial face when the street lights flickered on and the stores began closing. Most of the city's citizens were able to hide away in their homes with their families and friends away from the outdoor dismality, but some didn't have that option. Some of the people would be outside throughout the entire night, suffering in the wet cold with drenched clothes and damaged belongings.

This was only Jimmy's second night surviving under the wing of cruel Mother Nature and an unforgiving city.

Jimmy Sullivan was a man of twenty. He strolled the sidewalk dressed in a hooded black cotton jacket and tight-legged denim pants that had holes through the knees. On his back he carried a knapsack who's space was taken up by another pair of jeans, two t-shirts, a water bottle, a Kit Kat and five dollars. He was lucky to have a good pair of almost brand new sneakers on his feet for when the rain came down and made deep puddles on the sidewalks. He strolled down Lexton street while pulling his hood up and changing the song on his mp3 player as it hid in the confines of his right sleeve. He was wary when it came to his electronics and protecting them, for they were all he had left except for a few articles of clothing and enough money to make it across the city on a bus. He held it in his palm, his palm in his thick sweater and he walked swiftly, long legs enabling him to take enormous strides. Jimmy was happy that out of all the things he had to lose, he didn't have to lose his mp3 player. There were a couple hundred songs on it's memory, but that was all Jimmy needed, even if he had heard them all countless times.

As Jimmy stared at the small black and neon red screen he noticed a bead of water land in the center of it. His blue eyes rolled upwards to take in the intimidatingly large gray storm clouds. Another drop of water landed on the bridge of his nose, and then another on his cheek. Jimmy sighed in frustration as the rain started spitting all over the streets. He had been anticipating the rain all day, but wasn't to pleased when it finally decided to come down when the city was dark and asleep. Jimmy sought refuge beneath the overhang of a building but soon found it was uncomfortable to remain standing while the rain was coming down harder and landed not but an inch away from him. With another sigh, Jimmy ripped the headphones out of his ears and shoved his mp3 player in his pocket. He adjusted the strap on his backpack and continued off down the street. On the outside it looked as though Jimmy had a calm disregard for the weather but on the inside he was panicking. He didn't want to be wet all night with nowhere to sleep but soggy parks and dirty streets.

Jimmy walked by the 711 and let his gaze trail off to the elaborate displays of Red Bull and the newest flavor of potato chips until he could no longer see without turning his head. Beside the 711 there was a donut shop with a single police car parked out front of the door. Jimmy rolled his eyes at how tastelessly cliche it was to have seen a cruiser at a donut shop. He hiked up his backpack again, cursing under his breath about the rain that was now seeping through his clothes to moisten his skin. His gentle waves of black hair were slicking with the drops falling from the sky and every time Jimmy took a step, the rain water fanned out around his shoe and dampened the ankle of his sock.

The area was unfamiliar to Jimmy, though he had lived in the city for three years he had never been downtown by himself. He was used to living in the East end with his mother and sometimes making a trip across town to the West end where his father lived. Both of the regions were suburban and calm, an ideal place to grow up in, especially for younger kids. But every city has it's bad parts and that was what Jimmy was just finding out. His curious and untrained eyes observed the drug deals, the homeless people suffering, the crime scenes and the scum of the city in a new prospective. Now Jimmy wasn't the young teen watching out a car window, he was the watched. He was now very much a part of the economically impaired.

An alley presented itself to Jimmy as he walked by a cluster of buildings and paused to take a look down the dank opening. The painted brick walls were dripping onto the littered ground and the stench gusting from the open dumpster made Jimmy's face contort with disgust. He saw the overhangs and the lighter gray patches on the ground where no rain was had fallen. He took a step into the alleyway and stared ahead down the long dim stretch. He couldn't see much farther than a few yards, but at the very end of the slum there was a lamp on above a door, showing that the alley split off into two left and right directions. Without further hesitation Jimmy continued down the alley, keeping his eyes wide open though they ached to shut and stay shut forever. He passed the leaking dumpster and felt the acid in his stomach swish around nauseously as the scent of decay filled his nostrils. He hurried down the alley towards the light and instinctively turned right where he came to an abrupt halt.

Jimmy felt his heart jump into his throat as a hooded figure rose it's head to look at him. It was a man by the looks of his broad frame that was crouched down with his back against the wall, arms between his legs. His hands were hidden in the folds of his sleeves as his face was hidden in shadow. Jimmy couldn't make out the face through it's silhouettes and knew he didn't want to see who it was either way. He feared the kind of mysterious person that was alright with sitting in a dirty alley by themselves so he turned before the person had a chance to do anything else but breath huskily. Jimmy power walked down the other end of the alley and turned the corner. By then the rain was letting up, but only for a short break that night.

With his back pressed up to the cold stone wall, Jimmy hung his head and breathed in deeply through his nose. The whining and whooping of sirens sounded in the back of the night as though they were warning the city of danger. Unfortunately, the danger that was making it's way towards Jimmy wasn't going to be scared off by distant noises. It came at him with stealthy silence, up until Jimmy perked up and saw what was heading towards him. He stepped back quickly, only to back into a hard chest behind him. Two men dressed in baggy clothes approached Jimmy, the third one grabbing his elbows and pinning his arms behind his back. Jimmy was so shocked he wasn't even sure if he made a noise when he was hit with the first punch to his stomach. He attempted to withdraw into himself, make himself smaller so the pain wasn't as bad as it could be, but instead just ended up looking like he was crumpling. The voices he heard were too obscured by rogue fear and the reoccurring sensation of heat and pain whenever he was struck. He felt the sharp pressure on his face, in his arms and in his gut where the most blows were landing. Somewhere in his tilt-a-whirl of torturous confusion and agony he noticed his backpack had slipped off and was resting somewhere on the wet ground. Suddenly, he fell to the cement and tried clutching around for it, hoping and begging that his attackers weren't after what he had inside.

Boots drove into Jimmy's ribs, but no matter how hard he was kicked he still tried looking for his backpack. He could be ambushed and beaten on the street but he would be damned if he was robbed and left with absolutely nothing but the clothes he was wearing. No, he had already lost his security, his self-respect and his pride but no way was he losing the last bit of home he had with him. He felt around on the rough ground and finally gripped something that felt like the canvas of one of the shoulder straps. He held onto it until it was kicked out of his grip and another kick was forced into his side, rupturing veins and weakening bones.

As he writhed on the ground, the voices that were yelling at him were now screaming at each other. Jimmy opened his eyes weakly to catch the last glimpses of the men punching each other before his vision grew opaque and his head spun him into a comatic world that left his limp body deadly vulnerable to anybody. He was still like human roadkill, but not ignored. His body was rolled over so his open mouth could take in the musty air of the alleys. Jimmy's face was bruised and dirty with grime from the ground he laid upon. A thick streak of blood trickled down the side of his face, spewing from a gash beside his right eyebrow. His body was a broken, bloody mess but his mind was at ease. He was floating on a cloud somewhere in the safety of his own mind now, away from the hardships of being completely alone.