Astro knocked on the door to the apartment bedroom again. “Nyx, it’s been 20 minutes. Can you please let me in and talk to me?” No response. After Nyx’s futile attempt to stir Astro’s memory, she grabbed what was left of the dropped handle of vodka and ran into what was presumably her bedroom. Astro could imagine her horrid mental state from having her girlfriend ripped from her grasp. She couldn’t blame her.
Looking around the apartment for the first real time since she arrived, it wasn’t much to look at. A small kitchen was overrun with dirty dishes, the living room had items strewn on the floor with no rhyme or reason. A few framed photos of Astro and Nyx in various places were scattered around the walls. Stomach rumbling from not eating for almost 18 hours now, Astro checked the refrigerator to find a single egg in the corner of the door cabinet, blended in with the wall.
“Hey Nyx?” Astro said into the closed door “I’m getting kinda hungry so imma go out and try and find some food” She waited for a reply and after getting none she turned and walked towards the door. “Astro wait” Came Nyx’s voice through the door. “Take this” Astro looked back towards the door to see a crinkled $20 bill slipped underneath. “Thanks, I’ll be back soon” Astro said, taking the bill and leaving the apartment.
Astro walked out of the apartment, down the hallway, and past the comically bad playset out onto the road. Well, where do I go from here? Thinking about where she could go, she thought of a few options. Either I go back towards where I came, or I explore the other direction. Well, when I put it like that… Astro turned to the right and walked away from where she had already been.
After walking for a few minutes, Astro came across a very run down KFC. Walking inside, it looked fairly normal, except for the bulletproof glass at the counter that she had grown accustomed to at this point. “Hi, Can I get the Spicy Crispy Chicken Combo with a large fries and uhhhhh, the large deep fried cod bucket?” “Yes you can, will that be all?” The cashier asked in a dead, monotone voice. “Eh, fuck it I’ll get a raspberry shake too” “I’m sorry our ice cream machine is broken can I get you anything else?” Asked the cashier, as Astro threw up her hands in disappointment. “No, I guess I’ll just take that” She responded. “Alright, That will be $19.37, cash or card?” “Cash Please” she replied, handing her the $20 bill
Astro sat down at the booth facing away from the door, and stared dreamily out the window at the barren, run down street. A few seagulls were plucking hungrily at a dropped cigarette in the ally, next to a large green city dumpster. All of a sudden from behind her, the bell rang on the door as several people walked in. One of them spoke behind her “Well well well, if isn’t Astro fuckin’ Manira”
A panicked look spread over Astro’s face as she suddenly wished very strongly she had sat on the other side of the booth. “Aw, what’s the matter? Is Astro too secretive now to talk to big bad Lil’ D?” So his name’s Lil’ D? That’s… certainly a choice. “No, I’m not that secretive” Said Astro, in an important sounding tone. In reality, her forehead was starting to sweat even as she said it.
“Ahhh, I’m just fibbin’ ya. How are ya’ doin Astro?” Said Lil’ D as he spun around and sat in the chair across from Astro. Lil’ D was a large African man dressed in an LA Rams Jersey and light grey cargo pants. An unmarked grey baseball cap was placed lopsided on his head. “Where have you been this whole time? I mean I imagine it’s something your girlfriend put you up to but I don’t know for sure” He asked in a casual but yet very intense manner that made Astro unsure if he was being intimidating on purpose or if he was just an energetic guy.
“Oh, just your average secret Astro stuff. You know how it is…” Astro told Lil’ D. Technically, she reasoned, it wasn’t lying because she didn’t even know what she was doing. Lil’ D rolled his eyes hard with a loud sigh. “Ugh, fine. Keep your secrets if you’re gonna be like that” Astro took a glance behind her and clocked an incredibly small white guy standing at about 4’6” tall. A loose grey tank top and dark red red shorts complimented his high-vis red hat. He had medium length, curly red hair and spotted freckles all over his face. He stood hunchbacked and toothy staring at Astro from behind, in his lime green flip-flops. “Oh, Thumper! Quit staring, you're scaring the girl!” Said Lil’ D, grabbing a chicken leg out of Astro’s basket and sucking on it in his mouth for several seconds before taking out just the bone and tossing it carelessly on the floor. Thumper thought for a moment before turning around 180 degrees to stare directly at the wall.
“What do you want, Lil’ D?” Astro asked, warming up to the conversation but still ready for it to be over. “What, can’t a guy just talk to their favorite customer at a KFC? I just happened to walk in here at the same time as you. Besides I gotta scram soon anyways, I have a deal setup down the street in a few” Astro thought for a minute before asking a question. “You trust this guy a lot or do you think he’ll go the other way?”
Lil’ D laughed at the question, slightly maniacally. “Now? No! Had a deal go south last week, but that was a mistake on his part and everyone knows it now. I mean what type of dumbass picks a fight with an arms dealer?” So he’s an arms dealer, huh. And… I’m his client? “Yeah, well I’d better get going then. I gotta take this food back home to Nyx” Astro explained casually. “Oh, for sure for sure. Hey see you around, Astro. It was nice talking to you again” “Yeah, you too Lil’ D” responded Astro, as she stood up and walked out the KFC. As soon as she was outside, she let out the biggest sigh she’d had in a while.