The lights finally came on again. That's good, you've been lost in here for months. Actually, you aren't quite sure where here is. You look around, the walls are gray and unremarkable and it seems like the cans you assumed were full of beans were actually cans of rotted peaches and the syringes you thought contained medicine happened to really be heroin.
"Christ, I'm a wreck. And what is that awful smell? Oh, right, me," you say to yourself.
There are only two paths visible in the tunnel. You opt to take the right path. Eventually you find a ladder built into the wall. You climb up the last rung and lift the manhole. It's bright, and the air is clean. Your unadjusted body loses control, but you maintain your grip. A strange person walks by, you've never seen him or her, but either way, it gives you a bad feeling. In fact as you look around, there are lots of unfamiliar people around, all scared.
You walk down the streets in rags that have lost all color and shape and passersby sneer at your poor condition. A newspaper strikes your eye. The headline even more so.
"Mr. Chrome Has Been The Most Recent Homicide Victim". The article mentions that several days before, a serial murderer had been captured and slain. The name brings you back to before your hiding. He was an old friend and you haven't even had the chance to talk to him.
More and more people start to shove at you and yell for you to get off their clean streets. You remember that you never actually sold your house and head in what is hopefully that direction. You finally get to your old neighborhood, only to discover that it's been condemned. Thankfully one of your neighbors recognizes you under all the filth. He allows you access to stay with him and gives you a new change of clothes. But not before bodily throwing you into his shower.
~~
Hey all, it's been awhile, hasn't it?