The Fall

Now, Cobra was slicker than any of the dealers that worked for Torres. He said to the woman, “C’mon, you don’t still believe in all that stuff Nancy Reagan and D.A.R.E. shoved down your impressionable little throat all those years ago, do you?”

The woman said to Cobra “Nah, I mean, I’ve smoked marijuana and tried some pills and mushrooms and things, but I won’t touch heroin ‘cause that stuff will kill you.”

“Like hell it will,” Cobra said to the woman. “When that rush hits your veins, the world is a magical, happy, dreamlike place and all your worries will go away.”

As the woman spent more time with Cobra and his friends she saw their euphoria every time they shot up, she decided to try it. She also convinced the new hot piece of ass she had picked up on the boardwalk to try it. And both of them became instantly addicted and started blowing their rent money on more dope and spending a lot of time standing in line at the clinic for the needle exchange.

* * * * * * * * * *

The new dude and the woman saw the red and blue flashing lights through the windows as they were picking up a stash in the middle of the afternoon, and they tried to hide in the basement. But the cops called out, “Who’s down there?”

The dude answered “Hey man, don’t shoot. I saw your lights and ran down here ‘cause I don’t want no trouble.”

And the cop said, “Why would you have trouble? You here buying drugs?”

The dude said, “This woman, I just met her on the boardwalk, she bought it and made me try it.”

Then the cop said to the woman, “What kind of shit are you into here?”

The woman said, “Cobra made it look so pleasurable and I couldn’t help myself.”

So the cops found Cobra and said “They named names and because we know it was you,

Screwed are you now in the criminal empire to which you belong!
You will collaborate with us
and become an informant,
or you’ll rot in jail the rest of your days.
A great vengeance will form
when Torres finds out
about your double-crossing ways;
his men will hunt you down,
and you will die a painful death.”

To the woman the cop said,

“Your withdrawal symptoms are going to be very severe,
with cold sweats, muscle cramping, diarrhea, and vomiting.
Your desire for heroin will be constant,
and the addiction will rule your every waking moment.”

To the dude the cop said, “Because you stupidly followed this woman and did something that common fucking sense should have told you not to,

Cursed is your future because of these actions;
You will have a felony on your record and it will follow you
all the days of your life.
It will prevent you from getting jobs and housing,
and you will be subject to warrantless searches.
Try as hard as you want
but you will never own a firearm,
never get a passport,
and never be able to vote again.
For second class you are now,
and as a second-class citizen shall you be treated.”

* * * * * * * * * *

The dude decided to call the woman Junky from then on, because she was.

The court system provided Junky and the dude garments of bright orange. The judge said, “These people are now a menace to society, unproductive addicts caught in a web of self-destruction. They must not be allowed to also harm the innocents around them by resorting to theft and violence to feed their addiction.” So the courts banished them from civil society to a prison where they would sew military fatigues at a rate of twenty-three cents per hour. After their cell doors closed, the prison guard stood sentry at the hallway exit, blocking the route back to the life they once had.

Original: Genesis 3