Sam sat under the graffiti covered concrete of the bridge, idly tossing stones into the canal below, listening to the drumming of the rain and the incessent drone of traffic overhead. His stomach took the opportunity to remind him that it was now going on three days since he had last eaten, and he grimaced, trying to force his mind onto other things.<br/><br/>In the gloom all around he could see them flocking. They could sense his mood though and stayed back. Well, most of them did at least. Some .. perhaps more desperate to be heard .. would periodically drift closer, their whispered words coming to him, like the memory of words just said, rather than anything heard. He still wasn't entirely sure how he drew them closer, or pushed them away. The mood he was in, they kept away.<br/><br/>He shivered, pulling his jacket around him, and the hood up, but it didn't seem to help that much. "Fucking freezing." he muttered, glaring around. "Fucking worthless shower of wankers. No use, the bloody lot of them." It had been a slim hope, to see if the mobile soup kitchen would be here, but slim hope was better than none.<br/><br/>He glared around at the shades that surrounded him. "Well?" he demanded. "Any of you got anything worth saying?"<br/><br/>His hands rose to his head, screwing his eyes shut as a cacaphony of silent voices filled his mind. "SHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUP!" he shouted, til the noise ceased. "Fuck me. Arg. Fuck. Don't ever do that again, you hear me?" He glared around him. "Do any of you know where I can find some food, or some money, or something that will help?"<br/><br/>Again the voices, less this time, but it still took him a few moments to sort through. He rose, moving towards one of the shades, that of a young woman, only a few years older than he, by her appearance.<br/><br/>"Show me."<br/><br/>He followed her out into the rain, within thirty seconds he was soaked to the skin. Through dimly lit streets he moved, taking what shelter he could find as the rain waxed and waned in strenght. His path led him to what looked like the shell of an old factory, its gates padlocked shut. It took a bit of scrambling, but he made it over the wall, dropping to the tarmac beyond with a muttered curse. Rubbing his ankle he rose, and moved to the main building itself, smashing a window to get himself inside.<br/><br/>He followed her steps through the remains of the building, down into the cellar, lighting a small pocket torch to see, coming to a door that was bolted shut. He pulled the sleeve of his top down over his hand, and worked the bolt up and down til it finally slid across open. Holding the sleeve of one arm across his nose he moved inside, but the stench still left him gagging.<br/><br/>The corpse lay propped against one wall, and likely had been for weeks, perhaps months. He held his breath as drew closer, fishing a small purse from a bag that lay discarded a few feet away. He opened it, nodding in satisfaction at seeing the cash inside. Not exactly a fortune, but at least it was food for the next week or so .. maybe a bit longer, if he was careful. "Thank you." he said, his tone subdued. "What ... I mean ..." he stopped as he understood what it was happened to her, his light playing over the torn clothing, to the handcuffs that had pinned her to the rusty metal pipe by the wall.. "I'm sorry." he said, weakly. "But I can at least call the location in. Your family, I mean, it's better than not knowing, right?" He pocketed the cash, putting the purse back where it had been, watching as she began to fade away.<br/><br/>He left the cellar behind, stumbling up and into the night. It took time to find a working phone around here. "Hello, police? I want to report a murder. Rape and murder. No, shut up and listen, I'm not staying on here. Send a car to ..."