Hope everyone had a great Easter!

Chapter 7

With the urge to explore the wide jungle of New York gnawing at my limbs, I changed into a more comfortable pair of high-heels and left my apartment building. The concierge stopped me at the door and asked if I required a taxi. When I replied that I wouldn't need one as I was going for a walk, he looked at me as if I had just spoken some long forgotten language. I smiled and continued down the sidewalk, not knowing exactly where it would end. A few turns, a couple more loops and I was in the business section of New York where gargantuan buildings stretched to the heavens.

I walked for some time, looking at the wondrous skyscrapers that crowded around each other like saplings fighting for the sparse rays of sun in a crowded forest. One building in particular caught my eye. Its beautiful windows glittered like diamonds, black diamonds. I stood for a while on the sidewalk, my back to the thick traffic, neck twisted in a painful incline to look at the tall building and its black diamond windows. Men and women alike, dressed in sharp business suits, were spewed from the revolving doors of the building while some were gobbled up. The circle of life of New York City.

It was getting late. The sparkling windows began to lose their sparkle as the sun dipped behind neighboring buildings.

You've seen New York, now let's try and not see the underground of New York. I thought to myself, remembering New York's terrible problem with crime.

I turned on my heel to leave and found that I was on the corner of a four-way intersection. The street itself seemed to be carved from a block of skyscrapers, so closely set were these buildings. I looked around, trying to figure out which street to take to get back to my apartment. Every street looked the same.

The sun was sinking deeper. I felt the first tingles of panic setting in as I shook my fingertips to relax.

"Eenie, meenie, minie, mo." I chose a street at random and began to walk.

Within minutes I found myself in a place I would never want to be. The skyscrapers changed into rundown apartment buildings. Like the missing teeth in an old man's smile, many of the apartments were missing their windows. Those apartments that still had windows had thick black bars covering them. I pulled the strap of my purse higher onto my shoulder and looked down at the sidewalk.

I figured eventually this ghetto would end and I would find myself in another business section. After another ten minutes of walking, my feet began to ache. The ache in my feet became unbearable and I slipped into an alley to remove my shoes. Standing on one heeled foot, my back against the wall of the alley, I removed my shoe and began to press the tips of my fingers into the tight muscles of my foot.

As I rubbed and kneaded my aching muscles, I realized I had lost myself in one of the larger ghettos of New York, a little place aptly named Hell's Kitchen. It was a place where the lowest and most dangerous of New York's citizens were made.

I had seen Hell's Kitchen mentioned in the newspaper; a regular in the crime section. With a gripping fear, I realized I could very well be another name under Hell's Kitchen's casualties. I slipped my heel back onto my foot and was about to leave the safety of the alley when two men's voices caused me to freeze in my tracks.

"Well, well, well, Charlie," One of the men spoke. "Look at what we've found here."

"Looks like we found ourselves a pretty little birdie." The other man spoke. I didn't turn. Rather, I kept on walking towards the sidewalk. Their footsteps came closer. For every step they took, I took two. Finally I burst onto the sidewalk and a sense of calm washed over me. I told myself that they wouldn't be able to get me now that I was in the safety of an open street. People were everywhere, sitting on the stairs to their apartment, sitting on the fire escapes, walking down the sidewalks. Here, with so many people, I was safe. I was wrong.

One of the men grabbed my arm and pulled me back into the dark alley. I screamed. No one on the street so much as turned their head my way.

"Come back birdie," The man dragged me into the alley, "All we's wanted was to dance."

I tried to scream again but the two men just laughed. "You're in Hell's Kitchen now. No one here cares."

"What about Daredevil? Boss, he scares me!" One of the men spoke. He was obviously the dumber of the two. The other man punched his shoulder.

"Don't say that name! Anyways, Daredevil hasn't been seen for a long time now and Spiderman doesn't wander 'round here." The "smarter" of the two looked down at me. "Spiderman prefers those high society folks, kinda like you's."

I looked up at the man, backing up against the brick wall of the alley. "Look, I-I don't want any trouble."

"Give us your purse."

I handed it over. They rummaged through it and pulled out my wallet. One of the men took my wallet and started counting the credit cards and money it contained. The other man sat on the floor and continued to rummage through my purse. It was now or never.

I jumped to my feet then shoved my heel into the chest of the man who was sitting on the floor. He dropped my purse and I snatched it up as I ran from the alley and down the sidewalk.

I ran until my lungs were aching. I ran until my head was pounding. I ran until my heel broke and I fell on the rough sidewalk. I looked back, afraid I was going to see the two muggers chasing close behind. Luckily, there was no one left on the street.

"I hate New York City." I replied, pulling myself from the sidewalk. "I hate it!"