Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.
It's amazing how much noise can come from footsteps on a thin layer of snow. The sound, amplified by the lack of traffic and wildlife, reverberated back from the nearby stone wall. Every step, every small chunk of ice sent skittering across the frozen walkway, every breeze that momentarily deafened the crunching with a whoosh - it was all marking the passage of a single miscreant.
The deserted street was marked with a few snow-covered cars and neatly placed streetlights, all displaying cheerful banners of the season. 'Noel', 'Tis the season', 'Joy of giving'. Pointless clutter, all advertising for some massive store downtown where the rich of the city went to pick up gifts for their loved ones. That was probably why there was no traffic here, on the side of town that was pointedly ignored by the rest. Tomorrow was Christmas, and apart from the gaudy signs that disgusted the residents of the neighborhood, there was no sign of it.
Passing an alley with a few men sitting and drinking, the female wanderer glanced up and nodded a greeting. They raised their bottles and nodded back, then returned to their personal festivities. Alcohol kept them from freezing and added to the useless hobo image - a double bonus that amused them. As soon as they were out of sight, she was once again alone. The ever-present crunching was almost a companion, providing a beat to her mental humming.
"JJ! My favorite little charmer! Tell me you brought me goodies," a voice rung out, the masculine accent carrying easily across the snow. The speaker was a tall man, with a few jackets of varying colors and degrees of wear across his torso and a frizzy poof of red hair escaping his cap. "Don't hold out on me, dollface!"
"Not tonight," she replied simply, her fingers holding the small paper bag marginally tighter as she walked past him.
He gave up easily and she smirked to herself, turning the corner around the block and going up a set of stairs to the Community Recreation Center. There was a small beggar girl in front of the door, looking properly pathetic as she cried and held out a small hat in hopes for change. She was rather cute, but JJ knew for a fact that this girl would run home to a large apartment with a bunch of other brats just as pretty. No point contributing when she had likely already made hundreds from sympathetic people filled with the commercially-driven 'spirit' of the season.
She went in the door and strolled down the hall, her thick hiking boots leaving a wet trail of half-melted snow. The rooms were all abandoned, furniture overturned. This center hadn't been operated properly in months, and the Mayor had no idea. Residents had been using it as a shelter, a club, or whatever else was needed. It was simply known as 'The Building' these days. The room at the very end of the hall was her destination. Formerly a large meeting room, it now held a line of three tables and nothing else. Atop the tables were a variety of burners and beakers, with droppers and needles. A variety of random things were dropped among the scientific, with no apparent rhyme or reason.
JJ walked up to the center table and upended her bag, scattering a dozen prescription pill bottles. She opened them all and dumped the pills into a pile, then rapidly sorted them all by type and color. The gels were the best, but the powders could be used thanks to some of the gelatin and chemicals that she had. She set to work after that, melting and boiling and shaping. It was a long and careful process, but the end result was worth it - a half dozen colorful lollipops, twisted and shining just like the ones that attracted children so easily. A sweeter high could not be found. She smiled and popped one in her mouth with a nod of satisfaction.
Merry Christmas to all.
