Chapter One

Sweat glistened on his forehead. His legs were one block short of giving out. His arms pumped with the same intensity as his heart. His hands seemed to share a similar fate to his brow but he would not let his prize slip from his grasp. 
 He turned into a familiar alley, his breath coming in gulps. A garbage dump loaned itself as a stepping stone where he grabbed onto a window ledge to hoist himself inside in one fluid motion. Lying on the floor, he listened to the sound of an angry grocer who's thieving prey had escaped him. A smile touched his lips.
He stood and maneuvered his way across a floor teeming with chasms. Pieces fell through here and there but he made it across safely to another window where there was a ladder he'd set up for himself. He climbed that to the roof, his breath coming easier now.
A few blankets were spread in the middle. Not far from it was a bucket full of water that was for rain. Besides those few things, the roof was sparse, bare. He settled down on the blanket and looked at the long white package in his hands. Unwrapping it slowly, his mind flooded with the number of days its been, the fights he'd gotten into in those days, the pain. This was a big deal. People would be gunning for him because word would get out about what he had and what it was worth. But for now, he just wanted to savor this moment.
The sight of the log of salami almost made him cry, the smell just as beautiful. He hesitated before taking a bite. And the taste...life sustaining. He moaned lightly as he took another bite. Three more bites are allowed before he wrapped it up, marched over to a large piece of concealed brick, lifted it up and gently placed the log inside.
"Good night," he said in a velvety deep rasp.
Lying down once again, he slept comfortably accompanied by a happy stomach.