The Meteor

It was time to get home. With my arms full of warm laundry, I opened the front door to find a torrential downpour waiting for me. Hell, I thought, I don't have an umbrella. So I dash into the grime-caked street, which was steadily turning browner and sludgier every minute as the rain lifted up who knows what. I started running in the direction of Watershed Heights, splashing brown filth all over my ankles and on the backs of my legs. Gosh, that must have been a sight. A middle-aged, slightly over-weight man running in the rain with arms full of laundry and mud up to his knees. Auuggh, by the time I get home these wont be dry anymore. And it's not like I can go back to the laundromat and stick 'em in the dryer, I thought with grim humour. At least I was pretty close to the apartments.
A few minutes passed as I jogged along, dropping a sock along the way. I blinked the rain out of my eyes. Was that a large crowd of people standing around outside? What were they doing? It looked like they were surrounding something. Then I noticed the emergency vehicles. They were trying to pick up something. What is that? Some of the women were crying, while other observers would stare with wide eyes and then turn away with a sick look on their face, only to look back again as if they had forgotten what the mess looked like. I approached an old woman with a weird bird on her shoulder. "What happened?" I asked.
"Poor soul got run over," she said. The bird just stared at me, unblinking.
"Oh shit." We stood there for a moment, just watching the scene in sombre silence. Then I remembered I still had the laundry in my hands.
When I got back to my apartment, I found a corner in the "bedroom". I dropped the laundry on the floor. It was a little damp, but some of the clothes had escaped the rain by being on the inside. I stripped to my boxers and laid down in my new bed right then and there. I could see the rain coming down outside my window right above me. I tried to sleep, but I couldn't get the images of that dead man out of my head. That was pretty messed up, I thought. As I laid and thought, the rain gradually let up, and the sky cleared. What is that? I thought. Tiny lights started blazing in the sky, but it was hard to see them clearly because the window was so dirty and cloudy. Is that a meteor shower? That's pretty...awesome. I wonder what a meteor is like. I bet it's warm, and gives off a lot of light. I didn't even notice the urge that was starting to gnaw away at my mind. My hands started to shake. Meteors are probably worth a bunch of money too, I could buy a real bed with one of those. I was on my feet by now, and I was suddenly full of energy, alert. A small part of my brain began to realize what was happening, but it was already too late. I had let go of my self control in the laundromat.
My legs start moving of their own accord, out the door, down the stairs, through the lobby, down the street, and eventually make their way to a lake that I hadn't even known about before. Next, my eyes take control. They scan hungrily around, and direct my legs to the homeless section. I'm dimly aware that I'm still in my boxers, but I don't care in the slightest. I can only care about one thing. The meteors. I HAVE to find one. I start running around with my eyes glued to the ground. In my haste, I nearly miss it. But there it is, a small chunk of rock that has singed the plants around it. I pick it up slowly, my hands trembling so violently I might drop it. It's so warm and amazing. And with that my mind clears. Feeling slightly sick to my stomach, and embarassed that I'm almost nude, I make my way back to Watershed Heights, and my apartment which I forgot to lock. I lay back down in my nest of laundry, the warm meteor in my hands. Finally peaceful, I drop off into a deep slumber.