I finished the cigarette and reached for another. I pulled out one fractured cigarette after another until the red pack was empty. "Fuck!" I shouted angrily as I threw the pack against the wall, then groaned in pain as I accidentally put weight on my foot. 'I'm damn sure not going to bleed to death in a city of seven million from a gunshot wound to the foot,' I thought as I gingerly fumbled around in the trash until I found an unbroken bottle. I grabbed it and began pounding rhythmically on the wooden door as hard as I could without bumping my foot. The solid wood absorbed most of the blows. I clenched my teeth as I put more force into each successive blow.

"Open up!" I shouted, stopping the blows only long enough for my words to carry. Minutes passed and the bottle began to feel heavy in my hand as I continued to pound on the wood. "Open God damn you! I'm hurt!" I shouted at the door.

'Oh shit.' I thought, catching myself. "Sorry about that!" I was beginning to feel dizzy from the pounding and shouting. "Didn't mean to blaspheme. I know you can hear me in there!"

The thought of apologizing for blasphemy in light of my circumstances struck me as funny and I began to chuckle as I resumed my knocking. "Hellllooo! I know you hear me knocking, so open the damn door already!!" I yelled, laughing.

The outline of the door started to blur and my blows began to glance off irregularly as I fought to keep my bearings. I lost my balance and the bottle slipped out of my hand, landing in the trash behind me. I slapped my empty hand against the wood several more times before turning over and resting my back against the door, still laughing out loud. I closed my eyes to control the tilting, spinning staircase to my right. The thought wasn't that funny, but I couldn't keep from laughing. I thought about the scared priest huddled behind the door, about Henry watching for me at the back door of the Necropolis, and about what Officer Willard was eating just then.

I calmed myself down and got my laughter under control just before the door opened and gave way behind me. I opened my eyes and everything had stopped spinning but me. I put my hand back to brace myself on where I thought the floor should have been but instead vaulted down another short flight of steps to the concrete floor of the basement. My bloody left foot banged hard against a white painted step and then caught my full weight at the bottom.