Another night on the hard, cold, concrete. Wow, how lucky I am getting a full nights sleep for once. I slowly rise up popping the life outta all my bones and grasping my wrinkled, stained hat. Yep, I beg on the streets, but that money is still the same business guys make, so who cares how I earn it.
The city seems to be wakin' up with me, the smell of coffee fills the busy air while many different cars zip by. Of course, no one pays attention to me, like normal. Even I, wouldn't give my dirty, rotten, looking self any precious change either. Just looking into my dead blue eyes would scare ya, and my black hair looks like I've rolled in mud for days, for it is being tainted brown, but that still doesn't excuse those greedy goblins.
How did I let this happen! Clenching my cap, I fling it at a wall almost like a pitcher in baseball. Before it lands on the ground two quarters fall out and clink against the pavement. Fifty cents, I guess that's all this homeless bum was worth yesterday. Let's see if I can make it to a dollar before midnight.
My stomach growls like an angry dog, telling me to go eat, But I don't have anything, and I will not go to one of those homeless shelters, I will not, So hey, I can't be that hungry. I mean my gut does hurt, but what has a little pain ever done to a man, nothing.
While in pain loud stomps sound, they're headed my way. Turning around there stands an old man with a beard that looks like moss, his clothes worn down, he's bald, and he has a beer bottle in his hand. The senior stumbles over to me barely keeping his wearing balance.
"Hey, Mr. President ya want some of this!?" The weird man starts. He is obviously drunk, slurring his words, and spewing saliva every time his filthy mouth opened. It's hard not to laugh, and trust me I want to, but that probably wouldn't go to swell.
"What do you want?" I respond.
"Stop badmouthing my mom!" He garbles.
Ok, this man is wasted, there's no way to sensibly talk with him. Standing there still with one hand on my abdomen, laughter burst out of me while I point at him.
"Hey, go home, your drunk!" I exclaim while giggles escape my mouth.
This sets him off, he reaches behind his back and grabs a knife. Laughter quickly converts to shivers and I freeze. Wait, that scumbag has a knife?
"You don't steal my cows!" He yells as the knife lunges toward me.
I close my eyes not wanting to see the blood splat in the air, but instead of a cutting noise I hear a slam, plus I don't feel a blade cut through me. My eyes open and next to my shaking legs I see the old man on the ground with some brave citizen on top of him. He just saved my life.
Quickly, the savior retrieves the knife and holds it next to the alcoholic's neck.
"Stop!" He yells.
Now we seem to be attracting a large crowd, everyone has their phone out, and is recording the ordeal. Some people have flash on their cameras and the light is blinding me. So for my eyes' sake, I look away from the crowd and watch the real show.
The drunk seems to have calmed down and is just lying there on the sidewalk with a blade to his neck. Everyone starts patiently waiting for the authorities to arrive, still recording.
The aggressor tries to move, slicing his throat and instantly killing him. Blood starts gushing from the wound. While the crowd acts horrified and their faces change to looks of terror, their cameras are still going. The only one who I think was actually sad was the guy who jumped in to help me. He dropped the blade and started shedding real tears.
Then simultaneously the earth changed colors. Everything is either purple, black, or red. I also see little clumps of purple matter floating in the air. tons of it focus around the crowd. I start feeling uneasy. Why is no one else freaking out? Am I the only one seeing this? What did I eat yesterday? Oh yeah, nothing. I pass off this interesting event as hallucinations, and before the crowd leaves, I make sure to ask them all for money.
Nothing was retrieved. I lie there on the ground next to a hollow vessel and a horrified man. right now my brain wasn't being bombarded with thoughts about my vision, or the fight that just happened. Instead, I'm mad that even with countless people watching a tragedy that I was a major part of. Nothing found a way to my hat.
But, even though I don't mind it, I can't ignore the dark gloomy world my eyes have been plunged into. A lot of those dark purple blobs have gone away with the crowd, but, nothing else changed. The world is still dark and depressing with its new color scheme.
I turn to the man who saved me. His hair is black and clean, he is also wearing a tuxedo like a businessman. The exact opposite of me.
"Hey, thank you," I say attempting to cheer him up.
He lifts his head, and I can truly see the fear printed all over his face. He looks like a wreck.
I grab my hat, "Do you have any spare change." I ask.
There is no response except the sounds of sirens heading our way.
The police must finally be here, I wonder if they have any extra money? I look around while waiting for them to get out of their cars to see that the city has completely reverted back to how it was ten minutes ago as if this whole crime never happened. While I'm pondering my thoughts, Two officers step out of the car, one a tall broad male with short red hair, and the other a slim fragile looking female with long blonde hair.
Suddenly I am petrified. I want to run, But I can't move a muscle. My heart starts pounding, screaming to escape my body. Something is wrong, really wrong.
My eyes are immediately drawn to the male cop. This purple substance is all over him. I'm now fearing for my life. I want to scream like a little girl but when my mouth opens nothing escapes it. What's wrong with me? Why am I so scared of him? He hasn't done anything yet, except get out of his car. But, my brain is imagining dead bodies stacked up around him.
"Excuse me" The male cop opens his mouth. "What happened here?"
My guardian gets up, "Sir," he starts with a shake in his voice. "I was walking when I saw that man" He points to the dead drunk. I can tell he is struggling to speak. "He attacked him with a knife. So I jumped in and..." He stopped talking.
"It's okay," The female cop put her hand on the shaking guy's shoulder. "Forget about the dead man for your own sake, listen, you are a hero." That brightened up his face.
"May I have your name?" she asked.
"Um... Jake, Jake kile." He finished with a sudden boost of confidence.
While she tries to calm Jake down, I still haven't moved an inch, looking like a statue. I don't trust that man.
He starts taking baby steps over to me as if to mock my stillness. I see a smirk grow on his face. every tiny stride he takes I get even more scared, until, finally, he's only one foot away from me. The cop starts talking, but I don't pay attention to his words. I'm focused on the gun at his waist. Sure, he is a cop, and that should be normal. But, my gut convinces me he is about to use it.
I need to stop being so paranoid. There is nothing wrong, Why am I afraid? Finally, I start focusing on what the cop is saying.
"Hello? Hello, are you there?" I realize he must have been trying to get my attention for a while, I must look so stupid. A homeless man, that just got attacked by someone so wasted he couldn't walk right, and now is zoning out in a conversation.
I am finally able to mutter out some faint words. "Yes, I'm here." "Good, so, what's your name?" He asks, his smirk hasn't moved. "Greg Wint." I respond.
Almost like our minds are connected, both the cop and I reach for his gun.
My heart doesn't pump one time before both our hands are at the pistol. But, he manages to wrap his palm around the grip first. He lifts the barrel right up to my face. My eyes move around catching one (probably) last glimpse of the world around me. But then the female cop takes her gun and points it at both of us. She probably doesn't know what to do, we had both lunged our hands forward at the same time, making her unsure of who initiated this.
To be honest, I don't know who did either. It was like instinct, somehow I just knew something bad was about to happen. So, my arm went straight to the gun. Why did he go for it though? Right now it's obvious why there is a barrel at my forehead, I went to grab a cop's firearm. But, it's impossible that he could have reacted so suddenly, and If he didn't react to me, then, why had he also went to seize the weapon?
Other than us four, no one else has noticed the situation, yet. No incaging crowd has emerged.
The guy holding me at gunpoint turns away with a spark in his eye and takes a shot.
The bullet makes a huge blast while leaving the pistol. It pierces through the air. Faster than the blink of an eye, it enters and exits the woman's small shoulder.
Her arm immediately limps like she lost control of it. Her hand opens up dropping the only other gun for miles. There's a loud clank as it falls to the pavement. She takes her other hand and drives it against the wound while gritting her teeth so that she doesn't scream.
The effort is futile though, I can see everyone that heard the shot is shouting and sprinting for their lives. No one is coming to help this time. The only other person here, Jake, seems too frightened to move.
Before this awful man concentrates back on me I need to do something. Sadly, I'm not strong enough to tap him out with one punch, and Going for the other gun is suicide, he would shoot me before I was even near it. What to do, what to do... I glance around looking for any way out of this predicament.
The wicked, intimidating man turns back to me, the front of the gun returns to my forehead.
It's over, Is'nt it. Well, thirty-five years was a fair length I guess. Wherever I end up when it's all over has to be better than living on the streets and hallucinating. I'm ready. But, I don't diminish. In fact, I hear electric static buzzing very loudly. The rotten guy falls over, almost hitting me on his way down.
Now that there isn't a big guy blocking my view, I can see the other cop behind where he stood, barely standing with a taser in her left hand.
Another person just saved my life, I think in awe.
"Hey, why didn't you shoot him with the actual gun!" I yell in frustration quickly changing emotions. I start moving toward the dropped weapon. I pick it up, point it at the man, and am about to finish the job before he can get back up when I fall to the ground and drop the pistol. Electric is speeding through my veins, my body won't move. What happened?!, my brain yells. I look up and see the good cop had tased me also. "Why'd you tase me!" I scream at her. She just looks at me.
Next thing I know, I'm turned on my back. I feel cold metal clamp against my wrists. I'm being handcuffed.
"Um, why am I being arrested?," I ask. ...she doesn't say anything, just keeps staring at me. Wait, that lady just got shot in the shoulder, didn't she? How is she able to handcuff me? Either the bullet must have missed a sensitive spot, or she is just a very strong person. But, in the end, it doesn't matter.
Jake is still not moving, he's standing back watching this unfold. I can't blame him. He, whether intentional or not, killed someone. That must scar a man pretty bad.
My eyes start to sting. So, I rub them against the cold ground, and when I finish, the world is back to normal. No purple black colors are anywhere to be seen. Maybe the electric shocked me back into my right state of mind? I question myself.
All I do know is that I have just bamboozled Death twice in a twenty-minute span, and While being handcuffed doesn't feel so good, seeing the good cop lay a twenty-dollar bill in my hat does. I want to cry in exhaustion, relief, and joy right now. But, I won't.
Following my hands being bound together by metal, the lady pulls out a walkie-talkie, pushes a button, and starts talking in it. "I need reinforcement. The situation is under control, but my arm has been shot and I won't be able to drive." She says.
Since my body lays a decent distance away from the wounded cop, I can't pick up on what the other person is saying. I assume another police car will soon show up with an ambulance.
Meanwhile, Jake seems to have finally snapped out of his frozen self. He stares at the woman's wound for a second, then just runs away.
What odd behavior? I Can't blame him though, what Jake had just gone through was definitely not normal. What do you even call that, Double Assault?
Five minutes pass, my neck is starting to get cramped, the lady is still slowly bleeding out, and I am willing to bet the twenty dollars that was just retrieved on the assumption this other bad guy who shot her is uncomfortable laying there in the same position as me.
"Hey! I'm back!" I hear far away to my side, but I don't bother turning my head to see who it is. Partly because my neck hurts and partly because I already recognize the voice, Jake is back. He runs over to the woman and gives her what I think is a hand towel. "Here, I came back faster than my legs wanted me to. Just put it against your two wounds and tie a knot, that should slow the bleeding." He said. I notice how different Jake is when talking to her, much more power is behind his words.
"Thank you." She says interrupting my thought. "So, what's your name?" Jake asks. "My name is Crystal." She replies while tieing a bow in the rag. "Crystal, when will the ambulance arrive?" Jake questions with a concerned look. "I'm surprised the police are not here yet, their station is only three minutes away. And the ambulance, I have no clue." She finishes.
I decide to interrupt. "Hey, I get why you handcuffed me, but why did you put a twenty dollar bill in my cap?" She looks over to me calmy this time. "Well Sir, I had to apprehend you because I don't know who grabbed the gun first. It probably was my fellow officer since he shot me for no reason right after, but I can't be certain since my eyes missed it. Still, I don't think you started it. My twenty is a little thank you for trying to stop him. Nothing in the rulebook says I can't do that."
I just lay there wondering if that twenty will ever be spent, or if my so-called instinct had just landed me in jail. Also running through my thoughts is why that other officer is not talking. He just is resting there like me, except his mouth hasn't opened since he was tased. One funny thing that cheers me up is the thought of Jake liking Crystal, it's just obvious by the way he talks around her. The last thing my mind is pondering on is that weird thing that happened as the homeless man died earlier. My vision was really funky for a while. But, it must have just been hallucinations.
Then the sound of sirens start approaching. The backup is here.
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