Chapter 2: Fade to Black
"Don't move."
The cold steel of what I assumed to be a gun barrel pressed against my neck as another hand was placed firmly on my shoulder.
The coolness of the steel seemed to spread through my body stifling what little warmth I felt.
I raised my hand lightly as a sign of surrender.
"Derek?"
I recognized the voice of the man who had stopped me, he used to work with me but had stopped showing up to work a few weeks ago.
"No sudden movements if you want to live."
He ignored my question as the barrel pressed tightly against the back of my neck.
My mind began to fall into despair as he patted different parts of my jacket and jeans with his free hand.
"What do you want?"
My voice was hoarse, as the words seemed stuck in my throat.
In response Derek only sneered as he planted the hand on my shoulder once again.
"Don't play games with me, you know what I want."
I let out a slight exhale my thoughts a mixture of frustration and hopelessness.
"You think I didn't notice? All those days you put in, the same route you took to your sad little apartment, Felix handing you a thick envelope and your unusually happy demeanor?"
He laughed mockingly, each of his words laced with arrogance.
"When I got fired, I knew just who to come after on payday, the diner's been getting more and more popular too, knowing that idiot Felix, the money you're hiding is a no small amount."
The whirlwind of emotions had passed leading only to a bitter acceptance as my emotions numbed.
"So, while I'm still in a good mood, slowly hand me the money and in exchange, I won't blow your brains out."
Having given up on finding the money himself he commanded me to simply hand it over.
"No."
But I didn't reach for the money, I simply lowered my arms as I stared into nothingness.
"What the fuck did you just say to me?"
He asked confused.
"No." I repeated.
In such a situation, I expected to be panicked but instead an unexplainable sense of calm washed over me as I viewed the situation with calm rationality.
'I die either way.'
Assuming Derek didn't kill me even after he took the money, what would I do then, my home barely offered protection from the cold and without that money, how would I pay the rent?
Sure, I could spend some time at work to stave off the cold but without a home to go back to what was the point?
I was just delaying the inevitable and be it cold, disease or other criminals, I wouldn't survive long without shelter.
So, why not just take the bullet? It's certainly less suffering and if I'm lucky less pain.
"Have you lost your damn mind?"
David asked incredulously.
'No, it's the most reasonable I've been in years.'
I thought as a slight hollow laugh escaped my mouth.
I felt the pressure against the back of my neck and the pressure on my shoulder loosen, David seemingly unnerved by my behavior.
I saw this as my chance, to regain what he had taken away.
In a sudden motion I ducked with my hands grabbing on to his free hand on my shoulder and my left leg flew back to hook one of his feet.
*BANG*
He fired too late as the bullet whizzed barely above my head as I felt the displaced wind.
With him off balance I tried to throw him to the ground using my body as leverage to prevent him from using the gun.
*BANG*
Another shot went off but this one missed by a lot as his body left the ground and his arms flailed around to try and regain balance.
I felt the weight of his body shift to my back as the gun fell to the ground with a clatter.
However, I didn't have the strength to throw him in front of me as I began to buckle under his weight, my body swaying backward, Derek threatening to regain footing.
I let the weight carry me back and with a cry of exertion pushed even further back before David could fully regain balance.
"SON OF A BITCH!"
David screamed as we both fell to the ground his back landing hard on the concrete as I used him to cushion my fall.
I heard him gasp for air, the impact seemingly knocking the wind out of him as I began to look around for the gun.
The light from the streetlamp reflected off the revolvers surface and I tried to dash towards it with all my might.
My hand outstretched brushed against the handle of the gun but I felt a strong grip take hold of my left leg.
*THUD*
I hit the ground hard as Derek pulled my leg back causing me to fall onto the pavement a slight bruise on my face but I didn't care.
My only focus was getting to my only chance of survival, the revolver lay just a few meters away.
Before I could even recover from the impact Derek began pulled me back my hands scraping against the rock as I tried to resist drawing faint lines of blood on the concrete.
The grip on my leg loosened as I heard Derek groaning in pain as he got up.
"ARGH!"
I cried out in pain as I felt a strong impact on the back of my knee, Derek seemingly stomping on it to hinder movement.
I tried to get up again but he kicked me in the stomach causing me to crumple to the ground crying in pain.
I heard him pick up the gun as the revolvers cylinder spun.
In one last desperate attempt I tried to lunge at him once more but Derek had already levelled the barrel of the gun to my chest.
*BANG* *BANG* *BANG*
Three shots rung out in succession as I felt two of them rip through my chest.
I screamed in pain, as all rationality and thoughts were replaced by the sensation of pain unlike any I had felt before.
I fell with my back to the ground as a warmth spread through my torso.
My breathing was labored as I stared at the sky the pain numbing replaced by an almost comforting warmth.
I heard Dereks hurried footsteps and subsequent rummaging through my pockets before he finally found the envelope soaked with blood and with a hole through the center.
"Damn it!"
Voices grew suppressed and my vision blurred but I could still see him holding the envelope close to my face.
"You see this! None of this needed to happen! What the fuck were you thinking!?"
He threw the envelope to the side in frustration before getting up and placing his foot on my chest, I could barely feel the pressure.
"You died for nothing."
He said with contempt before emptying the last bullet into my chest.
As he walked away, I felt no pain as I looked up at the night sky.
Only a sense of warmth as I looked at the starry sky.
The warmth soon gave way to bitter cold, but I didn't care, my gaze affixed upwards.
The sky was pretty, but it was fading.
Yes, the sky will fade soon, and with it so will everything else.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
verytired
verytired Hello! What do you think of the revised chapter? Was it too much? Please let me know what you think as comments are the most valuable to me.
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