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“Drop to your knees, pig.” He stumbles forward, waving the gun around and I don’t hesitate. Coming closer, I’m able to look into his coal-like eyes, and I can’t see anything behind him. The man is an empty shell of a human and that scares me more than the gun. All I can think of is how next year my name could be on that list of the fallen officers and Logan will have to stand up there and give a speech of my character. I don’t want my life to end by the hands of a tweaker who has no control over himself right now.

“I know what you want to do. You want to lock me up in prison and watch me rot, just like my father,” he hisses, tucking stringy grease-filled hair behind his ear.

“No,” I say, calmly. “Let’s talk about this.”

“No! No more talking!” He yells, pointing the gun more violently at me.

At this moment, the only thing that saves me is Courtney. The thought of her warmth takes me away from the fear that’s blanketing my body. I just wish I could tell her one last time how much I love her and will always love her. I want her to know that she’s changed my life and no matter what happens to me, that will never change. Any minute backup will arrive, and it’ll take all of two seconds for him to pull the trigger. The odds of living through a shot at that proximity is little to none. Just as I predicted, I hear the faint sounds of sirens in the distance and try to drown it out.

I’m not done living. I don’t want my life to be cut short.

“You should run,” I say, giving him his out, but he doesn’t take the bait. Instead, he moves closer and gives me a wicked smile and drops to his knees in front of me. His breath smells of decay and cigarettes, and his clothes are filthy. He’s losing a significant amount of blood and should be rushed to the hospital immediately, but he’s completely unaware. Drugs do that to people. They can take control of people’s minds and turn them into puppets. I’ve seen it way too much on the streets, but I’ve never been this close to someone so far gone.

Seconds pass, and we’re eye to eye. “You won’t ever catch me,” he growls, then places the gun against my temple. I close my eyes and hear the sound of the car door, and I know Tyler has his gun drawn. My eyes bolt open. This could be life or death, and I wish he would’ve just fucking listened to me.

“I told you to tell him to stay in the car.” The man’s dirty fingers grab my cheeks hard, but he doesn’t remove the gun. “Fucking pigs are all the same.”

The gun feels like poison burning against my skin as he pushes it harder into my temple. Tyler is already loaded, and if he can get a clear enough shot, he wouldn’t hesitate, but the positioning we’re in makes it impossible and too risky.

The man has the smile of a devil when he slowly begins to pull the trigger. I close my eyes tight knowing this is the end, feeling so much regret for the things I never did, that it overtakes me. I hear the click, and the bullet doesn’t come, but I won’t be relieved until this is over and I’m walking away.

“Put the weapon down!” Tyler yells, and the man laughs.

As the sirens come, he pulls the trigger again. Click.

“You’re not changing the world. And you’ll never take me,” he says, removing the gun from my head and placing it in his mouth.

“No, please,” I beg, right before he pulls the trigger and the shot goes off.

I sit there on my knees—frozen in time and covered in blood. My ears ring from the gunfire, and I try to comprehend what happened. Blood, dark black blood is everywhere. It’s on my arms, my face, and pouring into a puddle around the body. I can’t move because I feel like my knees are glued to the pavement and I’m unable to get away from the nightmare that I’m currently living. I wait to wake up, but I don’t, and the relief from the horror never comes.

Strong hands are on my shoulders, and it’s Tyler, forcing me to stand, but my surroundings all seem black and white. The man’s body is a lifeless lump on the ground, and I can’t stop thinking about how this could’ve ended differently. It could’ve easily been me lying there. After a moment, EMS, officers, and firemen are on the scene, and they’re securing the area with yellow tape, which is common with a fatality.

“Drew,” I hear but don’t respond.