TW// Gore
I rested my chin on my knees as I sat hugging myself on the couch.
The volume of the TV was set super loud so that I could drown out everything happening outside.
Occasionally I could still hear the faint eruption of a gunshot, or even feel the rumblings of a distant explosion.
Everything about this weekend was so horrifying, yet—the difference between this one and my last one was noticeable.
I was still scared, that was never gonna change—but the fear was just different.
The fear stemmed from knowing what was happening outside, but not being afraid that it was gonna happen to me.
If I had to admit it—despite how crazy it may sound. Tonight, being where I was at, I genuinely felt....safe.
Knowing that despite all of the torment that was going on outside, as long as I stayed within the confines of this house—I was safe.
That safety may be a byproduct of the owner of this house being as feared as he was, but still—it was a nice change of pace for once.
I've been constantly beaten up since I moved to this city, constantly in fear. Now...for the first time in a long time—I could just breathe.
With a sigh, I eventually stood to my feet and began aimlessly strolling around Saint's house.
I wouldn't exactly say I was snooping since I wasn't looking for anything in particular, just exploring my new living space.
That exploration didn't really get very far though, seeing as he barely had anything in here.
The only thing I managed to find was one singular box under his bed, but I didn't go through it—I feel like that would be a bit too intrusive.
I also came across a door, but it was locked behind two separate locks, so I'm guessing whatever was behind there—he really didn't want out.
Slowly I began to just make my way back to the living room area, where I decided to take a seat on the windowsill.
I had the blinds cracked just enough that I'd be able to see outside, without being seen myself.
Saint was right, people seemed to be avoiding his house. Even if they were getting into a deadly scuffle outside, everyone stayed clear—even avoiding the front lawn.
It was crazy to see, just not as crazy as it was seeing all these people hurt each other—seemingly for no reason.
My first purge weekend I spent entirely in my bedroom closet, so I didn't see much of what was happening.
This time—it felt like I had a front-row seat.
It actually kinda amazes me how Saint can be outside during all of that—why would anybody wanna do that?
If his house was off limits, and nobody ever bothered it—why leave it instead of just relaxing for the night?
And I mean that just in general—not because I'm here.
Sighing, I laid my head back against the wall and gazed at the ceiling.
I don't see myself living here much longer, not at all.
This was not the life I wanted for myself.
"FUCK!" I heard Jermaine yell from behind me, followed by a loud thud.
Instantly I turn around, spotting him pinned to the ground by someone.
Of course, my first instinct was to shoot the man who had him pinned down, but just as I was about to do that, I was hit hard across the back, causing me to groan lowly.
Things were going pretty well for the first couple minutes, then a bunch of purgers ended up trying to ransack the building, at first we thought they were just gonna pass by, but obviously, that didn't happen.
Jermaine and I got split up from Saduj and his guards, and since then, it's been chaos.
No doubt, this was not how shit was supposed to go down.
Swiftly I turned around, spotting some Hispanic-looking dude holding a plank of wood that he'd obviously just hit me with.
"c'mon papi!" He yelled again, swinging widely with the plank.
This time I was able to sidestep and dodge, just before kicking him in his knee, dropping him.
Right after that I aimed my gun at his head and pulled the trigger.
Seconds later I held my gun up again and shot the guy that was pinning Jermaine down as well.
Once it was obvious they were both dead I released a heavy breath and leaned against the apartment building wall.
"Damnit.." Jermaine sighed, stumbling to his feet.
I didn't respond, there was no point plus I didn't wanna waste any breath.
"This night has been too fuckin crazy," he ranted, "but I doubt any bodies leaving their apartment—soon as we get this gas in the vents, it's lights out for em' all." He spoke.
"where are they?" I questioned simply, ignoring the searing pain in my back.
"Ion know, they probably already on the roof—if not, they dipped, but I doubt he'd leave without getting this shit done, you know how he is about money," Jermaine replied.
I nodded at that and stood up straight with a grunt, stuffing my pistol back in my waistband and removing my shotty from the sling I had across me so I could hold it.
"c'mon." I mumbled as I opened up the stairwell door with my foot.
My partner followed closely behind as we both walked up the stairs cautiously and slowly, holding up our guns just in case.
It wasn't until we got up to the second floor from the top that we began to hear footsteps in the stairwell.
Footsteps that sounded like they were running, sprinting...directly towards us.
"Fuck, man we gotta go!" Jermaine yelled.
I sped up my pace and began jogging up the stairs, only to come to a complete halt at the rooftop door.
Jammed.
"What's wrong?" Jermaine asked panic written all over his face.
"It's jammed," I replied, attempting to force it open with my shoulder.
"let me try, you hold 'em off!" He suggested, "You got a better chance against them than I do."
I nodded in agreement before pushing past him and aiming my gun down the spiral stairs.
The footsteps were getting closer, so I walked down a bit to meet them halfway, just to give Jermaine more time and space to open the door.
"Lucky me!" A voice spoke, causing my eyes to dart over in its direction.
It was a feminine voice, but they were also behind a mask so I couldn't see much.
Didn't matter.
Just as they tried to run up I pumped my shottie and pulled the trigger, sending her body flying back.
Just as quickly as she came, others started running up, and before I even had time to aim and shoot, 3 different people came rushing up to me.
It all happened so quickly that the only thing I could do at first was cover up vital areas.
What sent me into temporary shock was a searing pain in my lower stomach area—and I knew that wasn't good.
With everything I had, I pushed back the person that was in front of me so I had enough room to run forward and punch them.
That gave me breathing room away from the other two.
While the person I punched fell to the ground, I turned around and took a good stance so that I could protect my face, and retaliate with a punch of my own when given the opportunity.
Now I was able to see that one of them did have a small pocket knife, which meant that the searing pain I felt earlier was most likely from me getting stabbed.
Immediately that same person rushed forward and attempted to jab me again, but his form was sloppy and it was easy to sidestep, grab his hand, and pull him into a choke hold with his own knife held inches from his neck.
"Back up." I demanded lowly to his partner, "or I'll slice his fuckin' head off."
"Y-yeah right!" They replied, attempting to call my bluff.
SLICE
One swift motion was all it took to force the knife holder's own hand into his throat, leaving a long gash across the skin which led blood to seep out.
Choking and suffocating noises immediately filled the stairway, and while the man across from me looked on in shock at his friend bleeding out, I ran up to him and wrapped my hands around his neck.
Unfortunately, the third guy I had knocked down earlier was now back on his feet—and had jumped on my back.
This allowed his friend to escape from my hands and scurry off to the side where he gasped for air.
I struggled with the man on my back for a bit, and it was clear he was trying to choke me out, but he couldn't get a good grip on my neck because I was pressing my chin down to my chest.
As quick as I could with another full-grown man on my back—I turned around and ran backward against the wall, sandwiching him between the cold concrete and my body weight.
When I did that he yelled out in pain, so I did it again, and again, over and over until he fell off of me in agony.
The wound in my stomach was starting to hurt worse now, but I really had no choice but to ignore it because every time I dropped one, another would just get back up.
The Man I tried choking out earlier now held up a gun towards me, the clicking noise it made when he cocked immediately sent the hairs on my arms standing up.
I tried to work out every possible outcome in my head as quickly as possible, but ultimately this ended one way, me dying.
Unfortunately for him, I wasn't ready for that yet.
His first shot missed when I ducked, and while I was crouched near the ground, I picked up the knife from the hand of the man I killed minutes before and launched it directly into the stomach of the gun holder.
Whoever was in control up there blessed me with good aim, I gotta give them that.
Of course, he screamed out at that, immediately reaching down at where the knife had stuck into him from me throwing it.
I didn't really have time to aim it up, my main focus was making sure it hit him somewhere so he'd drop the gun.
And the moment he did that I ran up, bum-rushing him and pushing him all the way back until he was leaned over the railings of the stairwell.
With a pained groan, I muscled him over, overpowering him enough that I was able to send him flying all the way down from the ninth floor we were on.
He yelled for a moment, but that stopped the moment his body hit one of the railings below, then it was thud and thud until he reached the bottom.
That left me gasping for air, but with every inhale I took my body screamed from all the cuts and bruises that had formed tonight.
—and yet, it still wasn't over, because just as I began to catch my breath, the last of the three swung wildly at me, connecting with a punch to my jaw.
He was by far the biggest of the three, I feel like I still had the advantage based on pure stature, but he was admittedly more built than his friends.
I didn't let his punch stun me—and just before he could throw another one I head-butted him, causing him to wince and stumble back.
I ignored both the pain and disorientation from my own headbutt and snaked around him so I could wrap my arms around his neck and apply a chokehold.
Once my arms were around his neck I leaned over to apply all my body weight on the hold, forcing him to collapse down on the ground
I squeezed as tight as humanly possible, suffocating him with the mass of my biceps.
All it took was one last squeeze before I felt his neck pop—and after that, his entire body went limp.
I released the hold after that, knowing he was dead and as I pushed off his dead body I gasped for air, gazing at the ceiling while I lay with dead bodies scattered all around me.
"Yo red I got it ope—" Jermaine's words came to a complete stop when he saw both me and the scene around me.
"H-Holy shit.." he mumbled, eyes wide, face pale.
I forced myself to struggle to my feet after that, I didn't like people seeing me vulnerable, I didn't care who it was.
It even went as far as me suppressing the urge to make pained sounds. I couldn't allow myself to show any weakness.
"you good man? I ain't know it was all these people, I would've come back my bad!" He ranted.
I only nodded, holding onto the guard rail tightly as I walked up the stairwell once more.
This time the door was open, so both Jermaine and I went walking through it.
Seeing the city from this high up at night really put things into perspective.
Shit looked like a warzone, like it was genuinely on fucking fire, no one would believe this city was in America if you didn't tell them.
My little self-reflection moment was cut for when the door of the opposite stairwell opened, revealing Saduj and one of his guards.
Guessing the other one didn't make it.
weak.
"fuck am I glad to see you guys—what the hell is goin' on tonight!" Saduj yelled, and just based on his appearance I can see he didn't have it any better than we did.
"said it yourself boss, purge night gettin' crazier and crazier." Jermaine replied.
It was getting a lot worse, and I'm blaming that on the tourists. Saduj and the mayor may be able to control each other, but at this rate, they're gonna lose control of the city entirely.
Saduj was obsessed with money and the crown. That made sense to me to an extent, some people thrive off of that.
The problem with this—was that there was really no sense in being King when your kingdom was in ashes.
I never had the desire to take over, I still don't. But I'd be lying if I said I didn't think I could run this shit better than Saduj.
"Yeah but—wait, damn red are you good?" He asked, eyeing my hand that's been covering the stab wound I had.
"Im straight—you got the gas?" I questioned, quickly changing the topic of the conversation and referring back to the carbon monoxide we were gonna seep into the vents to suffocate anybody left.
"Yeah, we grabbed it off Mark before got shot, that fucking dumb ass." Saduj replied, referring to his other guard who must've died like I assumed.
The remaining guard then pulled the backpack off his shoulder and opened it.
"There are four vents on the corner of this roof, each of you place one of these canisters inside—but after you do, run as fast as you can out of this building, cause that shits gonna spread fast, and you don't wanna be here when it does, ya got it ?" Saduj explained.
We all nodded at that, prompting him to hand us the canisters.
"bet, let's get this shit done—we're about to be some very rich men." He spoke, smiling.
Seconds later we all ran off in different directions, I couldn't run as fast as usual, this stab wound was getting worse—but I also needed to get this shit done, and get out of here.
With all the strength I had left, I ran up to the vent and dropped the canister in, biting into my lip to distract from the pain I felt just about everywhere else.
"go, go, go!" Alvin yelled from across the roof, all while sprinting back to the stairwells.
shit.
Again, I forced the pain to become an afterthought as I quickly made my way back down the stairs of the stairwell.
By this point, I'd gotten split off from everyone, leaving me to fend completely for myself.
Usually, that was fine, but right now I had a cut that felt pretty deep, which had caused me to lose enough blood that I was starting to feel weak.
With a groan, I forced open the door of the first floor, finally making my way outside.
Just as I did, I began to hear what sounded like the revving of a chainsaw. That of course caught my attention, and I shot my head up to look all around on high alert.
Slowly, I held up my shotgun, holding it close as I walked cautiously over to my car.
The chainsaw sounded like it was getting louder, but I still couldn't see it, which left me confused.
I still chose to be cautious as I made my way back to my truck, and that caution would prove to be necessary as I finally spotted the source of the chainsaw noise I was hearing.
One man, covered head to toe in blood, eyeing me with the eyes of someone who was on way too many drugs to count.
From my position, I was still a decent walk away from my truck, and he happened to be standing just between me and the safe haven that was my vehicle.
I didn't really have the energy to speak, my blood loss was getting out of hand, and the way this situation looked, I needed all the energy I could get.
"what's this?" he spoke up, smiling widely as he held the chainsaw close, "a wounded lion all by himself." he cheesed.
He looked insane, and sure I know Im not exactly the most sane person to be saying that, but still, this person looked one step away from being in a straight jacket.
Slowly, I held up my gun, closing one of my eyes to focus my vision, but everything was still way too blurry due to how much blood I was losing.
"a wounded lion, my lucky day!" he yelled, revving the chainsaw one last time before sprinting at full speed toward me.
Again, the weakness of my body left me off my game, and just as my finger tickled the steel of my gun's trigger, I was forced to dodge a wide swing of the man's chainsaw.
He was just swinging widely, which I guess was expected based just on how crazy he looked, but still, it was hard to find an opening.
Eventually, I ran out of room to dodge, and all I could do was catch his wrists, forcing us into a power struggle that left the chainsaw inches from my face.
I gritted my teeth, ignoring the pain in my body and focusing on the adrenaline I was receiving from being in a life-or-death situation.
" he told me you'd put up a fight but this is better than I expected!" He ranted, licking his lips in anticipation
I didn't really have time to focus on what he was saying since there was still a chainsaw in my face, but he was probably just crazy ranting anyway.
"so strong." he continued.
I grimaced at that weird comment, which gave me just enough push to force the chainsaw back into his chest.
He immediately yelled out as the metal began ripping at his flesh, causing the red of his own blood to spray out. His yells we pure pain, mixed only with the revving of the very weapon he was using.
With as much energy as I could, I pushed him onto his back, leaving him to struggle with the weapon stuck in his body. Though based just off of the sounds he was now making, that struggle didn't last very long.
I fell to my knee after that, completely exhausted as it took every ounce of energy in my body to drag myself back up so I could make my way over to my truck.
"Beer, Hennessy, More beer, and more Hennessy," I repeated to myself after checking the fridge for about the 20th time tonight.
If I knew all he had in his fridge was alcohol I would've packed some snacks—I can't even eat my nerves away, there's not even bread!
With a dramatic groan, I dragged myself back over to the couch and flopped down.
"this...sucks," I mumbled, gazing at the ceiling.
That gazing stopped immediately when a loud thud came from the front door.
My breath hitched immediately and my entire body froze upon hearing that. All night it's been so silent around here, a sound like that was obviously gonna stand out now.
I stared at the door for minutes but nothing happened, still, I knew what I heard, and it sent me into complete paranoia.
Despite my fear of it, I immediately reached under the couch and grabbed the gun Saint told me about earlier.
Right hand here, left hand here—cock it.
I thought to myself, trying to remember everything he taught me earlier.
When the knob began to move and then I heard what sounded like a key in the door, I gulped, hoping it was the owner of this house—and not a lunatic.
Though I'm sure the owner himself was a lunatic, but still, you know what I mean.
What I was met with was even more shocking.
The door swung open and Saint stumbled in only barely being able to close it behind him. When he turned back around and we made eye contact my mouth dropped.
That shock was only momentary—because he completely collapsed seconds later.
"oh my god—are you okay!?" I questioned immediately, jumping to my feet.
"w-woah," I whispered as I finally saw all the blood on him.
I wasn't sure if it was his or not, but just based on the fact he fell to the floor, he clearly wasn't in good condition.
"Saint?" I called out, scurrying over to him and dropping to my knees.
"Saint, what happened?" I questioned.
He mumbled something, but it was so low that I couldn't hear a word he said.
Slowly he shifted over on his back, and that's what allowed me to see the real damage.
There was a gash on his stomach, a gash that was bleeding so heavily that I was surprised he was still conscious.
"Jesus Christ." I gasped.
He stayed silent, but his eyes were opening and closing like he was fighting sleep and I couldn't let him do that, especially since I didn't know how deep the cut was—or how much blood he'd already lost.
"I'll be right back, stay up for me, do not fall asleep," I told him, just before sprinting to his bathroom.
I opened and closed every drawer and door frantically as I looked for different medical supplies.
Nothing he had was exactly professional, but it would have to do.
When I returned to the living room, his eyes looked over at me lethargically, and I could tell I didn't have much more time before he passed out.
"alright, can you tell me what happened—so I can help you?" I spoke.
I didn't really need to know, it was clear he'd gotten stabbed and that's what caused him to lose so much blood. But I needed to keep him awake, so that meant talking.
It didn't help that he was naturally a silent person though, so I really had to come up with something he'd at least contemplate responding to.
"ambushed." He choked out.
"Okay, okay, don't worry—I can help," I told him.
It's what I got my degree for, about time I was able to use it.
I worked as fast as I could to get the cleaning products out so I could clean the wound.
But just as I was doing that, I spotted Saint's head tilt to the left, causing my eyes to go wide.
He passed out.
"Saint?" I spoke
Nothing.
"Saint wake up!" I spoke, feeling my heart speed uncontrollably.
"Saint!"
☯︎ 𝖍𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡 ☯︎