Ryker left me and I fell against the door in a crying mess. There was no way I could leave him if he didn't come back. I wasn't as strong as him. I couldn't go on the run by myself. You're a fucking idiot, Tempest. I wouldn't be in this situation if it wasn't for drugs. I would have never met that bastard Jenkins. And Ryker's life wouldn't have gotten ruined too.
But I wouldn't have met Ryker if it hadn't been for the drugs. I wiped the tears from my face. No time to be a pussy. Time to man up.
I went to Ryker's bedroom and searched the closet for a suitcase. I didn't want to be useless. I could get us a bag packed before Ryker came back. That would get us out of here that much quicker. I found an old dusty duffel bag deep down under a pile of dirty clothes.
The bag was a little heavy and I set it on the bed and opened it up. A shotgun sat at the bottom with a collection of loose shells. I'd never seen a real gun before. Never held one in my hands. I pulled out the boomstick and it was heavy in my hands. Felt good. Felt powerful. I could take on the world with this. Ryker would probably want to bring it along. I set it to the side on the bed.
I went back to the closet to look for some clothes. Ryker had only one white shirt left on a hanger. The man didn't do laundry very often. I folded the shirt and placed it in the duffel. I scoured the rest of the apartment searching for anything that Ryker might want to take with him. His place was just as barren as my heroin den.
A knock at the door startled me. Could Ryker be back so soon? I didn't have any way of telling time but it couldn't have been more that twenty minutes since he left. I peeked out from the bedroom, down the hallway and to the front door. Another knock pounded at the door.
“Who is it?” I yelled out.
My heart froze when there was no reply. The front door burst open and two men with black ski masks came rushing in. My screams echoed through the apartment. I shut the bedroom door and ran to the bathroom. I saw the shotgun out of the corner of my eye and grabbed it. The men were already pounding at the bedroom door when I escaped into the bathroom.
Just like when Ryker brought me here the first time and I was hopped up on heroin—there was no place for me to escape to. I could hear the door to the bedroom crash open. It would only be a few moments until they were upon me. I gripped the shotgun and pointed it at the closed bathroom door. My heart was beating in my ears. My hands quivered as I tried to steady the gun.
The bathroom door exploded open and I screamed, pulling the trigger.
Nothing happened. I tried squeezing one more time and nothing. Suddenly, I remembered the loose shotgun shells. I needed to load the damn thing. Stupid Tempest.
The two men had pistols and rushed me. I tried to use the shotgun like a bat but the first guy caught my swing and stole the gun from me. I clawed and kicked as much as I could until the other man hit me over the head with his gun.
The room spun around in circles until...blackness.