Escape

Nights like this are cold, but I'm not bothered by the feeling. I sit in my car looking, but see nothing. I wait, but nothing happens; waiting turns agonizing. I start to get lost in my head.

"Did they leave me? No, they couldn't have, they need me," and "god dammit, why am I on lookout?" 

I put my head down on the steering wheel, as soon as I relax. BRRRING. An alarm goes off, and two people burst out of the building where I was waiting.

"Hurry up, woman," the man shouts.

They run to the back seat and open the door. Quickly, they get in and close the door. As soon as they relax, almost in unison, they take off their masks.

The man has a rough face like cracked roads in an old town. His eyes are dark like the muddy waters of a lake. On the left side of his cheek is a deep scar running down his face.

"Let's go, son, the cops will be here soon." He says quickly.

The woman next to him starts, "Come on, honey, he needs to be relaxed, or he'll get us caught like you did when he was inside me." She rubs her stomach with a slight smile.

She has almost a perfect figure, light brown hair that looks like wet sand. Perfect skin that takes years to have. No blemishes or cuts. Sometimes I wonder what I got from my father.

"Yes mom" I say softly.

I turn the worn-down key quickly. "kch-kch-kch-vrooom" The car starts. Quickly, I pull out of the alleyway. I keep my headlights off.

The man, Jake places his hands on my shoulders with a tight squeeze, "Nice job, boy, we'll be home free in no time," he says in an upbeat tone.

Almost instantly, red and blue lights shine bright. My heart skips a beat.

"Shit!" I mutter under my breath.

I press down on the gas pedal as hard as I can. The car shoots forward. "Wheeooawww," the police sirens blare.

Jake and my mother shout simultaneously, but I don't pay attention. A ringing starts to form in my ears, and the noises of the sirens start to deafen. My foot quickly presses down on the gas pedal harder than before.

The car darts past other vehicles, nearly missing a semi-truck. We drive far but never escape; every turn leads to another set siren.

"GOD DAMMIT, we're going to need to go into the old warehouse! We'll lose them on foot." Jake yells with authority; he then starts to whisper to mother.

She nods her head while a single tear trickles down her left cheek.

I turn towards the warehouse, trying to gain enough distance from the police. After minutes of driving, I press hard on the brake pedal and turn the wheel to the right, causing the car to stop inches from the warehouse doors.

Chi chick. Jake racks the slide of his pistol.

He grabs my shoulder with his left hand, saying, "boy get your gun."

I open the center console of the car. Inside the console is an endless amount of paper. I rip out the papers quickly and soon find the weapon. It is cold, colder than outside. It feels as if my hand is going to go numb. I grab it anyway and run towards the door.

"Hurry up, mother, we need to go," I yell as I pull the doors open.

"I'm almost there, sweety. I just need to get the bag."

As soon as she gets the bag, she runs for the door.

Bang Bang. Jake starts to shoot at the police cars that start to pull in. One of his bullets hits an officer on the right shoulder. His screams are blood-curdling. He squeezes his shoulder attempting to stop the bleeding, but the blood won't stop spewing out.

A sickening feeling starts to well up in my chest as Jake grabs me by my collar and pulls me into the warehouse. He locks the door.

"Chris, listen to me, your mother is pregnant and needs you to stay behind and take the fall. We will pay for your bail after the heat dies down," he says in a soft but harsh tone.

I look at my mother, but her eyes won't meet mine.

"Holy shit I'm going to be a brother." I think to myself, "ok I'll take the fall, you guys get out of here." I said with a shaken voice.

"Thank you, son, make sure to get their attention."

They start to run away, and Jake yells at me, saying, "We love you, bud."

I look towards the door, a warm feeling comes across me, even though I'll be going to prison, I'll have a little sibling I can spend the rest of my life with.

I open the door and press down on the trigger of my gun. I don't aim to hit anyone, but I try to get their attention. I keep shooting. I can hear sounds coming from the police, but I can't understand what there saying. I just keep shooting.

Click. 

The gun runs out, and almost immediately, every officer stands up with their weapons armed and shoots. I fall back, a pain worse than I have ever felt before starts to form all over my body.

I look down at my body just to see three areas spewing blood. I try to stand but fall immediately.

The ringing in my ears starts to slow as the pain slowly gets worse, yet I don't mind; I was able to save my mother and father. My mom can have her child.

I do have one regret: not being able to see my sibling once they were born.

Time starts to slow, and the officers start to run towards the open doors.

"No, I can't let them in." I think to myself.

My hands start to move by themselves. I start pulling myself to the door, leaving a trail of blood. The pain starts to ease, and my eyes start to go numb. A slow white circle starts to form in the corner of my eyes.

"I'm almost there, I can't die yet."

My eyes start to blur, and my body starts to heat up. I reach towards the door with what little strength I have left. After some trial and error, I eventually grabbed the handle.

I close the door, locking it almost instantly. I lay back on the door and look up. My vision has almost fully blurred.

"I did it, I saved my—"

My body goes limp.