In a flash
It all happened in a flash. One minute her cold sweaty grip was clenched around the barrel of the gun. The next there was a flash of light and a loud bang as smoke slowly floated into the air. The man was now crumpled in the corner of an alley blood seeping from the fresh wound. She remained still for a second with only the sounds of her heart pounding and her heavy breathing. Was he really dead? Had this really just happened? Tears began to seep down from her eyes slowly dripping down her face. It was all over now. There was no going back. In the next instant she heard sirens piercing through the air. Flashes of blue and red blinding her. She ran as fast as her legs would take her tearing down the street the earsplitting sirens not far behind her. Her life was over in that one instant. That one rash decision that had cost her everything. She veered left going through another alleyway as fast as her legs would take her. She crashed against a chain link and managed to vault over it. She collided hard on the other side smashing her shoulder into the pavement. The loud noises were distant now and she could relax. Sarah Donovan had killed Henry Bowers in a wild impulse. Sarah was homeless and lived on the streets. Any money she had was obtained from thieving. Sarah had robbed the wrong man. It was a cold night and she needed food. She did not feel like walking all the way across the city to where she had left the little money she had. So she had attempted to pickpocket from a man with a lether jacket on the crowded city streets. His head had cocked around the minute she had made the grab. In the next second he was after her and had caught up to her in seconds. Pulling her by the hair he dragged to her to an alleyway while calling the police
“Let go!” she had pleaded to him
“Yes thank you officer,” the man said grinning at her “Good,” he hung up the phone
“Please!” he slapped her across the face making a loud cracking noise
“Keep quite you b****!”
“Get off me!” she shrieked, “Help!”
“I wouldn’t do that,” he said “You see you’re not the victim here. Well not yet,” he slammed her against the wall “We’ve got a long time before the police arrive,” he slapped her again this time drawing blood. He threw her against a trash can making her collide hard. She began to sob as he approached over her
“Don’t fight me,” he said “This will be easier,” Sarah kicked him hard in the shin
“AH! God! Crazy b****!” he swung his fist out which connected which connected with her jaw. Sarah stood up and stumbled backwards. She reached a shaky hand into her purse and felt around for her gun. She always kept it for protection. The man advanced on her but she whipped out her weapon before he could get close. He froze in place as his eyes met the gun aimed squarely at his chest
“You pig!” Sarah shrieked as her hand shook
“Hey there’s no need for that,” said the man his voice now injected with fear “Look I was just-“
“You were just what!”
“Please put it down. I’ll let you run away. The police won’t know anything I swear!”
“How many other girls will you do that with huh?” Katy shrieked hysterically
“I won’t please!” he sobbed, “Don’t do this. The police will be here any minute!” It was the next moment that changed everything. She squeezed the trigger and he the man was lying on the ground lifeless. And now she ran. It was all she could do. She stopped and collapsed onto the street
“Please god forgive me!” she sobbed “I didn’t mean to!” Katy had never been religious but she had nowhere else to turn “I just- I lost control. And now it’s all over. My lives done. I’m gonna rot in prison and I can’t- Please help me,” Sarah squeezed her eyes shut praying that when she opened them she would end up somewhere else. Anywhere else. But she opened her eyes to instead to the cold city streets and passers by giving her strange looks. Suddenly a wave of nausea overcame Sarah. She vomited into the streets overcome with shock. Suddenly she heard the sound of someone climbing over a chain link fence. She turned around to see a policemen landing on the pavement. They saw me running into the alley! She thought. Sure enough the policemen walked towards her quickly. Sarah seeing nothing else to do spun around in her track and ran. Another police car swerved in front of her and she collided with it hard. Maybe it was from the adrenaline but Sarah got up immediately and ran ignoring the pain. There were about three policemen chasing her now screaming at her to stop
“Freeze!”
“It’s gonna be Ok!” he head one of them shout. She laughed to herself despite everything. It was most certainly not gonna be ok. All the police knew what that she had tried to rob that man and he was dead the next moment. She would rot in prison for the rest of her life. She was just old enough to be charged as an adult. Her 18th birthday had been 1 week ago
“You’re making it worse for yourself!” she heard one of them call. But it was distant now. She was used to running. She had been running all her life. Sarah silently prayed to herself as she looked for anywhere to go. She couldn’t run forever. She smacked straight into a man with a suit knocking over his suitcase
“Excuse me,” he said irritated. She didn’t bother to stop and kept running the police not to far behind. Her feet were now on fire. All she wanted to was lie down and fall away from this world. Her breath was growing faster and weaker as cold her filled her lungs. “I just wanna sleep” she though to herself “Sleep and never wake up,” part of her wished the cops would just shoot her dead. And than she saw somewhere to run. A parking lot. Sarah charged across the street barely avoided the passing traffic. The cops were stuck at the other end waiting for a green light. Sarah tore through the entrance and ran through the first level. She could her the cops who were now joined by reinforcements closing in. Sarah ran in the only direction she could. Up. She went to the second level and stopped for a moment to catch her breath. She struggled to breath as she felt the nausea coming on again. But she had to keep moving. Taking one last giant breath of air she stumbled up to the third level. She barely managed to make it up to the fourth level before she collapsed again. The image of her pulling the trigger, the fatal flash, and the mans limp lifeless body were stuck in her mind. She had killed him. She had actually killed a man. She had always though her life was going to get better. Through all the hard times, through all the struggles it would get better. At least that what she had thought. Now it was coming crashing down around her
“Please!” choked out through her heavy breaths “I can’t do this anymore!” she heard the sounds of police shouts and she was on her feet again charging to the fifth level. There was one more level left. Her feet were just about able to carry her up to level 6. It was dead end from their nowhere left to run. She heard the sounds of the police coming up level 6. I can’t do this anymore! She thought to herself. It was over. Sarah slowly walked to the edge her heart pounding out of her chest. She slowly put her foot over the wall looking down at the hard concrete. Tiny people appeared as black dots moving across the street
“Oh god,” she whispered to herself. There was nothing left for her. She was nervous about the jump but something told her it was Ok “I’m sorry,” she said to the sky “I’m sorry about all I’ve done,” her eyes were watering again “I just hope you have a place for me up there. I know I killed a man. I’ve stolen. And now I’ve taken the coward’s way out. But please just-“
“She’s there!” a sharp voice cut into her prayer. She breathed deeply. It was now or never “Think about this!” an officer shouted running up. He signaled for the other to back up. A bead of sweat slowly trickled down Sarah’s forehead “Hey. What’s your name?”
“Sarah,” she choked out
“Ok Sarah. I need you to step away from the ledge. Can you do that for me?”
“So what?” she sobbed, “I can go back to jail?”
“You can’t do this Sarah. You have so much more to live for,”
“I have nothing left! Don’t you see? It was a mistake I didn’t mean to- it doesn’t matter. It’s over now,”
“It’s never over. Look I know it’s hard but you just have to keep on struggling. We all do,”
“I’ve been struggling through my entire life! I always thought it would get better. I gave it everything and it only brought me here. I can’t do it anymore! I’m just tired,”
“I know Sarah. Please at least come off the ledge so we can talk about this,” he moved a step closer
“You’ll never believe it,” she said softly
“Believe what?”
“That it wasn’t my fault,” she said
“Try me,” he said
“I-“ suddenly a voice called out the officers name. He turned his head back. Now Sarah had her chance. Sarah slowly closed her eyes ready for the unknown. She let herself fall back 7 stories silently praying in her head. The officers ran to the side. As it turned out the officer who had interrupted the negotiation had big news. The man Sarah had killed was a convicted felon for brutal assaults. Her side of the story would have been believed. But the distraction had provided her with a window. Sarah had no one to mourn her. The only one that appeared at her funeral was the officer who had attempted to save her. Sarah life was a struggle since the day she was born. Her life had changed in an instant, and was over in a flash.