We waited for the lift, my head constantly swivelling left and right, almost expecting people to start running out of their flats and coming for me like I was in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. You know the ones, where the poor schmuck is just trying to survive whilst his heart pounds in his chest waiting for the inevitable. That’s how I was feeling, complete with pounding heart.
I needn’t have worried. The lift chimed. Carmen ran in and I bungled the strange woman in after her and rested against the sides of the lift. Eighteen floors, a short walk to the front doors, a longer walk to the car – we were taking the Merc, obviously – and then a ten-minute drive to Hampstead.
Then the lift chimed again. Floor fifteen. The girlfriend and I watched as the doors opened slowly. I put the strange girl’s head on my shoulder to make it seem like she was resting. An elderly couple peeked in, saw us and smiled before shuffling as slowly as old people do into the lift.
I kept my smile glued to my face as my right hand caressed the revolver in my hoodie pocket. They were old. They’d seen enough of life. A quick bang and it would be over. The time it was taking for them to get inside was as long as it would have taken the lift to reach the ground floor. I was joking. I’m not a psychopath. As soon as the woman cleared the doors, I frantically pressed the ground floor button, whilst maintaining my polite smile at them.
As the lift continued its way down, I was already stressing about how we would exit. We could brush past the elderly couple but my mother did not raise a poorly-mannered boy. “Always respect your elders,” she would say, and, “Being old is like being a kid. You need people looking out for you.” I would have to let them go first. I looked up to the heavens.
The lift chimed in response.
Floor ten. I swivelled my head to see what kind of specimen we had now. I swore under my breath.
A young mother with a toddler at her side and a newborn in the pram. I put that fake smile back on my lips and watched as she moved the pram into the lift, the elderly couple shuffling further in. Carmen watched me with an amused twitching of her mouth. I wasn’t sure why she was laughing. We were in this together. Young mum got in, kids in tow and I wore the ground floor button out.
Thankfully, nobody else needed the lift. Just this mother and elderly couple, out for a walk on a Wednesday morning. No school. No work. Completely oblivious to the goings-on around them. Maybe they just didn’t care. There were plenty of people like that around. Not that that was a bad thing. To be honest, I was one of those types. If this was happening to someone else, I’d probably stay home, or go to work, and just continue with my life and wait for someone to tell me it’s over.
The lift chimed again, and I celebrated quietly with a smile. Ground floor. Of course, I needed to wait for the lift to empty. First, young mum with offspring, followed by elderly grandma with walking stick, followed by elderly grandpa with Zimmer frame. The lift doors had tried to close three times while they were exiting and I almost lost my hand stopping it from closing a fourth time once grandpa had crossed the threshold.
Carmen and I made it across the short walk to the front door, where we once again needed to wait. Carmen being the lovely lady that she was, held the door open for the young, the elderly and the infirm. It sounded like the movie title of a particularly poor western. After another eternity, we were finally outside and making our way across the car park.
Maybe, just maybe we’d make it out of here without further incidents or delays. Then we could meet with Kian and Charlotte, get somewhere safe and thrash out a plan.
There were few people around. It was morning and the middle of the week but I honestly expected loads of people trying to get me. I didn’t know whether I was relieved, or upset that I wasn’t as important as I thought I was. But it made sense when I thought about it.
Like anything in life, only a few people make it. Sports. Lotteries. Acting. Writing. Not everyone can win the prizes. Same thing here. I was one man. How many people could get to me in time? How many people would even bother trying? Too far away, they’d say. He’s probably already been claimed. How would we even get to his place? And they’d defeat themselves before they even tried.
Once we got to the car, I sat the woman up against the leather seats, trying to keep her head upright as I belted her in. I did a quick check of her pulse. I knew she was alive but she’d managed to sleep through everything that had happened. Four times. Maybe we should take her to the hospital.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Carmen slid into the driver’s seat, turning the engine on as I grabbed the bag with the cash and ammo and chucked it into the boot alongside our holdalls. I slammed the boot shut and as I made my way to the passenger side, I heard it. Sirens. A whole lot of them. Looking out across the car park, I could see the blue and red lights coming down the road. They’d be here before we could get out.
That was life, innit? Always giving you hope, just to snatch it away.
I opened the passenger door and stuck my head in. “You have Kian’s number, right?”
Carmen nodded.
“Head up to Hampstead. We’re meant to meet them at the bench. I took you there a couple of times for a crepe. You remember?”
She nodded as she said, “Just get in. They’ll go to the flat. They haven’t seen us yet.”
“Too risky,” I replied. “Better you get out with her. I still have this.” I pointed at the gem in my head. She looked concerned, her hands gripping the wheel that little bit tighter but she nodded. I shut the door. She gave me a final look – a tight smile on her lips like you do when you expect the worst but want to seem strong – before she pulled away.
I pretended to fumble with the door of the gnome-mobile as I watched Carmen drive towards the exit. She slowed down and waited as a couple of police cars pulled in, sirens screaming. One of those went to the left, the other drove alongside Carmen and stopped. More police were coming behind them.
The ones next to Carmen looked towards her. Maybe they knew she was my girlfriend. Especially if it was her socials they discovered me from. I could see the police in the driver’s car looking at Carmen, then to the girl in the backseat behind the driver’s.
I had to do something. I put my hand in my hoodie pocket and took out the revolver. Six bullets it had. I needed to keep one. As I watched the passenger door of the police car open, I took aim and fired, my arm jerking with the recoil. The police door shut. I fired again, and saw Carmen duck her head as if I was aiming for her. But that was good. She’s just a nobody, caught in the crossfire.
It worked. The driver at the police car seemed to be screaming at Carmen, and she pulled off, the police cars behind leaving the exit free for her to pull out. I watched as she drove off down the street. The police cars drove behind other cars, putting layers of metal and glass between them and me. What few people there were dove for cover on the greens surrounding the building or ducked behind cars. Poor grandma and grandpa had to move faster than they had in years.
I stayed behind the gnome-mobile, hands in my hoodie pocket with the revolver, figuring out what to do next. Yeah, I could reset and I knew I would have to, but it hurt to shoot yourself in the head, or smash your body from an eighteen storey fall, or be stabbed fifty odd times. I couldn’t die, but the memory of the pain lived on. Besides, I wanted to delay as long as possible for Carmen to put a good amount of distance between us.
We’d been parked about a third of the way from the building. I could run back inside and draw the officers in, but a part of me wondered if I did that, would that make them change their plans? It gave them time to think. Maybe send a car or two for the Merc, do their due diligence on who was driving. Right now, they knew they were being shot at from the car park. I needed to keep them focused on me.
I opened the door to the gnome-mobile and crawled inside, head down. In the confines of the claustrophobic space, I pulled the lever to push the driver’s seat back, and I managed to twist my body around, so my legs were at the pedals and my head was resting halfway along the backrest. It wasn’t easy. Nobody who’s five foot nine wishes they were shorter but I did at that moment.
I turned the engine on, pressed the clutch, shifted into first gear. I had to take the risk of sitting up so I could look out of the windshield and see. Police cars were driving past a few rows over and others behind that I could see from the mirrors. I could just about make out a couple more cars coming in at the exit and others already blocking it. I could see the armed police getting into position – taking cover and training their weapons on my location. Unlike Darren and Michelle, they probably had the discipline to not kill me when things went wrong for them. And if what I had planned worked, things would be going wrong for them.
I’d wasted enough time. I put my foot on the accelerator, and released the clutch slowly, waiting for the biting point, before releasing the handbrake. I pulled out slowly and turned the car towards the exit, holding my car door almost closed but not quite. I held the car there for a moment, tilted my body towards the passenger side, so the officers to my right didn’t have a clear shot.
A loudspeaker sounded out.
“RIVER CLARKE. YOU ARE SURROUNDED. TURN THE ENGINE OFF AND EXIT YOUR VEHICLE WITH YOUR HANDS UP.”
I grabbed my phone and made a call.
“Hey,” Carmen answered. “Did you make it out?”
“Soon,” I replied. “What about you? Anyone following you.”
“It doesn’t look like it. I called Kian. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
“Okay. When you get there, dump the car. It won’t take these guys long to figure out it’s yours and I’m sure they already know about us.”
“RIVER CLARKE. THIS IS YOUR SECOND WARNING. YOU ARE SURROUNDED. TURN THE ENGINE OFF AND EXIT YOUR VEHICLE WITH YOUR HANDS UP.”
Carmen remained quiet for a moment before speaking. “Do what you need to do.”
I cut the call and floored the accelerator. Gunfire sounded out as bullets peppered the car, smashing into the metal with twangs, the glass windows cracking but holding firm. I held my nerve, drove at the police cars blocking the exit and pushed my door open. Bullets whizzed by but one struck me in the arm, causing me to grunt in pain. It hadn’t torn through the flesh – it was more like a mallet smacking into my bicep.
With mere metres to go until I crashed into the police blocking the exit, I threw myself out of the car, rolling several times on the tarmac, cutting and grazing my arms and legs even through the fabric of my clothes. I came to a stop as the gnome-mobile smashed into the police cars, but already around me, I could see the armed officers moving, quickly getting into position.
No time to think. Actions first, consequences later.
I grabbed the revolver.
“PUT IT DOWN AND PUT YOUR HANDS ON YOUR HEAD,” officers screamed at me from all directions.
I partially did what they said. I put the revolver to my head.
Then I pressed the trigger.
I opened my eyes.
I wasn’t on my balcony as I expected.
Schedule: 5/week (Monday–Friday)
- Xianxia Meets Modern Weaponry (Powered by runic magic!)
- High-Octane Action and Hilarious Moments
- A Tiger Cub So Cute, She’ll Steal Your Heart
- Guns, Guns, and More Guns! (Bang! Boom!)
- An OP MC with a Purpose (Because pulling the trigger isn’t always enough)
- 200k+ Words Posted (50k+ more on )
If you love explosive battles, heartfelt moments, and a touch of the absurd—this story is for you.