Now I pray, darling, for the night
We'll dance down these darkened halls
Once again to fall
Into a dream – Restless Nights, Bruce Springsteen
It was funny how you never actually thought you'd drunk too much until that cold fresh air hit your face and suddenly it became obvious that perhaps that last shot was one too many. He'd been here far too often lately and it was getting harder to hide it and harder to step away. It numbed the pain in his heart. Certainly he was enjoying scratching the itch he'd got and it was satisfying in the moment but it left him feeling like he was crawling with ants the next day.
Tonight he was alone though and that was okay. Sometimes he didn't even like his own company so he couldn't expect people to be falling over themselves to spend time with him. Basically people had just stopped asking. If he had to he could live in this world, a world where he could go to work and go home at the end of the day and keep the two completely separate, then if one of them went to shit again it wouldn't effect the other.
Adam shoved his hands into his pockets and hunched over and headed for home. This bar round the corner from his place was probably a little too convenient in his current state of disarray. It was no Molly's. I didn't have the sense of home that Molly's did but then again he wasn't really feeling like going home any time soon.
Pretty much he didn't like his life right now but any day now he knew he would turn a corner. He had tried to hang on in the hope that things would change but he wanted that to happen without putting in the effort. When your head is in a constant state of confusion it was hard to see that the reason he hadn't been able to get out of this funk was because he was waiting for someone to drag him out of it. He didn't want it to be him. He needed to be saved.
He heard the footsteps behind him, but that wasn't unusual. There were always people walking around at night in his neighbourhood. It was a busy area full of bars and restaurants and take out joints. Adam turned his head briefly and looked into the vacant lot, just a few weeks ago a building stood where there was now emptiness. It felt like his life. Not so long ago there was this beautiful building and now there was nothing but dust and rubble. He thought it had a strong foundation but apparently inside it was a crumbling ruin and it took one swing of a wrecking ball to bring it tumbling down.
It was the blinding pain that stunned him and bought him to his knees.
They had come from behind; those footsteps had got just a little closer and a little quicker. Adam had increased his pace but it was too late. For just a moment he kind of liked the pain though. He assumed that cracking noise was one or two of his ribs breaking. It made him feel alive when for so long he'd felt dead inside until he had boots laying into his sides and the last thing he remembered was the kick to the head.
When he woke a few moments later he was being dragged towards his truck. He had been so close to home that he actually had his keys in his hand but couldn't feel them now. He was pushed up against his truck while someone fumbled with the door. He felt hands in his pockets and tried to fight but he was overwhelmed, defenceless and without his weapon. They were pulling out his wallet and phone and he vaguely remembered someone running away towards the vacant lot. He took his chance and tried to fight while it was one on one.
Adam pushed himself off he cool metal of his truck and with every ounce of strength that he had left in him he tried to land at least one punch on this attacker. His instinct had kicked in and he thought at the very least if he could fight back they might just be able to gather some DNA that had been left behind and not just his. He wasn't going without a fight or at least leaving something behind if someone cared enough to come looking for him. He knew Intelligence would, he wasn't sure if anyone else would but surely his team would?
In an instant he was outnumbered again though and while he wasn't a shrinking violet and could fight, these two were definitely his equal. Adam buckled as he felt a searing white hot pain to his abdomen. He kicked out with his leg and the staggered as he saw the glint of the blade as it slid into his thigh and he crumpled to the ground. One more punch to the head and he just had to let the black take him.
Vaguely he remembered being dragged from one car, he assumed it was his truck and loaded into another. They certainly weren't in the business of making sure he was comfortable or taking of his injuries. The bitter taste of his blood in this mouth made him feel sick and when he spat it out he was re-paid with a fist slamming into his face.
Through his one good eye, the one eye that wasn't so swollen that he couldn't open it, the next thing he could see was the bright light that shone overhead. He was obviously on a bed but the place didn't look familiar. He heard voices, they were unfamiliar and they were mumbling. Trying to listen to what they were saying was hard and piecing together the past few hours, what bits he did remember was impossible.
One thing was crystal clear. He was in deep shit, he knew who was to blame but he just didn't know if he was going to survive long enough to do anything about it.
A sharp pain rifled through him and he was desperate for even a sip of water. He tried to ask for it and the best he got was a wet face cloth shoved in his mouth. He managed to spit it out before he choked but the small amount of liquid he managed to suck out of the cloth was a little bit of relief.
It was time to give in and just let the other side take him.
He closed his eyes.
