p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="2fa91d25ab08811ee91bc258d7a399df"It'd taken a fair number of hours for Simon to work up the courage to leave. He had spent most of his last day in the house in a total, awkward silence with his parents. However, at some point in the night, he had, indeed, left the house, and family, for good./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="08ef2e046648d7725c12f1744fb83d4e"A constant, soft sound could be heard all over as hundreds of rain droplets fell from the sky, forming an almost reflective layer on the grey streets Simon walked on. To Simon, the gentle light bouncing off the moon from the sun always revealed more beauty than the sun's rays ever did by themselves. Cobwebs strung on lampposts glittered as the dim light of the bulb mixed with the light from the moon, the leaves of a few distant trees glimmering directly in the moon's sight. Simon gave a shaky breath. This was it; he really was leaving home. No job, no hope, nothing – nothing but himself and the moon. However, the night did have its drawbacks, and they were beginning to take their toll on Simon. For a start, the air began to drop in temperature rapidly. What once was a hot, sunny day in school had turned into a cold, chilling run away at night. Secondly, there could be anything and anyone watching him, staring him down as if he was prey – it creeped him out. Simon would regularly find himself drifting between fixed thought on where he was going and a dream-like state as he wandered alone, and every time he transitioned back to his fixed thoughts his paranoia skyrocketed, frantically scanning the whole area to make sure no one was following him without his knowledge during his 'day'-dreams. Simon was already beginning to lose his mind just one hour into the walk. It didn't help that the rain had now stopped, leaving him alone with the deafening silence./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="23692038c13898b9d3a844e9c1025cc9"The silence was truly intoxicating, sucking the air out of his lungs with each attempted inhale. Simon's eyes were widened, reduced to their most primal features. Adrenaline shot through his body with each twig-snap, each rustle of leaves and each sudden noise. It was finally beginning to hit Simon: he was alone. He had no family now, no friends, no computer, no skills, no job, no money, no house, no food, no water, nothing. He certainly wasn't going to get anything from his neighbourhood either – they were all just as doomed as he was, in their own way. Could it be that the town prophecies were coming true once again? Every day, a younger Simon would hear stories from the people, about the towns seemingly cruel curse. Everyone that lived there was doomed to fail and no one had escaped. Simon spent all his younger years ignoring the warnings – he could code, couldn't he? He could just pass his exams, get a good-paying job and prove all those filthy peasants on the streets wrong, couldn't he? Not anymore, he couldn't. Simon sighed, looking around him for the fiftieth time. With no immediate signs of danger, he decided to cross a road – perhaps changing direction would lead him to something useful, he thought./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="af3b502e031db484ab11037602d109a4"It quickly became clear to Simon that he had made a great mistake. He couldn't turn back, he'd been walking for five hours since the crossing – he was starving, thirsty and tired. Yet, in front of him was nothing but a single, deep, dark alleyway, barely illuminated by the orange lights above from poor houses and their sensors. Simon gulped, attempting to move forward and failing twice. It was as if there was something in his body screaming at him, begging him not to go further, and his mind was almost willing to agree. However, another part of his mind knew full well that it was his only choice if he didn't want to collapse from exhaustion in the middle of nowhere on the way back. After finally regaining his full attention, he closed his eyes, expecting to be attacked. When not in pain, he dived into the deep, dark alleyway./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="e4d80e63298291b1636b960d28e24583"Simon cursed at his stupidity – he had been walking down the same alleyway for what seemed like hours; his idea was terrible. It took all of Simon's willpower to not break down and cry on the spot. Besides, he had to press on further – he could've sworn he had seen multiple eyes watching him in the distance; he was beginning to fear his whereabouts. Suddenly, there was a noise. This noise was like no other natural noise. It wasn't a falling object, or a snap, or a gust of wind, it was a loud bang. Simon began to rid away of any possibilities that couldn't have occurred in a mental checklist. "It couldn't have been a gun," Simon muttered out loud to himself. He frantically erased more possibilities from his mind. "Please don't let it be a gun." His pleads mustn't have been heard by any greater power, as soon the possibility of a gunshot was the only reasonable conclusion left on his list./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="ea073681147daaf310953390640b86d0"Simon sat down; he couldn't stand anymore. He felt as if the whole world was pressing against him, squeezing at his stomach, stealing more air from him. "I can't take this anymore." He began to cry softly to himself, looking at his reflection in a broken piece of glass on the ground. It had been at least six hours since he had left now – what's worse is that he didn't know what time he left the house. For all Simon knew, he could've left the house at seven o'clock at night, which would mean it'd be one o'clock in the morning. That would mean he'd have to remain in the night for yet another six hours – and the sheer thought of that made him shiver in both fear and regret. Another bang was heard, causing Simon to jump. He had only just remembered to not scream. This time, the noise was followed by another noise: the sound of metal, falling. Simon's curiosity got the better of him after a few minutes. Cautiously, he slowly dragged his body towards the source of the previous bang, a few ten yards away from the second bang. He inspected the floor, nothing seemed to have dropped. Simon sighed, sitting down once more and closed his eyes. Perhaps he really could sleep in the alleyway without too much danger. However, he did lazily open his eyes a few times. A small glint had appeared by the fifth time Simon had opened his eyes to check his surroundings – perhaps the moon was trying to show him something. He gazed more closely towards the shining object. He felt sick./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="dc0b9b48b2bdef307b085808fc227366"A single bullet lay on the ground, a few drops of blood beside it. The blood itself appeared to have had movement, almost as if someone had dragged a body. Simon's body must've had an extreme rush of Adrenaline as, despite his fatigue, he practically jumped up and sprinted further down the alleyway he was once sat in. He just kept running, never turning back: "It has to end eventually, right?" his mind boomed again and again. Simon could feel his muscles tearing and burning as his acids ripped them apart. In response, he simply breathed in more, attempting to rid of the lactic acid faster than it could be produced – this did not work. Yet Simon kept running for his life, ignoring the pain. After running for twelve minutes, he approached a corner. Turning it, he ran into someone, wielding a gun. Simon's mind raced, blocking out the shouts from the other man he had just run into. Out of some gut instinct, he stole the gun off the man and shot him. Simon dropped the gun, breathing heavily. He had just killed a man. Granted, that man has probably killed others, but still. He just killed someone. Just like that, a man, who may have had dreams, a future, a family, friends, was erased from life itself and it was all Simon's fault./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="8398856d8995659875141c234921de23"He was just a future college student, sixteen, and now he'd be a wanted criminal come a few days. Breathing heavily, Simon looked around once more, taking everything in./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="08ef2e046648d7725c12f1744fb83d4e"A constant, soft sound could be heard all over as hundreds of rain droplets fell from the sky, forming an almost reflective layer on the grey streets Simon walked on. To Simon, the gentle light bouncing off the moon from the sun always revealed more beauty than the sun's rays ever did by themselves. Cobwebs strung on lampposts glittered as the dim light of the bulb mixed with the light from the moon, the leaves of a few distant trees glimmering directly in the moon's sight. Simon gave a shaky breath. This was it; he really was leaving home. No job, no hope, nothing – nothing but himself and the moon. However, the night did have its drawbacks, and they were beginning to take their toll on Simon. For a start, the air began to drop in temperature rapidly. What once was a hot, sunny day in school had turned into a cold, chilling run away at night. Secondly, there could be anything and anyone watching him, staring him down as if he was prey – it creeped him out. Simon would regularly find himself drifting between fixed thought on where he was going and a dream-like state as he wandered alone, and every time he transitioned back to his fixed thoughts his paranoia skyrocketed, frantically scanning the whole area to make sure no one was following him without his knowledge during his 'day'-dreams. Simon was already beginning to lose his mind just one hour into the walk. It didn't help that the rain had now stopped, leaving him alone with the deafening silence./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="23692038c13898b9d3a844e9c1025cc9"The silence was truly intoxicating, sucking the air out of his lungs with each attempted inhale. Simon's eyes were widened, reduced to their most primal features. Adrenaline shot through his body with each twig-snap, each rustle of leaves and each sudden noise. It was finally beginning to hit Simon: he was alone. He had no family now, no friends, no computer, no skills, no job, no money, no house, no food, no water, nothing. He certainly wasn't going to get anything from his neighbourhood either – they were all just as doomed as he was, in their own way. Could it be that the town prophecies were coming true once again? Every day, a younger Simon would hear stories from the people, about the towns seemingly cruel curse. Everyone that lived there was doomed to fail and no one had escaped. Simon spent all his younger years ignoring the warnings – he could code, couldn't he? He could just pass his exams, get a good-paying job and prove all those filthy peasants on the streets wrong, couldn't he? Not anymore, he couldn't. Simon sighed, looking around him for the fiftieth time. With no immediate signs of danger, he decided to cross a road – perhaps changing direction would lead him to something useful, he thought./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="af3b502e031db484ab11037602d109a4"It quickly became clear to Simon that he had made a great mistake. He couldn't turn back, he'd been walking for five hours since the crossing – he was starving, thirsty and tired. Yet, in front of him was nothing but a single, deep, dark alleyway, barely illuminated by the orange lights above from poor houses and their sensors. Simon gulped, attempting to move forward and failing twice. It was as if there was something in his body screaming at him, begging him not to go further, and his mind was almost willing to agree. However, another part of his mind knew full well that it was his only choice if he didn't want to collapse from exhaustion in the middle of nowhere on the way back. After finally regaining his full attention, he closed his eyes, expecting to be attacked. When not in pain, he dived into the deep, dark alleyway./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="e4d80e63298291b1636b960d28e24583"Simon cursed at his stupidity – he had been walking down the same alleyway for what seemed like hours; his idea was terrible. It took all of Simon's willpower to not break down and cry on the spot. Besides, he had to press on further – he could've sworn he had seen multiple eyes watching him in the distance; he was beginning to fear his whereabouts. Suddenly, there was a noise. This noise was like no other natural noise. It wasn't a falling object, or a snap, or a gust of wind, it was a loud bang. Simon began to rid away of any possibilities that couldn't have occurred in a mental checklist. "It couldn't have been a gun," Simon muttered out loud to himself. He frantically erased more possibilities from his mind. "Please don't let it be a gun." His pleads mustn't have been heard by any greater power, as soon the possibility of a gunshot was the only reasonable conclusion left on his list./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="ea073681147daaf310953390640b86d0"Simon sat down; he couldn't stand anymore. He felt as if the whole world was pressing against him, squeezing at his stomach, stealing more air from him. "I can't take this anymore." He began to cry softly to himself, looking at his reflection in a broken piece of glass on the ground. It had been at least six hours since he had left now – what's worse is that he didn't know what time he left the house. For all Simon knew, he could've left the house at seven o'clock at night, which would mean it'd be one o'clock in the morning. That would mean he'd have to remain in the night for yet another six hours – and the sheer thought of that made him shiver in both fear and regret. Another bang was heard, causing Simon to jump. He had only just remembered to not scream. This time, the noise was followed by another noise: the sound of metal, falling. Simon's curiosity got the better of him after a few minutes. Cautiously, he slowly dragged his body towards the source of the previous bang, a few ten yards away from the second bang. He inspected the floor, nothing seemed to have dropped. Simon sighed, sitting down once more and closed his eyes. Perhaps he really could sleep in the alleyway without too much danger. However, he did lazily open his eyes a few times. A small glint had appeared by the fifth time Simon had opened his eyes to check his surroundings – perhaps the moon was trying to show him something. He gazed more closely towards the shining object. He felt sick./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="dc0b9b48b2bdef307b085808fc227366"A single bullet lay on the ground, a few drops of blood beside it. The blood itself appeared to have had movement, almost as if someone had dragged a body. Simon's body must've had an extreme rush of Adrenaline as, despite his fatigue, he practically jumped up and sprinted further down the alleyway he was once sat in. He just kept running, never turning back: "It has to end eventually, right?" his mind boomed again and again. Simon could feel his muscles tearing and burning as his acids ripped them apart. In response, he simply breathed in more, attempting to rid of the lactic acid faster than it could be produced – this did not work. Yet Simon kept running for his life, ignoring the pain. After running for twelve minutes, he approached a corner. Turning it, he ran into someone, wielding a gun. Simon's mind raced, blocking out the shouts from the other man he had just run into. Out of some gut instinct, he stole the gun off the man and shot him. Simon dropped the gun, breathing heavily. He had just killed a man. Granted, that man has probably killed others, but still. He just killed someone. Just like that, a man, who may have had dreams, a future, a family, friends, was erased from life itself and it was all Simon's fault./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-size: 18px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; padding: 0px;" data-p-id="8398856d8995659875141c234921de23"He was just a future college student, sixteen, and now he'd be a wanted criminal come a few days. Breathing heavily, Simon looked around once more, taking everything in./p