The sound of Tommy rummaging through the cabinet like a tornado woke up James, who was sleeping in the lower bunk. James opened his eyes, looking around the dimly lit room that passed for a bedroom for two, clothes and magazines covered the ground, and the twenty year old lamp barley lit the room up. Old paint was fading and sports posters were half off the wall. The dura sheet had chipped paint in some places, it was a new building materiel that behaved like dry wall but was five hundred percent stronger and more durable, as well as being lighter and cleaner then dry wall meant that the extra cost went a long way, on the down side it was foggy but very see through. Meaning that paint or the new fading spray was necessary for privacy was poking through in some places.
"Christ, Tommy you know what time it is?" said James, rubbing his eyes.
"Time for you to get your lazy ass out of bed" Tommy replied, obviously ignorant to the hour it was, which was very early for those interested.
"Why the hell are you up this early man, I need my sleep" said James trying to get back to sleep.
"I just got my shot at being a member, comprende?" as Tommy finished the sentence, James was suddenly awake, staring at Tommy with a hint of worry in his eyes.
"You mean?" asked James, his voice faint.
"Yes" replied Tommy, grinning as he said it his eyes held a fire in them.
"I won't do it, I'm not doing it!" yelled James, losing control, and tripping over a special issue of sports illustrated.
"You don't have much of a choice!" said Tommy with little sympathy, continuing to search for his gun and keys.
James had always dreaded this day, the gang Tommy was with, the gun runners, had an initiation. A brutal one not to the initiate, but to innocents, those who wanted to be more then grunts had to perform a drive by, not on a city street, but on the highway, they had to kill at least five people to become a member. This makes highway driving a deadly choice. James still remembered when, on the highway, his family was shot at, they were driving in a hatchback, of course they would attack it, the gangs always picked prey that couldn't escape, the gang members used pistols, they just started shooting, mom freaked out and let go of the wheel, the van jack knifed and started rolling like a barrel, he thought they were dead for sure, but through some sort of miracle, they all survived the crash and the gangs car drove on, probably thinking the crash killed them. When dad heard he started yelling at mom for trashing the car, mom was paranoid from that day forward, wouldn't leave the house.
"Why can't you just get one of your friends to help you? I'm sick of being your bitch" said James
"Because you're the only guy I know who can drive a getaway car fast enough, and the only one hooked on psycho, and I just happen to have a dose on me..." Tommy said slyly
"Oh fuck you man, just let me live in peace, I hate what I do on that stuff." James was holding back the urge to cry, he wanted the drug so badly it hurt, but the thought of killing people was always horrible, he could do it, he'd done it before, he remembered his first kill, it was winter and he'd just helped rob a store when a rent a cop showed up with a taser and threatened to shoot, James brought his gun up and threatened to shoot back, the cop stepped forward, trying to get through to him, to change him for the better and James shot him in the chest for caring for his future. James ran off before the cop drew his last breath, but he knew it was a kill shot.
"James" Tommy said "you've killed, I've killed, it doesn't make a dent in the world if a few more people die, besides it'll be fun, shoot some guns and get high, what's not to love?" Tommy was disappointed by a lack of response "alright Jane, untie your ponytail, put on a pair of boxers, grow a pair and start acting like a fucking man." Tommy always called him Jane when he needed to piss him off enough to prove to Tommy that he was a man, it worked. Sort of, he just needed a bit more of a push.
"James, I almost hate to do this but if you're not willing to help I guess you can say good bye to that entire dose psycho..."
"He'd bent my rubber arm", James thought, grimacing as he took the vial.
"Fine, but save the other half for later, I get the feeling I'm going to hate myself after this" James gave up the fight and rolled up his sleeve, grabbing the vial and stabbed it into his arm, pulling back on the plunger to see if he hit a vain, a red cloud puffed up in the liquid. He pushed down on the plunger, letting the glowing fluid flow through his veins, making his entire arm numb, and then it tingled like you get when your foot's asleep, the feeling of invulnerability made him grin, "fuck the real world" he thought, "let's kill some shit".