"Damn it!" Sam cursed as he looked at the beggar holding the knife in one hand and the jewel in the other.
"Just hear me, give me this gem, and I'll give you some money. A thousand dollars even! And then you'll pretend you didn't see me, and I didn't see you, what do you think?" Sam said to the beggar while rubbing his forehead.
"A thousand dollars?! Do you think I'm a fool, you fucking idiot?! I'll never believe an offer like that!" the beggar shouted loudly.
"Shut up, you fucking shit! Don't shout!" Sam shout back at him.
"Don't tell to me what to do, you fucking bastard!" the beggar repeated his screams, paying no attention to Sam's warnings.
When Sam saw that shouting wouldn't help, he quickly took out the money, which had become slightly wet from the increasing rain.
He offered the beggar hundreds of dollars and said, "Look, here's about $600, I have even more in my pocket. I won't deceive you, and I mean it... I'll give you the $600 right now."
The beggar looked at the money in amazement, barely illuminated by the dim streetlight, and asked hastily, "How much do you have now?"
Sam spat to the side and said, "It's none of your business. Give me the gem, and you'll get the money, and we'll all go our separate ways. Do you understand, or do I need to make you understand?"
The beggar remained silent for moments, staring intently at Sam. Concern rose in Sam's heart as he never expected this predicament. Sam had no choice but to curse his own carelessness.
"You seem to be rich, young man. You don't really need the gem. But me? I need it much more than you..."
"Cut the bullshit!" Sam shouted, raindrops falling relentlessly. "Hand over the gem now, or I'll fuck you up here and now!"
"I've lived long enough, young shit. You're giving me a thousand dollars so easily for a jewel; it must be valuable." the beggar calmly replied.
The beggar continued his speech, "I planned to rob this store for a whole month! And when I was about to execute it today, you came and stole it! By what right do you steal my store?!"
The beggar coughed as raindrops entered his throat.
Sam remained silent. He had no reply.
But who cared whether he had a response or not? Sam didn't really care whether he had an answer or not. He had a mission to fulfill.
Silently and calmly, he put his hand in his pocket and pulled out his Glock pistol, aiming it at the beggar and saying, "Listen, you damn fuck. I've run out of patience trying to reason with you. You don't have an ounce of sense. Give me the gem, and this time, you will have your life instead of a thousand dollars."
The beggar looked at him calmly and said, "Do you think I'll be scared just because you've waved a gun at me? Do you know how many guns I've faced, you little shit!"
Sam didn't respond. He approached him calmly, still pointing his Glock at him. The beggar stood firm, holding the knife aloft, protecting the jewel with his other hand.
"This is the last time I'll warn you, you old fool. Give me the damn gem, and get out of here." Sam said, his grip on the Glock tightening.
'This crazy fuck!' Sam observed the bagger's movements that did not appear to be affected at all by the pistol directed in front of him. It's like Sam is aiming by a toy gun, not Glook 44.
"You've never killed anyone before, have you?" the beggar suddenly asked.
Sam tightened his grip on the Glock and yelled, "That's none of your business! Hand over that fucking gem now!"
"I've served in the army, kid. I know a few things about killing. Trust me when I say you don't have the balls to pull that trigger."
"Try me, old man." Sam said, beginning to feel a slight tremor creeping through his body, unsure if it was fear or the chill of the rain.
"78 people." the beggar said. "I've personally killed 78 people, and each one of them tried to kill me. Do you really think, young shit, that you're capable of killing me?"
Sam didn't respond as he focused on the beggar with his Glock.
"Really... kids these days don't have any-"
His words were abruptly cut off as he attacked directly at Sam! The beggar extended the hand holding the knife and aimed it at Sam's abdomen!
Bang!
The sound of the gunshot filled the entire alley.
The homeless man staggered left and right, quickly dropping his knife and the gem.
"Aim... for the head, you... fool." the beggar barely uttered, trying to place his hand on his right abdomen.
Sam watched the scene in horror, suddenly feeling the world go dark. Sam could only hear the beats of his own heart.
The beggar fell, desperately trying to stop the bleeding from his abdomen. He looked weakly toward Sam.
"Please... end my suffering." the beggar said with a faint voice that was barely audible.
Sam remained frozen throughout the entire scene. He wanted to move or do something, but his body betrayed him. His body refused to move at all.
The beggar writhed for a few moments, casting weakly hostile glances at Sam, who watched him in absolute terror.
The beggar's movements ceased.
'Calm down, calm down!' Sam felt like he might faint at any moment but forced himself to stay composed.
The merciless rain, now a downpour, showed no mercy to either the beggar or Sam. It continued to pour relentlessly.
When Sam saw the puddle of blood beginning to form where the beggar fell, his legs suddenly gave way, and he collapsed.
And suddenly, everything stopped...
The rain and its heavy sound froze. Only Sam was still moving.
The stop of the rain seemed to have calmed Sam slightly. He carefully picked up the gem that had fallen and placed it in his pocket.
He glanced at the beggar, noticing his clouded eyes, and felt a shiver run down his entire body.
Sam quickly fled.
He ran from the scene, from the alley, from his crime. All he could think of was escaping now. Nothing else mattered except escaping now.
Sam continued running without stopping. He ran toward the building without paying much attention to his surroundings; everything seemed frozen.
Sam felt like he was stuck in eternity as he ran. He had no other thoughts except to continue his escape and running. Just running without stopping.
The sound of heavy rain returned...
The sound of the heavy rain hurt Sam's eardrums. He felt the anxiety he had suppressed flood back into his heart.
He felt an unexplained weakness in his legs, and he quickly fell to his knees.
At that moment, he was only 100 meters away from the building. The street was empty of pedestrians, with only a few cars passing by quietly. Only dim lights illuminated the shabby, dirty street.
Then he saw a cat next to the garbage bin. A cat with red eyes and black fur, staring at him with a terrifying smile.
"Get the hell out of here!" Sam shouted at the cat.
The cat didn't respond but continued its terrifying smile and moved slightly away from the garbage bin before suddenly disappearing without a trace.
'Damn it all, damn it!' Sam cursed as he forcefully steadied himself to stand and continued running towards the building.
"There you be! You think I'm gonna blank your rent 'cause you-" Franklin stopped in his tracks when he saw Sam rushing towards him. Sam grabbed Franklin by the collar and lifted him slightly.
"Listen, you fuck. I don't have time to listen to your bullshit! You want money? Here!" Sam shouted as he threw Franklin away before emptying all the money he had in his pocket and tossing it towards Franklin.
Franklin was about to say something, but he fell silent when he saw the money scattered on his face and in front of him. He quickly gathered it while Sam walked past him.
Sam climbed the stairs exhaustedly. Finally, he saw Angela's apartment. He knocked on the door as forcefully as he could and tried to lean against the wall.
Angela opened the door quietly and glanced both ways before she found Sam leaning.
"Has everything gone fin..." Angela swallowed her words when she saw Sam collapsing in front of her...