FicWad

I had never before been so wired. Or was I drained? I couldn't tell anymore. By all rights, I should have been dead from lack of sleep. It was so long since I could remember getting more than ten minutes of dozing off; I couldn't even remember getting those ten minutes in the past week. I was so tired that I couldn't sleep, and food was increasingly harder to get down.

But coffee was my savior. Instead of passing out as any other person would have, I had pots and pots of coffee waiting for me. Or I did. The coffee had just run out and I still had work to do. My work was too important not to finish in a timely manner. They had given me five weeks and I was running on the last few days before the deadline, despite having not slept at all since the assignment was handed to down me.

It didn't help that I couldn't remember the past week. Well, I could to some extent but there were these random blank spots in my memory. I could tell they were not from falling asleep, though. They were at too odd of times and it was not as though I could have slept even if I wanted to. By then my blood had probably already been saturated with caffeine. I wished there was an easier way, perhaps a way just to inject pure caffeine into my veins. I did not like coffee. I didn't like its taste. I downed a gallon of it in a day and I could not stand the horrid flavor it left coating my tongue.

I wondered what my eyes looked like. My mirror had broken a couple of weeks ago when I'd thrown my mouse at it in frustration, and the windows were much too dirty to see my reflection. I could remember a woman coming up to me, just before one of those blank spots in my memory, and telling me, "Wow, you look like shit."

She was a pleasant woman. She had taken me out somewhere. Why I had agreed to go with her instead of working, I had no idea. It didn't seem like me but it had happened, so it had been me. Or maybe it was a daydream because the next thing I remembered about that incident was standing over my coffee pot, waiting for my beautiful elixir to finish brewing, staring at the empty food cabinet.

That was also what I was doing before having started to think back, before I tried to regain that lost time. I was holding the coffee pot over my stained mug, tipped to pour the precious liquid. As I waited for the cup to fill, I stared blankly at the cabinet. It was still empty. Whoever was in charge of food had obviously failed the household. Damned roommates could never be trusted. Wait, I lived alone.

A roach crawled across the bottom shelf of the food cabinet. Or the air cabinet, since there was no food. A roach. My eye twitched as I watched it scuttle across the cracked wood. I hated roaches. Disgusting little creatures.

"Hey there, boy," I said. "Trespassing in my home, are we?"

The roach stopped and turned to face me. One of its legs twitched and rose in a salute. It shook its head. I would have been surprised had I not seen stranger things on my computer talking to me. I blinked and the roach was gone. Oh well, I guess he didn't like me. All the better, I hated roaches.

Where was the coffee in my mug? I looked down at it and it was still empty, despite having been holding the pot over it for well over a minute. Right, I had run out already. I reached up into the food cabinet to get my bag of emergency instant coffee. My fingers groped around the shelf in vain. Right, I had no groceries.

I stumbled over to my cluttered workspace and tossed papers and books around in search of my keys. The packets and notes slid off onto the ground, which was already covered by old chip bags and energy drink cans. I hated energy drinks and I swore I would never drink one again. Spotting a key under one of the monitors of my computer, I grabbed it, knocking over a can in the process.

"Fuck," I said blandly, not able to muster the strength to curse with energy. I took the can and held it upright, bringing it with me as I went to leave my apartment. My foot didn't clear a leg of my desk chair and I stumbled forward. I grabbed the back of the chair with my free hand so I wouldn't fall, forgetting that the back was splintered. My hand dragged along the broken edge until I felt a sharp twinge. Yanking my hand away, I looked down at the long shard of wood half-imbedded in my palm. Raising my hand to me mouth, I bit down on the piece sticking out. I slowly dragged the sliver out and spit it onto the ground.

I moved to the door, my injured hand pressed firmly to my leg. I couldn't feel any pain from it, but if it was bleeding then I didn't want to drip on the ground. Blood wouldn't show up on my dark pants. As I closed door behind me and listed for the auto-lock, I took a swig of the remaining drink in the can. Energy drinks were always a nice stimulant.

I walked down the hallway and took the elevator down to the floor level. Just as I left the building, I looked down at the can. It was an energy drink, a disgusting little concoction. The words on the can captured my attention. "No Fear," they read. I liked that name. No fear, the words were like those of a security blanket. They could be repeated endlessly to make a person feel safe. It was a good phrase.

I didn't like energy drinks, though. I dropped the can on the ground as I left; there was no use finding a trash can, the place was perpetually dirty. The filth was part of its appeal. It was not an aesthetic appeal, of course, but I had my reasons for living and working there.

The street was filled with cars racing past. Pedestrians struggled to cross the road without being hit. Yielding to pedestrians was something no drivers seemed to have ever heard of. It was a good thing the coffee shop was just two blocks away and on the same side of the street.

I don't remember ever stopping before crossing the street. I just kept walking without a care as to what could happen to me. My work was too important for me to die so there was no way I would. The logic didn't make sense but I was beyond caring. I needed coffee. Caffeine was probably the only thing keeping me alive; though I was well aware that I was probably just another cubic centimeter or two away from caffeine overdose.

Opening the door and crossing the threshold of the café, I looked around for an empty stool at the counter. There were plenty but I felt the need to take one next to the only person at the counter. I couldn't see her face but I could tell that she was indeed a woman. I sat beside her and slumped forward, supporting myself with my forearms on the countertop. The waitress, a homely woman who must have spent decades working in similar dumps, sneered at my posture and barked at me.

"Arms off the counter," she said. I think I obeyed her. "What ya want?"

"Coffee, what do you think?" I was sure I said that. It was hard to tell, though, since I didn't hear myself speak. She rolled her eyes and went back to the kitchen. Yeah, I must have ordered. Or maybe she was just a bitch.

From the woman beside me, I heard, "Wow, you look like shit."

What a pleasant greeting. I looked over at her, staring blankly. "Do I know you?"

She smirked and grinned at me. "Of course not. Can't a girl engage in some friendly conversation?" With that, she turned back to the sandwich in front of her.

I shrugged and turned my head to stare at the waitress as she stuck a large Styrofoam cup in front of me. It was too big of a cup for the amount of coffee inside. She had cheated me or, at least, I think she cheated me. Maybe I just drank a lot before noticing. I couldn't tell anymore.

The woman beside me didn't say anything as I downed the cup. I wanted more but the waitress looked as though she wanted payment for the first cup before giving me any more. I couldn't blame her. Everyone who lived in the area was a liar and a thief. It was a good thing I wasn't one of them. Oh, no, I was-I fit the stereotype perfectly.

I stood up and rifled through my pockets. I had money somewhere, I knew. My fingers rubbed over some large coins and I felt a crinkled piece of paper in my pocket. Victory, I had the money to pay for it. I pulled out the coins and paper and placed them on the counter.

"What the hell is this?" she sneered. "I can't take those coins. And that paper's not even money."

I was confused. Why couldn't she take coins? They were legal currency. I looked down at the money, puzzled as to why it was unacceptable. They weren't coins I had ever seen before. One had an elephant on it and the others had the image of a woman whom I had never seen before. Why did I have foreign money in my pockets? I had never been out of the country and no one I knew ever gave me their left over coins as souvenirs. I picked up the paper and smoothed out the creases.

"I'm sorry," I said, reading the paper aloud. Who was sorry? Why was someone apologizing to me via a note in my pocket?

The waitress was tapping her fingers on the counter. I looked around, unsure what to do. The woman beside me glanced over for a second and turned back to her pita. That lasted less than a second, as she snapped her head back to the change on the counter. I could have sworn her eyes had lit up upon seeing them. She was quick to pull out a money clip and counted out some bills.

"Here, for the both of us, ma'am," she said politely.

I wasn't about to argue with her about paying for me. After all, I was from the area. I was willing to take anything for free. I nodded to the woman and started to walk out. The woman scooped up the change off the counter and pocketed it before I left. Then she did the oddest thing and also got up to leave. Well, it wasn't odd. People always happen to leave at the same time.

As I passed one of the side streets, I felt myself being forced to the side, off the main road. There was a soft click and something pressed against my head as I felt my arms become restrained. In my periphery, I could see that a hand was holding a gun pressed against me. I could feel the woman's chest barely touching my back. Why was she doing this? I hadn't done anything wrong to anyone. Well, I had but it was not something she knew about. My work was confidential and I had even moved into my own apartment since a dingy, rundown flat was actually more security than a heavily policed skyscraper. I had to think about it again to understand what I had just thought. No, that was right-it was safer and inconspicuous.

She said something but I couldn't hear her. My thoughts were far too loud. It drowned out everything else. My head was pounding; I hadn't had enough coffee and I was paying for it now.

Just then, I felt the gun fall away and my arm was no longer locked behind my back. I felt something warm splatter on the back of my head. Looking down, there was a pool of something red growing at my feet. The woman was on the ground behind me. Just then, I was jostled as two people ran up to me. One said something to me, the other bent down to pick up the gun.

"We finally caught up with you, Devon!" the speaker said.

I was watching the similarly-dressed people on the other side of the street, though. They were hurrying pedestrians away from the area. Why would they be doing that? Oh, right, the woman with the hole in the side of her head.

"They've been looking for you and they're coming. We have to get you and your work to safety."

Who were "they" exactly? I waited for an answer. The man looked at me expectantly. It seemed as though he wasn't going to answer my question. Oh, wait, I didn't ask it, I just thought it.

"Who?"

"Who do you think? They know what you're working on and they're going to stop you and make sure no one can do it to them. That means killing you and destroying everything! C'mon, get us to your place."

I nodded and started back home. I felt as though I should trust them. They were dressed like the security at the offices, so they must have known what was good for me.

Taking seven of them with me, we went to my apartment. They urged me to move quickly and I tried to do so. My legs didn't seem to want to move fast enough, though. After the slow elevator ride, one of them got frustrated with me and shoved me forward, yelling at me to hurry up. It was a good thing the door was just a few feet down the hall. I felt through my pockets and couldn't find my keys. Patting them all down, I was worried. I needed to finish my work. How could I do that if I couldn't get in?

A shot rang out, followed closely by two more. I jumped and hit the wall behind me, covering my head instinctively. The security people laughed as I heard a loud slam. I looked up and my door was open-it had three lovely bullet holes in it. The landlord was going to be pissed.

I went straight to my computer and set to work making sure everything was saved and backed up on my USB hard drive. One of the guards quickly grabbed it the moment I announced that I had everything I needed. He walked out of my workstation area and into the hallway. The moment he exited, I heard another gun go off and watched as the guard's body jerked and fell to the ground. Three men inside my apartment pulled out their weapons-and turned them on the other four.

I ducked behind the desk, unsure of what to do. The sound of guns didn't seem to want to stop. I heard screaming and poked my head over the top of the desk, watching as four who hadn't been shot right away fought hand-to-hand, trying to get their side arms in a position to shoot each other. Even without clear shots, they pulled the triggers. One of them threw a wood chair at an unarmed opponent. The target ducked and my furniture smashed against the wall behind me, shattering into several large pieces. I looked back at the guards and only saw two left standing. One was running toward me-the other was behind him. The one in back raised his gun and shot the nearest man. The bullets tore through him and he slammed into the desk and fell backward.

The remaining man came at me, weapon still ready for use. It was empty though. I could see that he had already used all of his ammunition. I grabbed a leg that had broken off the chair and, as he approached, jumped at him, bringing the club down onto him. His arm flew up to protect his face and the chair leg slammed into his wrist. I wasn't sure if I had broken anything but he dropped his gun and staggered back. Without hesitation, I swung my club at him repeatedly, making him step back to avoid getting hit. He tripped on one of the bodies on the ground and smacked into the ground. I had never fought before so I did what came to me first; I stabbed the leg's sharper, broken end down at his body. He screamed and tried to clutch his injured stomach. I stabbed him again with all the strength I had, this time piercing his hand.

His screams wouldn't stop. I tried to pull the wood out but the sharp stake broke, leaving a large shard in his hand. I needed him to shut up. My head was in agony and I couldn't take the sound. I moved closer and clubbed at his face repeatedly-I treated it in the same way I would tenderizing a steak. I couldn't stand his screeching; it needed to stop. His face was turning into nothing more than a bloody mess and he soon stopped all movement.

I took a step back and dropped my broken piece of chair. My heart was pumping faster than it ever had. I couldn't remember a time when I felt truly tired. Exhausted, yes, but this was different. I just wanted to crawl up in bed and sleep.

There was no way I could stay in my apartment, though. They'd find me. I didn't know who they were but at least a few of the security guards were them. I couldn't go back to the offices. What if they were all there? I needed to find a safe place for myself. Having lost track of the back up, I unhooked everything from my computer and took just the tower. Everything else had been shot up but it looked okay. Taking it in both arms, I hurried from my apartment, taking care to step over the bodies on the way out. I tried my best not to look at them; I had never seen a dead body up close before.

I took one last look behind me. There was no way this was happening. I did not just witness-and take part in-murder.

The elevator took me back to the ground floor and I rushed from the building. People all around stared at me as if I was crazy. Mothers pulled their children closer and shielded the eyes of the young ones; men stepped in front of their companions to protect them. I dodged traffic as I raced across the street. I needed to get away.

"There he is!" I heard someone yell.

Then a gun went off and everyone around me screamed and dropped to the ground. My shoulders tensed up as though that would protect me. I ran faster, my legs actually willing to listen to me. The harder I ran, the farther I felt I could go. I glanced back to see who was following me. They were dressed differently than the security guards and they were still weaving through traffic. I turned a random corner in hope of losing them and ran right into a young-looking girl in a denim jacket. I fell back, losing my grip on my computer-the girl was quick and grabbed it, hugging it to her tightly to prevent it from falling and dragging her down.

"Dev!" she said in a high-pitched voice. "Oh my god, I thought you were dead already! This truly is a blessing."

I got up and she shoved the computer back into my arms, along with a piece of notebook paper.

"Run to that address. Go there and we'll get you to a good place to set up and hide and you can do what you need to. Go! I'll follow."

I wasn't in a position to argue. She pulled a pistol out from behind her back and I took off. If she was on my side, I would be fine and I could trust her. If she wasn't...there was no use thinking about it. I'd be dead within seconds, anyway. After all, she was the one with the gun.

Holding onto my computer as tightly as I could with one hand, I smoothed out the paper and looked at it, memorizing the address. I knew how to get there, I thought. Adjusting my grip, I glanced back. The girl was close behind me-she was shooting at the people who were trying to get me.

What did I ever do to deserve being chased down? Well, I knew what I had done. That didn't matter, though. They didn't know what I had done; they shouldn't have known what I had been trying to do.

I had to keep going but I was too tired. I needed to stop. Turning the corner into an alley, I did just that. The girl was right behind me.

"What're you stopping for? They're still chasing us."

"Too tired. I need to stop for a second."

She rolled her eyes and pushed me farther down the alley. "You'll be more tired now that you've stopped running. Go on. Get down so we can at least take cover."

I moved down toward the end of the alley and crouched behind a dumpster. My new companion moved some of the wooden and cardboard boxes into a large pile so they could provide cover for her. She reloaded and handed the gun back to me.

"Just in case," she said, pulling another pistol out from one of the coat pockets. "I sure hope you're ready to run soon."

Men started to come into the alley. They moved slowly and they must have known where we were. I had almost thought that maybe we had made it in before they could see where we were headed.

The girl let off a few rounds to scare them. I watched as one of the men dropped to the ground and tried to crawl behind a dumpster that some of the others had dived behind. I poked around my own cover and shot at them. Though I had never fired a gun before-and I was completely sure that I wouldn't be able to hit anything-I figured that I could keep them hiding.

We couldn't stay, though. I knew we couldn't. The girl kept shooting and one of our assailants fell back. He must have been hit. They were moving the dumpster, though. They were getting closer.

"We need to go," she said. She reloaded and stood up, firing a couple more times. "Run!"

And I did. I tried to lift the computer while holding the gun and she kicked the machine out of my hands. It slammed into the ground and she shot it repeatedly.

"What the hell did you do that for?" I yelled, ducking as a bullet whistled by.

"It'll get you killed and what you know is a lot more important than some programs that can be rewritten."

I stood there shocked. My work that I had lost all sleep over for the past five weeks was gone. I had only a handful of days left. There was no way I could....

"Run, damn it!" she screamed, pushing me down the alley.

I did what she told me to do. I put all my strength into my legs and I prayed that I wouldn't get shot in the back. Just as I turned the corner, something hit my side and propelled me forward. Then I heard the girl scream behind me. I glanced back and saw her on her knees, clutching her stomach. I was going to go back to her and carry her away. It was the right thing to do. All of the guys did it in the movies.

Before I could do anything, there was another shot and her body jerked violently. She collapsed onto the ground with three bloody holes in the back of her jacket.

I ran harder than I had before, turning corners randomly. I didn't run in a straight line for more than thirty seconds. Glancing back behind me, I couldn't see anyone any more. I looked around, searching for another place to go. All there was in the area was an alcove that housed an entrance to the sewer system. There were newspapers and other garbage strewn about the area but it looked clean enough.

A searing pain shot through my side. I looked down and saw that my shirt was soaked in blood. Touching the area, I felt an agony that made me choke. I dropped to the ground and felt bile building up in my throat. And I forced it out, gagging and coughing as I threw up. I crawled around it and into the dark alcove. I was so tired. It was so cold. I just wanted to sleep, for the first time in over a month.

"No fear," I said quietly, barely able to muster enough strength to whisper. "No fear, no fear...."

I lay down and closed my eyes, hoping to taken away.