A life unlived

   In the small town of Massachusetts, there's only one grocery store, a post one, a bank , a barber shop , and a bar.  It seems everyone goes to this town to just drink and walk the streets.  This place isn't popular by any means but of course it might be exciting for someone that loves that small town feel, or someone that wants to rob a bank and get away with it.  I had been driving for hours in search of this eluded place, just when I saw the sign that read Welcome to the Town Tiny Beings.  Population 500.  I decided to get a motel to rest and survey my  surroundings to see how to best tackle this job.  I had robbed banks before, even far bigger ones than the one in tiny beings.  After spending a day walking around the town and seeing how busy the bank gets, I came to the conclusion that at 10:00 am, an armored truck comes to drop money off at the vault.  At 11:00 am, the truck leaves, so my window of opportunity would be right after.  From what I could see their only two guards one by the bank tellers and the other by the vault.  After I got back to the motel I gathered all the supplies I would need like my 9mm, ammo, mask, and duffel bag.  I knew I wasn't going to break into the vault because I'm not that greedy.  I decided just enough to get me through until the next town, I’ll just take the money that is in the registers that the bank tellers are using. 

The Next Day

   Today was the day.  I grabbed all of my belongings and checked out of the motel.  I pulled up to the bank, and as I got out of the car, I put my mask on.  When I got into the bank I did what you would normally see in the movies, I yelled for everyone to put up their hands, no one is going to get hurt.  As the tellers are putting the money in the duffle bag, one of the security guards decides to try and be a hero, and pulls a gun on me and shoots me right next to my shoulder blade.  I didn't want to kill him but it had to be done.  At this point the money didn't matter but getting out of there alive did.  I grabbed the bag and ran out to my car.  If I didn't get this wound treated, I’m sure it would kill me.  Of course the only thing I didn't pack was a medkit.  I grabbed what I could from my suitcase and put clean clothing on the wound.  I started to drive and see if I could stash the car because I'm sure someone would put two and two together , and be on my tail and find out what car I drive.  I found this little spot on the outskirts of town, with lots of trees covering a large amount of the area.  This was a perfect place to dump the car.  There was a small lake right dead center of the wooded area.  I decided to try and push the car into the water, so I could get rid of all traces of myself that would connect me to the car and back to the robbery. I looked down and blood was trickling out and onto the ground. I had the sudden thought, is this how it’s going to end? I recounted my life and what led me to this point.  Could I really have done something different to get a different result?  My life was just one big jumble of negative events right from the start.  My childhood was anything but normal.  I lived with my mother in a small town just outside of New York City.  It was a bad part of town with a lot of drug dealers, shootouts, smugglers.  A Lot went on in this town that was anything but positive.  My mother made sure I was prepared for these events by training me in self defense.  I trained non stop, waiting to put these skills to use, but secretly hoping it would never come to that, but one day it did… 

  At 1:00 am, I came home to find my mother dead, in just an arms reach from her gun.   I packed my things and left that place, until I realized the only skills I had were ones that would bring death and destruction to my doorstep.  From then one I went state to state stealing from criminals and doing what I could to survive.  Over the years I acquired scars, bullet holes that healed over only to be covered up by tattoos.  I had multiple rules that I  use to stay alive such as never stay in the same place more than once, only spend a day on a bank robbery, and most importantly form no connections.  It was a lonely life but it was better this way in order to not see another dead body of someone I cared about.  Suddenly I snapped out of the day dream, and realized that I needed to get moving or I would surely lay there and bleed out.  I got up and started walking in the direction away from tiny beings.  It had felt like I had been walking for hours when I came across this small cottage in the middle of nowhere.  I stumbled up to the front porch in search of a place to lay low or someone that could help.  I knocked on the door a couple of times, no answer.  I took what strength I had and bashed through the corner of the glass, so I could unlock the door from the inside.  I didn’t see anyone inside the house as I went inside to find supplies to address this wound.  I began rummaging through drawers to see what I could find.  A sudden noise scared me out of my shell, as I heard footsteps come from the upstairs.  I pulled out my gun and braced myself for the worse.  I felt my hands shake as my knees were growing weaker when I heard a loud bang. 

  My mind was taken to a different time where I was free from worry and lived in one place, where I raised animals.  It was a quiet life.  Usually me and my partner would travel on the interstate on vacations.  It was almost real.  I laid on the floor, as my eyes closed dreaming of that drive on that interstate with a partner, for one last time.