Standing there, at the edge of the city, Desmond looked at the surrounding police and felt a heart-crushing sadness. The wind roared in his ears, separating him from the sound of sirens, and the sound of the deep depression he was ensnared in. The flying city in which he resided was supposed to be a magical, technological wonder. It’s supposed to be where all dreams come true, however, he could see what it truly was. Above the desolate wasteland that was the surface of Earth, humanity made a flying city, to escape the effect of their relentless pollution. 

Nothing felt right in the city, it was supposed to be a shining, shimmering symbol of the power of humanity, but was riddled with crime and violence. Like a pig with makeup. Desmond always hated crime but had almost no choice. Fictus, the flying city used to be affordable, but quickly became extraordinarily expensive. To get by, Desmond, like most people, had a day job, he worked at a local cafe, and would unwillingly commit crimes at night. Desmond was a good person. He was humble, kind, soft-spoken, and would do anything to support you. He was passionate about music, art, movies, and books. He was disgusted with himself every time he would commit a crime, normally robbery. He would carry a gun with him but never planned on using it, as the thought of taking another human's life was absolutely and completely repulsive. 

One day, while working at the cafe, he saw a very pretty girl. She had long, light brown hair that was put up in a bun. To him, her face seemed to glow. When she approached the counter, she smiled and asked for a small coffee and a bagel. Her glimmering white smile resembled the buildings of Fictus and seemed to somehow shine even brighter. Desmond was in complete shock and disbelief that someone this gorgeous could reside in the crime-ridden mess that was Fictus. 

She started to come back, day after day. Desmond was very extroverted and loved talking to new people. He would always strike up a conversation with the customers, and they all knew him very well. But with this strangely beautiful girl, he was too scared. This was the first time in his life that he’d been scared to talk to someone, and his coworkers could tell. After a few weeks, his best friend Jake finally convinced him to ask her out. So, when she asked for her small black coffee and blueberry bagel, Desmond asked for her number, and she gave it to him eagerly. As it turned out, she planned on asking him for his number that very day. Her name was Amelia. They talked for a few days and decided to go roller skating. Neither had been before so they thought it would be lots of fun. They skated together while holding hands, then went out and got some fast food. They talked for two hours before Desmond finally drove her home.

For the next few days, Amelia didn’t come to the cafe. If Desmond texted her, she wouldn’t be able to get back to him for quite a while. He was wondering if he did something wrong or if he somehow made her upset. 

One day at work, Desmond was talking to Jack when all of a sudden, Amelia walked in. He took her order and asked her if anything was wrong, why she hadn't been talking to him all that much for the past week or so. As it turns out, she was doing training for her new job, and it was very exhausting. Desmond asked her what the job was, but she said it was a surprise. She also told him that she had the day off, and when he gets off of work, they should go out somewhere. He agreed and about an hour later, they found themselves walking in a park. Desmond decided that if he were to ask her out, now would be the time. With her starting her new job, they won't be able to see each other as much and he wants to make their relationship a little more serious. So, he asked, and she said yes. 

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Around five months have passed, and Desmond and Amelia are now happily living together. Desmond has received a huge promotion at work and Amelia is making lots of money at her new job as a police officer, although she got back very late from patrol on Tuesdays and Thursdays. They are living in an apartment together and go out to dinner every Friday. It had been over seven months since Desmond had committed a crime and he never saw himself going back.

Amelia had always wanted to be a police officer. Her father was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for defending Amelia and her Mom from his brother (Amelia’s uncle) after he went crazy one night while staying with them. The policing system and the justice system were incredibly corrupt in Fictus, and as a result, Alemia’s father was taken away from her permanently for defending his wife and child from someone that was trying to kill them. Alemia believed that she would be able to change the corrupt system by climbing the ranks and doing everything she could to make a change for the better. Her belief was that as long as her family, friends, and Desmond were supporting her, she could do anything. 

  That was, until, one night, Desmond had been working late at the cafe, he was walking home with his earbuds in, and was robbed. The gunman stood there in the alleyway, just a few feet in front of Desmond, with his handgun pointed directly at Desmond’s head. He approached Desmond in a nervous fashion, shaking and stuttering out the words “Give me everything you’ve got.” 

It was clear to Desmond that this was the first time he had done something like this and was very tense. As he got right up in front of him, Desmond made a move. He quickly grabbed the gun from the incompetent robber’s hand, while simultaneously punching him in the chest so he’d let go of it.. The robber shrieked in horror, pulled out a combat knife, and leaped towards Desmond. Desmond, reacting only on instinct, pulled the trigger and murdered the mugger. 

As Desmond stood over the lifeless, blood-spewing corpse of the man he had just shot, he heard someone shout from the other end of the alleyway. Suddenly the whole alley was flooded with red and blue lights. The police just so happened to be there, at the worst possible moment.

Desmond turned the other way and booked it out of the alley. He continued running, and running, and running some more until he reached the edge of the city. He sat down, his feet dangling off the edge of Fictus. He turned up his music, trying to drown out the horror of what he had just done, but he couldn’t. He dropped the gun off the side of Fictus and cried. He sat there bawling for over 30 minutes, only being interrupted by the sounds of sirens quickly approaching. He looked at his phone, 11:39 pm, Thursday, November 13th, 2031. This was going to be the last time he saw the outside world. The last time he would see his friends, and the last time he would see Amelia. The sirens, he could tell, were right behind him. 

“Put your hands in the air, stand up and turn around”, yelled one of the police officers. He complied. However, what he saw, when he turned around, was horrifying. He was surrounded by four cop cars, and too many police officers to count, but none of that mattered because, standing right in front of him. was Amelia, pointing her gun right at his face. He let out a scream so loud and painful that all of the police officers recoiled. Desmond started sobbing and screaming, his tears doing nothing to wash away the blood-stained on his shirt. The wind screeched in his ears, the sirens blared and Amelia sobbed. The man she loved most in the whole world, was standing here, a murderer. For Desmond, he was standing here, in front of the most important person in his world, after taking another man's life.