Adrenaline

⌊Chapter 1⌉

Despite the hell that reigned upon it, there was something comforting about the city. Adelmir's often dark and cloudy skies contrasted the neon lights that lit up windows and signs around the city in order to make it a bit less dreary. That being said, the sun didn't show much. Most of the time it rained, and if it wasn't raining, it was windy. The sun coming out was rare, but not as much of a welcoming sign as it once was. At this point in time, everyone was used to the darkness and the light would mostly just hurt their eyes and keep them indoors. It made people's skin tones paler than they would be otherwise, giving the city even more of a washed out, dull look behind all the neon lights and friendly advertisements used to distract people.

Buildings towered over the already-dark streets, casting more of a shadow over the people who walked along the sidewalks. No one really drove unless they weren't from the area. Adelmir was big, but most people still preferred to walk over drive. Besides, the city was overcrowded and there wasn't much space for parking lots and parking garages. If someone was too far away from their destination, they took a subway. Nowadays, only two subways were running, which often made it easier just to walk anyways. There were six subway conductors who filtered out throughout the day. However, there was only one who people really cared about because the other five were bitter - this was Roger. No one cared enough to know his last name, but they cared enough to treat him well if they happened to see him around the city.

Not by any means, however, was Adelmir considered 'close-knit.' Most people lived by the phrase 'every man for himself' and didn't give much of a second thought to anyone else. It was pure selfishness, but it was widely understood selfishness. There wasn't much room nor much time to care about another person when the sovereign seldom did it himself.

However, this lack of care for other people left a lot of room for crime. Adelmir wasn't crime infested, but it sure had its fair share. Criminals tended to work for each other, making their community shockingly closer than the entirety of Adelmir. It also made them more dangerous than what they should have been. Some criminals, though, did not have any affiliation with the others - namely the ones with the largest prices on their head who weren't going to risk another of their kind turning them in for a cash grab to skip town and go somewhere better.

One of these criminals was Richard Alann. His name was all over the town, as he was greatly despised by the sovereign. He had quite possibly the largest sum under his name which made it natural for him to not trust anyone. He had been on the run for seven years since his alleged murder of the sovereign's father, Aaron Black - who had, ultimately, been far better than his son, Blake, could ever be at keeping Adelmir safe and under control. After Aaron died and Blake took over, Adelmir got progressively worse and worse.

Richard Alann was Blake Black's biggest enemy. A master at escape, a clever and witty man who made his way through his criminal life with a smile whenever he was caught. He didn't let the cops or Blake's soldiers get under his skin at any point, which made him even more of an annoying target for them. He was stubborn, determined, and absolutely difficult to work with. His personality wasn't very flawed, but his tactics were. Granted, they kept him safe for seven years, but they put him in more danger than what he should have been in. He got into too many fights, too many chases, and too much danger. A lot of it was unnecessary. He had every option to stay hidden in whatever base he had for himself, but he seemed to enjoy the rush.

Sometimes that got him into trouble. Miraculously, and to the annoyance of Blake, he always found his way around it.

⇤⇥

Crashing into the brick wall, Rich found his vision jumbled like that of a jigsaw puzzle thrown to the floor. He didn't have time to regain his senses nor the partial consciousness he lost in the impact. Every second he wasn't moving, Blake's soldiers just got closer. Pain pulsed through his whole body, but he refused to let that stop him. It took him years of practice to learn how to numb out the pain for a little while. But, hell, was he glad he had that skill now.