Hope On The Rocks/Issue 69

This is Issue 69 of Hope On The Rocks, entitled "Nothing Left to Safe".

This issue is Peter-centric.

607, Nothing Left to Save
“Come on, Pete.” Jack says, pulling me along. “Relax, man.” I say, getting out of his grap. ''It’s friday, Grayson’s sells beer for like no money. I haven’t had a girlfriend since Ellen left me. She was a bitch anyway.'' “It’s not like we’re late, dude.” Landon mutters, chewing on a sandwich with ham. ''“Yea, yea, I know.” Jack says as we turn the corner. We walk past The Rocks, a bar that I have never been to, and I don’t intend to do so. “I’m just excited. I’m so gonna get laid tonight.”'' “I doubt that, Jack.” I say jokingly. ''“Like you’re gonna get more than me.” Jack says sarcastic. He does knew that I probably will.'' ''Jack isn’t the most handsome guy in Waynesburg. In fact, he is pretty ugly. His brown greasy hair covers his forehead, while his face is covered in freckles.'' ''“Why are you even here, Landon?” Jack asks. “You have Hannah.”'' ''Landon shrugs, still eating his sandwich. “Cheap beer.”'' ''It’s late, around 7 pm. It’s not cold, though, and it’s not dark yet. I can clearly see the street.'' “How are the two of you holding up?” I ask Landon. ''Landon shrugs once again. He does that all the time. “Fine, I guess.”'' ''“Come on, man.” I say. “You had a fight last week.” '' ''“Hey.” Landon says, stopping up. I stop as well, but Jack continues to walk. “None of your buisness, okay?”'' I raise my hands, saying “Fair enough.” We walk again, Jack being around ten meters in front of us now. ''“Sorry.” Landon says. “It’s just... you know what 69 is, right?”'' I am not interested in hearing about Landon’s sex life, so I just open my mouth to speak, but am cut off by Landon. ''“Yea, she wanted to try that. I didn’t. That was it.” Landon says, not really looking at me, but rather the view behind me.'' ''“But... you’re talking?” I ask, trying to sound interested.'' ''I like Landon. He is a good friend, but he is really not good socially.'' “Yea, we’re talking.” Landon says, looking at the sidewalk now. ''I look in front of us, seeing an older man, halting towards Jack. It’s not unusual, so I don’t think more about it before the old man takes a big bite of Jack’s arm.'' Jack screams, and both Landon and I run towards him to help him. ''While Landon helps Jack, I knock over the old man. Even though I hit him in the face several times, nothing happens. He just keeps trying to take a bite of me as well.'' ''Not wanting to kill the man, I help Landon to get Jack away. We then run, the man following us.''

I watch as Esther falls to the ground. And I then watch as Ridley gets shot. I look at the ground in front of me. I see Doug’s gun and I see mine. I could try and shoot Junior right now, but I don’t have much of a chance. I take a quick glimpse back, seeing Doug, reching down for his gun. I don’t want to waste my time with that. So I close my eyes, knowing what will happen now. Thinking about it, these people would probably be better off without me. I couldn’t help Jack back then. I couldn’t help Landon. I couldn’t help Esther, and I can’t help myself. I don’t deserve to live anymore. Not after all the bad things I have done. I think about all the mistakes I have made, not even considering the good things I’ve done. To me, the only thing that matters is the bad things I’ve done. I open my eyes, not understanding why I’m not dead yet. I see Junior pointing his pistol at me. I see his finger pulling down the trigger. Everything goes extremely slow, as the bullet goes closer. I see my whole life before my eyes. Every single person I have ever met, every single place I have ever been. I see everything. I feel the bullet reaching my forehead. I feel it going through my skin. I then feel nothing.

Deaths

 * Peter Armstrong
 * Esther Tricker

Credits

 * Ridley Johnson
 * Peter Armstrong
 * Douglas Tallie
 * Esther Tricker
 * Graham Junior
 * Landon Bartle (flashback)
 * Jack Grayson (flashback)