After heading outside of the small store in this quiet gas station with plastic at hand, he decidedly sat on a nearby empty wooden bench as the loud driving cars in the road were a distraction to his train of thoughts, sitting in silence in contemplation about this cashier man inside who goes by the name Michael.
He would repay the old man's kindness and generosity when he gets the chance to meet him again, but for now, he would like to relax in peace. Rubbing his tired eyes while closing them in an attempt to get himself together, Adam unpacked the plastic bag before placing it on his side, consisting of a pack of cigars, a chocolate bar, and soda to satisfy his own growing boredom.
Nonchalantly throwing the bag without care for the environment, he took the empty pack in his pockets, bringing it toward his face to inspect the brand, logo, and flavor inside, sighing once again after finding himself unsatisfied with having to throw this one away once again. He is not really a person who removes things that he finds useful.
Regardless, he dropped it on the ground and took his chocolate bar as he unwrapped it, taking a small bite with his attention focused on the moving vehicles and people in different walks of life strolling through the sidewalks in front of him. Watching them in curiosity, he chewed another bite and another until it was fully finished.
Getting his drink, he opened the can with one hand before gulping down all contents within a few seconds, letting out a satisfying sigh once it was completely finished, throwing it next to the chocolate wrapper without caring for anyone to witness him littering but simply doing so because he doesn't give a crap about the laws in this city anyway.
Grabbing his new pack of cigars, Adam stood up and looked at the label, smelling it with closed eyes, deciding whether to smoke them now or later since he already had a couple of minutes worth of walking back home. At least he is relieved that this city doesn't have any snow whatsoever, despite the air feeling rather cold.
"Why the hell not?" He muttered under his breath with a slight smile, "I might as well smoke while I am on my way." Opening it with ease, he brought one cigar inside his mouth while searching for a lighter inside one of his pockets before putting it against the fire to start lighting it up, puffing out clouds of smoke in an attempt to enjoy its calming effect once inhaling it through his nostrils.
"Ahh, that hits the spot." Chuckling lightly after exhaling another one, feeling better from stress or tiredness altogether, he then walked with a cigarette between his lips, entering into one of the busy crowds on the sidewalk as he was slowly making his way home without giving much thought about accidentally hitting someone while smoking leisurely in the process.
In his own perspective, Hope City is rather nice compared to New York City, as this futuristic place seems more progressive in technological advancements or has less pollution around them despite so many people of different backgrounds and origins having jobs to live here together in one city, creating harmony despite living in close proximity with one another.
Of course, he wouldn't need a job in the first place since he's rich after all; he can be nice and wealthy without having to worry about the money running out if Adam is careful of who and what he spends with, not wanting to become stingy or extravagant as that will ruin his income. Moreover, preferring to simply donate to charity for animals causes rather than invest in material possessions, but nonetheless, it won't hurt to try buying a few luxury items if necessary.
People around him are speaking loudly, some meeting friends, others arguing, and a few simply ignoring others around them; yet he pays no mind to it as he continues smoking, the ambience and environment reminding him of someplace unfamiliar that he had experienced in one of the earlier days in New York, only leaving him wonder about where he had seen such scenery before as Adam continues making his way home without paying too much attention to remembering why it feels familiar in the first place.
Whatever that is, he can't stop himself from walking through this charming city, at least for now, as he allows his mind to zone out a bit, with his cigarette still held firmly in his mouth, keeping it close without needing to think about anything at all, allowing himself to wander without giving too much thought to his current location or surroundings altogether, just continuing to enjoy this pleasant environment the city provided him with.
So what now? What should he think about? There isn't anything particular on his mind except to continue enjoying his stroll home, feeling so relaxed and detached from reality that he begins to not care about anything. It's like he was in a trance where everything seemed so calm. Easygoing? Pleasant?
All he knew was that he didn't need to do anything else as he was just wandering without giving any effort to thinking deeply or bothering to pay too much attention to anyone else.
Just himself, a smoke, and this moment of peace are the only things he needed, not thinking deeply nor giving importance to understanding everything else; simply continuing his walk to no end, with nothing on his mind that requires too much thought into it until Adam began hearing loud honks coming from behind him.
As he turned around, the window slowly slid down as a young woman with short blond hair and red lipstick pulled her head out of her vehicle. A scowling expression was apparent on the driver's face: "What the hell are you doing?! You're blocking the goddamn road!" She said it angrily at him, bringing Adam out of his stupor as he realized that he was standing in the middle of a busy road.
With one apologetic look, he nodded before finally heading to a sidewalk near him, looking down in shame while sighing exhaustively from almost getting himself in trouble for his own ignorance in noticing he was literally blocking traffic just now. Shaking his head from being disappointed in himself, he needs to learn how to pay attention to his surroundings.
What is his problem? Is he going insane or something?
No, he doesn't think so. Perhaps it was simply his lack of awareness of his surroundings that made him feel this way. Even still, he has to be more careful not to repeat such a thing again lest he attract unnecessary attention that he neither needs nor deserves to receive at all.
Looking up, he noticed a bunch of people were staring at him; some stopped and began whispering among themselves of the scene that played before them. Adam is feeling rather embarrassed by the current situation but continues walking anyways while trying his best to ignore their gazes at him; he didn't want to feel humiliated by this event altogether.
Needing to find an escape route from these endless stares and whispers, his wish seemed to come true when he noticed an ominous alleyway at the side, a perfect spot for him to avoid people seeing him or judging him anymore from this embarrassing stunt he did. He gladly headed straight there despite his instincts screaming at him not to go in such a suspicious place.
Although he had just entered, Adam finally allowed him to catch his breath as he threw the cigar from his mouth before gasping heavily, feeling ashamed of himself for doing something like that. Still, he's happy to know that nothing followed by getting his ass beat to the ground for his careless nature.
The alleyway is nothing more than a filthy pathway leading him somewhere far from the public eye just so he could calm himself down after the embarrassing stunt he did by blocking traffic. Deep down inside, he hopes nothing lurks or is waiting for him after entering here. Trash was all over the place, and the smell was dreadful to say the least, but nonetheless, he continued moving forward regardless of whether he wanted to leave or not, deciding that staying here longer wouldn't help him.
However, when he continued forward, Adam sensed a sudden incoming attack from behind; instinctively dodging a small projectile from an object coming his way, he heard a loud metallic noise echoing in the alleyway after recognizing that sound was a bullet firing at him. He gasped loudly from this unexpected event as he turned around just to see a group of three hooded teenagers with masks and weapons pointed at him, grinning underneath their garments.
The middle was holding a pistol while his friends held knives, a total of three versus one, unfair odds if Adam thinks about it, but he decided not to complain or surrender since he isn't afraid to back down from fighting because there isn't anywhere to run or hide in this situation. After all, he can't outrun a bullet.
"Give us all your shit or I won't have to blow your head off, bro," the thug with the pistol said, threateningly, not at all backing down despite seeing how confident he looks, but Adam knew he wasn't joking nor bluffing since kids these days can be a little bit more psychopathic than most adults nowadays, but regardless.
As Adam was forced to speak, he realized he couldn't when his throat was mysteriously painful, making it extremely difficult to speak properly, let alone think when he's in a dangerous situation. That means his only choice was to run with his own legs and get the hell out of this situation since these kids aren't the types to show mercy.
"Come on man, we don't have all day," he said, brandishing his gun to the side to display that he was willing to shoot Adam at any given chance, displaying a lack of empathy and morality as evident of how coldhearted these teens are. The teen was well aware what he was doing was wrong but did it anyway out of greed and selfishness.
With haste, he turned and ran, causing the three goons to yell and chase him violently while the teen with the gun continued shooting him, some missing and others not. He instinctively managed to dodge them all with some effort. Unfortunately, his running didn't last long when Adam tripped on a pebble, facing flat on the dirty floor while hearing loud laughter from behind before the inevitable happened.
They kicked, punched, cursed, and laughed at the pain these teens are inflicting on him; one even stabbed Adam with a knife just to watch him bleed while feeling helpless to resist these children due to how injured he is, but regardless, Adam refused to cry or scream like a little bitch, doing his best to endure their beatings.
It was like being in hell, a literal hell, as he felt nothing but excruciating pain, but regardless, he still held on. They hoped this torment would end soon until suddenly they stopped. Like a light switch had been turned off from beating him. Not daring to move, he waited for them to leave, knowing they were still there from simply noticing their presence around him.
As the teen with the gun raised his weapon, one of his friends held him on the shoulder. "Let him bleed, man," he said before patting him on the back to tell him it was alright, causing the thugs to finally depart this scene, not knowing their victim still has the will to continue living despite the gruesome injuries he sustained from them.
Slowly getting up, he limps forward where the illuminating lights from a lamppost guided him while seeing dried blood from his body with one eye nearly closed due to being bruised from these assholes brutal beating, clutching his broken ribs. He continues moving despite all odds stacked against him, and when he finally gets out of that hellhole,
Crowds of people gasped in shock at his injured appearance; some looked concerned, others were curious, and a few didn't care about him as they mind their own business, but Adam paid them no mind, focusing on finding himself safe to rest. The thing he noticed in front of him was a tall building, seemingly like a hotel, with a look of high class. He feeling fortunate to have reached such a place despite everything that transpired tonight.
On top of the roof was a neon sign labeled 'Girl's Nightout,' which he realized was the brothel he had seen earlier. Approaching inside after passing through the road, Adam used his own body to move the doors, revealing the main luxuriant lobby of the brothel. He heard soothing music and faint conversation coming from all around them until they all noticed him.
The women were wearing bikinis; likely, they were sex workers registered in this brothel. However, this isn't his concern anymore when he feels his own fatigue giving up on him; unable to continue standing or walking, Adam closed his eyes and lost consciousness completely as he collapsed onto the floor like a dead body, unaware that some of the women were quickly heading towards his aid.
