Mansi walked just behind her friend Sommer. They had left the club a little earlier than some of the other girls, having already made a few hundred each for only a few hours work. They were both tired and Sommer had offered to give Mansi a ride back home. It was only a few blocks, but this was the shitty part of town and getting a lift was always welcome. Mansi was a little hesitant about leaving without having one of the large bouncers the club employed walk them to their vehicles, but honestly, there hadn't been any trouble for months, and they guys were busy busting the heads of a couple drunkards who tried to get a little too friendly with some of the girls.<br/><br/>They had gotten halfway across the decrepit asphalt of the back lot when a man swung out from around one of the cars. He walked right for them, holding something in his left hand. Mansi and Sommer both stopped, each taking a half step back, unsure of the dark figure. "Sommer?" Came a sad sounding voice from the man, "Sommer I need to talk to you."<br/><br/>"James?" Sommer answered, "James, you shouldn't be here."<br/><br/>"I had to see you!" The man named James answered, stepping forward and holding out his hand. In them were a dozen or so envelopes, all postmarked and then stamped return to sender. A few fell from his grip as he held them out towards the two women. "You won't take my letters!" he accused, "They keep getting returned."<br/><br/>"James, I told you, I'm seeing someone. I can't-"<br/><br/>"He doesn't love you! None of them do! I do though. Can't you see that? I love you goddammit! I need you, and you need me. You belong to me!"<br/><br/>Sommer shot a worried glance to Mansi and started to answer. Mansi looked back over her shoulder, hoping one of the bouncers would show up. "I don't belong to anyone James, I-"<br/><br/>"Shut up!" James shouted, throwing the letters to the ground, scattering them on the damp asphalt of the parking lot. "You're mine! I'll show you! If I can't have you, nobody will!"<br/><br/>Sommer took another step backwards and Mansi's eyes went wide. James' right hand slipped into his coat pocket, fishing out a small revolver. In the dimly lit lot it looked like one of those all black snub nosed types that were popular in old cop movies. Sommer screamed as the revolver pointed at her. Something in Mansi drove her to act, a selfless instinct that hadn't quite been extinguished after a lifetime of being beaten down by a failed life. She leapt, slamming into Sommer, pushing her aside just as the revolver fired. Pain tore through Mansi's body, cutting short her own scream. The pain was intense and dimly she was aware of a second crack of the revolver and another blossom of fire in her body, causing her world to fade.<br/><br/>She felt herself collapse, the cool ground a sharp contrast to the firey pain within her, dimly she heard footsteps and shouting and the screams of a woman nearby. Hands touched her body, moving her, but she couldn't see, her lungs fought to draw in air, but nothing was coming, it felt like she was breathing in water. The pain was intense, unbearable and she wanted to scream but couldn't remember how. Thankfully, mercifully, the cool sweet darkness of oblivion swept in, wiping away the pain.<br/><br/>Oblivion. Nothing. How long had it been? Tortured to feel dimly, but never feel enough to satisfy. To know on the edge of your being that those you fought for, suffered for forgot your existance, turned their backs from you. That all you sacrificed, all you knew was in vain, and your reward was to be consigned to an eternity of nothingness. No, nothingness was not not merciful or sweet, it was torture, and it was maddening. The darkness then started to clear...<br/><br/>Mansi walked just behind her friend Sommer. They had left the club a little earlier than some of the other girls, having already made a few hundred each for only a few hours work...