Winning ticket

Chapter 1

The echoing footsteps were loud against the wet concrete, they were picking up speed. Picking up the speed you turn your head towards the sound. All you see is darkness. You call out asking if anyone is there. You get no answer back, yet the footsteps have stopped.
This does nothing to calm your beating heart, turning back around you decide to take a short cut down an alley. You're a couple blocks away from your apartment when you hear the footsteps again.

Not taking any chances you break out into a small jog. You make it a few feet when suddenly you're slammed into the brick wall. Your side explodes in pain and you can feel an ache in your jaw from the contact of the bricks. You're roughly turned around to face the perpetrator, there's a mask covering his face and hood covering his head. Before you can take a closer look a gun is shoved under your chin forcing your head up.

Hearing the cocking of the gun makes you snap out of it and knee him in the groin. He goes down so you take the opportunity to kick the gun out of his hand. Not wasting any time you kick him hard in the chest, winding him and knocking him on his back. You reach down and grab the gun pointing it at him. The gun shakes in your hands, you grip it tighter to keep your hands steady.

"Who the hell are you? What do you want from me?" You demand.

He doesn't say anything, just looks at the gun pointing at him. He makes the motion to get up so you smash the gun over his head, knocking him out.

You take a breath and lower the gun, leading against the wall catching your breath.

Reaching down you search the unconscious man. You pat down his pockets and find his phone. You grab it and pick up his hand using his thumb to unlock it. Looking through his phone you open his email, checking the most recent messages. You scroll past some emails and find one from the lotter company. Out of curiosity you click on it and find a picture of yourself plus a bounty of one million dollars.

Your hands start to shake, you wonder why anyone would want to kill you. Something about the lottery company keeps nagging you. When you remember that you just won their most recent prize, a thousand dollars a week for the rest of your life. You're the first person to ever win such a prize.

Oh god you think, this is because of the prize.

You don't know what to do, that's when you
notice that there are more recipients on the email than just him. You click on it and find a dozen or more names that the message got sent to.

You quickly drop the phone. Your mind is racing, you spare one last glance at the unconscious man and run home.

You arrive home, slam and lock the door shut, then head to your bedroom. Opening your drawers you start to throw everything in a suitcase. You collect some more items: pictures of family and friends, jewelry, tolittres and other items. You empty out your wallet and take out your cash, bank card and ID leaving your credit cards spilled out all over the floor. You grab your phone and car keys and start heading towards the door.

Stopping in the living room you see the reminisce of a party your friends threw you a couple nights ago. Everyone was celebrating your big lottery win, it was one of the best nights you've spent here. Tears begin to well up in your eyes, your about to leave everything behind because of a stupid lottery ticket. A few tears slip out while you think about how you're never going to see any of this again, you know that you can't ever contact your family and friends.

Walking out of your front door with your suitcase behind, you dare not turn back.
In the car you start to drive, not having a destination in mind. You end up at a motel and book a room. Entering the room you take a moment to look around, it's not much: a small bed in the middle of the room, a desk by the door, bathroom on the other side of the room and a small bedside table. It doesn't matter what it looks like you're drained. You drop onto the bed from exhaustion, tossing your belongings on the desk.