8:15 pm, 10 hours and 45 minutes until the end of the Annual Purge.

Considering how my Purge Night started, the next hour seemed to go pretty smoothly. It was nothing but back roads for a good 10 minutes, and I then managed to find my way back to the interstate. I debated whether or not it was worth going back on the Bumper Car Track from Hell, but I decided it was; I needed to get to Chicago as fast as possible, and I didn't know any other way into the Windy City other than interstate. After carefully accelerating into traffic, I managed to keep my cool and carefully work my way around the swerving chaos. I couldn't believe I managed to make it without crashing again. I almost felt like people were avoiding me. Maybe it was because of my new ride. While there were tons of weapons on the outside, the inside was decked with the good stuff: rocket launchers, grenades, and machine guns that were so menacing that The Purge was probably the only time they were legal. I continued driving for a while, before I took a glance at the dashboard in front of me. I then saw that the fuel light had come on! I then groaned; if I didn't get gas soon, I was doomed. I then looked to the right and saw the nearest exit had a gas station nearby. Since I had no choice, unless I wanted to die, I got off the exit and headed towards the station. I looked around and saw burning buildings, flipped cars, and corpses everywhere. I then just sighed. I wanted to feel bad for the victims and claim the guilty parties were monsters, and I would've any other year, but I realized that this year I was no different. After all, the only reason I was out here was because I wanted to KILL someone! I wanted to physically and personally take someone's life. It actually made me feel guilty... Anyway, I found the gas station and pulled in. I then paused; I wasn't exactly sure how I was going to get gas. I mean, I definitely wasn't going to BUY it; it's The Purge for crying out loud! But I wasn't sure how to steal gas from the station. After a minute, I decided to 'pay inside' and go without paying. But I needed to be quick; who knows what horror awaited me. After pulling next to a pump, I got out of my new vehicle, but not before grabbing my pistol; even though I was surrounded by other and more powerful weapons, I was most comfortable with my purchased gun. And truth be told, it was the only weapon I was 100% sure I knew how to use. Anyway, I got out and walked to the pump.

'Pay inside or outside?' The electronic screen read. I pressed 'Pay Inside' and waited.

'Please pay cashier' the screen then read. My heart then sunk. I had to go inside and activate the pump. I then calmed myself down and ran for the building, with my gun at the ready. I walked inside the convenience store and saw it was completely ransacked. Shelves were empty and toppled over. Refrigerators were broken. Even the cash register was completely destroyed. It was definitely going to cost a pretty penny to repair this place.

"EEEEK!" I suddenly heard from the back room. It was high-pitched and sounded feminine.

"SHUT UP!" I heard a masculine voice shout from the same general area. "NOBODY'S GOING TO HELP YOU ANYWAY, YOU DUMB BITCH!"

"PLEASE! HELP!!" I then gasped. It sounded like a little girl! I then began questioning what to do. I mean, it wasn't my business, and it's happening everywhere all the over the county. But I could never forgive myself if I just let a little girl get hurt, or worse. So, I grabbed my gun and ran for the back room, which the door for was wide open. I ran inside and saw the back of a naked white man, probably around 50 years old,  on the other side of the room. He clearly heard me approach, because he then turned around and looked at me. Laying on the floor in front of him, against the wall, was a girl, around 10 years old, tied up and also naked. It didn't take a genius to know what was going on here.

"What the hell do you want?" The man asked with a growl.

Doing my best to just look at his face, I replied, "I just needed gas."

"Then get your gas and get out!"

He then turned back around to the girl, whose face was beet red and covered in tear stains. I then sighed deeply.

"Let that girl go!" I suddenly shouted. I then scared myself, knowing full well what I said, and how the man was going to take it. Sure enough, he slowly turned back around and stared at me with anger.

"What the hell did you just say?!" he shouted. I knew I couldn't stand down now, despite my current want to get the hell out of here.

"I said let her go!" I repeated. The man just smiled and chucked, all the while still having a scary look planted in his face.

"Do you know what's going on right now all over the county?" he asked in a calming voice.

"Of course," I replied. "The Purge."

"Exactly!" he then shouted. "The Purge! As in I can do whatever I want to do, including having some fun with that little beauty over there!"

"Fun?!" I asked. "She looks like she's having the worst experience of her life!"

I then looked back at the little girl and saw more tears falling down her face. I didn't think it was possible, but her face seemed to be more red than before.

"Well, it's fun for me!" The man replied with a giant smile.

"YOU'RE A SICK BASTARD, YOU KNOW THAT?!" I screamed at him.

"SO WHAT?" he shouted back. "WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT?!"

I had sworn to myself I wasn't going to do this, but I felt so enraged that I couldn't help it. I pulled out my gun and BANG! A bullet from my pistol fired into the pervert's stomach. He then grabbed his gut and instantly fell to the ground, all the while the sound of the girl's scream echoed through the room. When the man was down, he laid there for a few seconds twitching before finally stopping. A few more seconds passed. No movement. I then started breathing a little heavier. I just killed a man. I took someone's life! But I managed to calm myself down by remembering why I did it. I looked back at the girl and she was crying softly, trying to hold back the tears. I then slowly put my gun away and sighed. I then looked to my right and saw a pile of clothes. There was a striped pink and purple shirt, blue jeans, a pair of shoes, and a pair of pink panties. I then slowly picked them all up and walked over to the girl. I then placed them in front of her, got on my knee, and helped her sit up and get untied.

"Are these yours?" I asked calmly while pointing to the clothes. She kept her head down, yet slowly nodded. I then gave a small smile and stood up. I then turned back around to the man lying dead on the floor. I couldn't believe I seriously just killed a man without a second thought. Maybe everyone really does have a dark and evil side... I then looked back at the girl and saw she was still sitting against the wall, trying her best to cover herself up with her arms and legs. I didn't know what else to say, so I turned back around and headed for the door. After going back into the main store, I looked outside and saw my truck was right where I left it, which was a good sign that nobody else was around. I then went behind the counter and looked for a way to turn the pump on. After a few minutes, I managed to figure it out and turn it on. I then left the counter and headed for the exit.

"W-wait..." I heard a voice behind me almost whisper. I turned back around and saw the little girl, now fully dressed, was standing by the doorway of the back room.

"Thank you..." she told me. I then smiled at her and gave a quick nod. After that, I turned back around and left the store. I walked over to my truck and started filling it up with gas. I then deeply exhaled at the thought of everything that just happened in the 10 minutes of me being here. I then started thinking of that girl... and I wondered if she was going to be okay. I looked back at the store and saw her standing in the doorway of the store, staring at me. Suddenly her eyes widened.

"BEHIND YOU!" she shouted. I quickly turned around and saw the barrel of a gun 6 inches away from my face.