The Shadow

Chapter 8 - The Hospital

A distant voice called out, "Uncle Donny, come let's go get some ice cream near the park." Donny turned around to see a boy about 12 to 13 years old sprinting ahead of him. He turned back after running a few steps ahead and came back to pull Donny along with him. Donny looked pale but followed the kid to the ice cream vendor. The kid took the ice cream with his bright eyes gleaming with excitement as he tried to eat it. The kid spilled a bit on his dress and looked at Donny with a tint of innocence. Donny smiled and knelt to reach the kid's height, starting to wipe off the ice cream smeared over his cheeks and dress. As he looked at his hand after wiping, the ice cream turned into blood; his hands were covered in blood. When he looked back, the kid's lifeless body lay in front of him. Donny went into absolute shock and started breathing compulsively. As soon as he got a panic attack, he woke up with a jolt from sleep and found himself in a ward room in what supposedly looked like a hospital.

Ren and Yusuf rushed to the bed from their seats, trying to calm the confused Donny. "It's alright, Don. We are here. You are alright now," said Ren, holding down Donny to comfort him.Donny looked around again and asked, "Where am I? How did I get here?"

Ren replied, "You are in NIMS hospital; Yusuf brought you here. You lost a lot of blood. He found you unconscious in one of the building corridors. He came looking for you after you didn't turn up for an hour."

Donny looked at Yusuf and said, "Thank you, Yusuf. I owe you."

Yusuf nodded and left the room after Ren signaled him to. Ren pulled a chair close to Donny and seated himself, holding Donny's hand that seemed to be bruised and hurt on the knuckles too."I leave you alone on a mission once, and you turn up on a bed with your face disfigured, huh? It really sucks; I missed the chance to see your ass handed to you at least once. I mean, how often do you see the skilled Donny Shaw, an expert in hand-to-hand combat, get bodied so badly?" Ren said.

"I didn't even fight; I was helpless. It was a beatdown," Donny replied with a smile.

"And who was it? Is it the one who I think it is?" Ren inquired.

"Yes, I saw him, Ren. I saw the Shadow. He is not a myth anymore," Donny replied.

"I figured it would be him, and why would you let him beat you down? Were you that desperate to get your ass handed to you? I would have done that in a less painful way, though," smirked Ren.

"Yeah right! You could never beat me in hand-to-hand combat. In the three fun matches we had, you always tapped out," Donny laughed it off.

"But I am a better shot than you anyway; I could shoot your ass even while you're running for your damn life like a bunny," retorted Ren.

Donny threw his head in anguish, and they both laughed it off.

Ren leaned forward as he laughed, and suddenly he stared down seriously. "I'll kill him, Don. After what he did to you, I am going to fucking kill him. The rage of what he did to my father is still burning; what he did to you is just fuel to the flame. I'll get him; nobody walks away after hurting my brother."

Donny looked at Ren with a soft gaze, saying, "Don't, Ren. Do not think of going down that road; once you go there, you can never come back. Your father, if he were alive, would never forgive that. He's your role model, right?"

"Then what should I do? Sit and watch while he murders more people. What if anything happened to you tonight?" Ren replied, frustrated.

"I am safe right now, aren't I? Don't sweat it. I'll be back around kicking asses in no time," assured Donny.

"It is easy for you to say, Don. I have suppressed this anguish and rage all these years; I thought I lost the chance of getting my revenge after he completely disappeared off the radar, but when he turned up suddenly, I felt happy for some reason. I am getting him no matter what, Don," replied a determined Ren.

"I know the pain of losing someone, Ren, but trust me, revenge will only make things worse. I understand, but killing is not the solution," replied Donny.

"What would you know, Don? I lost a loved one. Do you know how powerless you feel when you can't do anything, when the person who killed your loved one is alive and happy somewhere while you here suffer in anguish?" replied an angry Ren.

Donny's eyes welled up with tears as he looked at Ren in guilt. "I know that feeling, Ren; I know exactly how it feels. Do you remember Sachin?" Donny asked.

Ren, taken aback by Donny's tears, replied calmly, "Yeah, I do, the orphan kid who went missing when he was under your custody a few months back. I remember him; I mentioned that incident recently too," reminded Ren.

"Yeah, that kid. I lost that kid, Ren," Donny replied.

"But that kid was kidnapped, and that was not even your fault. You took great care of him," Ren replied.

"That kid was not kidnapped, Ren. I never told this to anyone, but I killed someone, Ren," Donny replied with a shaky voice.

Ren, taken aback, replied, "What did you do, Donny? What the fuck happened to that kid?"Donny slowly looked back at Ren and replied, "I killed him, Ren."