The Hidden Knife

CHAPTER 16: BULLET MARKS

The shot disappeared into the air. Into the infinite void of space never to be seen.

'Now it's your turn, my friend'.

I have only one thing to do. That is to escape.

I must find a way out of this place, out of this madness that has consumed us. The walls seem to be closing in on me, suffocating me with their oppressive presence. I can feel the panic rising in my chest, my heart pounding in my ears. But I must stay calm; I must think clearly. There has to be a way out, a way to escape this nightmare before it's too late. I take a deep breath and steel myself for what lies ahead. It's time to make my move.

I quickly spin around and, with a jerk, take down on Rhea. She gets her gun loose and fires some of those shots into the air. Luckily, I'm alive by now. I take the gun into my hands, but in the meantime, Anand has been firing some risky shots. The thing is, my impenetrable vest is absent. So. If I get shot, it's over. But I won't be going so soon. I dodge Anand's shots and manage to get a few hits in, but Rhea is quick on her feet. She kicks me back, causing me to stumble. I feel a sharp pain in my side as Anand's bullet grazes me. He's careful not to harm Rhea. He's aim is loose. Gritting my teeth, I push through the pain and focus on disarming Rhea. With a swift move, I knock the gun out of her hand and pin her to the ground. Adrenaline pumping, I know this is my chance to end this nightmare once and for all. With one final blow, I knock Rhea unconscious and turn to face Anand. It's just him and me now. Time to finish this. But the adrenaline kicks in.

A bullet has lodged through my hand, ripping the skin off. Ignoring the searing pain in my hand, I take aim at Anand, determined to end this once and for all. As I pull the trigger, I feel a surge of relief as he falls to the ground, defeated. Just for a few seconds. The environment falls silent, the only sound being my heavy breathing. I have finally put an end to this nightmare and can finally breathe a sigh of relief. Not again. I can see Rhea running away. Perhaps to inform someone superior to catch me. They just forget I was an undercover. But now I need to disappear.

I have the faintest idea of what has been happening. I take cover behind one of those trees from where I can see Anand settling himself up. I'm scared I might run out of ammos. This is a regular pistol. This won't cooperate with me so easily. I think of Ethan. Did he just betray me, or was he trapped just like me? Oh god, I need some help. I'm desperate to kill Anand. My thoughts help me wander away from the fact that my left arm has been shot. Not too badly. Neither too well. I can well use it for nothing. There are patches of blood on my suit. At least I must be grateful to my suit.

My head is spinning. I think I might faint. But it's not the time now. This is the perfect time to shoot Anand. He is wandering among the trees right in front of me. But I need to be very careful. My pistol won't affect me, but his gun might bleed me to death. I'm waiting for him to come closer and closer. Anand he is coming. He is coming nearer to me. He is having an Uzi, perhaps. I noticed it well. I can't stand in front of me.

He is at an approximate twenty seven feet away from me. This is the time to fire. I won't get any opportunity better than this. 3... 2... 1... Shoot. A close miss. Anand turns towards me. Let's try again. Shoot. This time it struck at his vest. No effect. He is lunging towards me. His mini Uzi in his right hand. I need to act quickly. But how? I need to shoot him at his face, or perhaps the face. Time is running out. He is coming towards me.

I take aim at Anand's approaching figure, his mini Uzi glinting in the dim light. I remember the instructions given to me—shoot at his metal boot. With a quick breath, I pull the trigger. The bullet hits its mark, causing Anand to stumble and fall to the ground. As he struggles to get up, I seize the opportunity to aim directly at his face and fire again. But I miss. He removed his head on time. This time I will succeed, I'm sure. As soon as I proceed to shoot, I realize I have run out of bullets. Hard luck. Anand's Uzi is a centimeter away from him.

Before thinking twice, I ran into the woods. He won't be able to shoot at me. His shooting skills are too bad. I know him. I am running as fast as I can in this dense and dark forest. Never did I look back once. Nor do I want to. I want to keep running. Running until I reach those abandoned houses. No other possible option. I also need to treat my arm, as it is nearly impossible to shoot using just one arm. The adrenaline is pumping through my veins as I push myself to keep going, ignoring the pain in my arm. I know I can't let Anand catch me, not after all we've been through. I finally see the abandoned houses in the distance and push myself to run even faster, knowing that my only chance at survival lies within those walls.

I have reached the densest part of the forest, and I know very well that he can't make it to here. I'm panting, grasping for breath.

I look back to locate Anand, but I'm shocked. There's no Anand. But some kind of a soldier shouting to others, 'Look for him, fast'. I know I might not survive for long.

The only option left for me is to run again and escape the conspiracy.