Grips

Chapter 4- Assailant.

My fiery gaze tore into the paper. Relief swelled into my heart, just hoping that my family was among the survivors. I stuck the note in my pocket when I heard a gunshot. Just one gunshot. It felt creepier, scarier than gunshots. Just one ringing into the darkness. My spine turned cold.

I made my way outside. There was no one in sight, but I heard them. I really need a name for them. How about the... You know what? I'm calling them the Nazis. I shrugged. They're not that different after all, are they?

So the Nazis had come and the problem was that according to my hearing, they were pretty darn close and were coming from the direction of my apartment.

I silently cursed under my breath. This was definitely not a good day. Now what? It was dark outside and my only source of light was the dim moonlight and the flashlight I was holding. If I ran, I could probably make it to the apartment before them, but I would be calling for attention. I bit my lip, trying to decide. Huh. So basically my choices are risk getting caught or risk getting killed. At this point, I'm not even sure what I would rather.

I kicked a small rock that was at my feet. If I ran, chances were I would die and/or be shot. Or not. I grunted, angry at the world. There was a fifty-fifty percent risk. A risk that I, unfortunately, wasn't willing to take.

***
ME: They came back. Don't worry I'm fine. If I'm not back by tomorrow morning, go to your house. Stay safe.

I sighed, turning off my phone and sliding it into my pocket.

What I did not know was that this simple act would almost cost me my life.

***

Many people told me that one of my defaults was that I was extremely impatient. After thirty minutes- which felt like an eternity- of waiting, I was ready to go out and kill someone. Metaphorically... I think. I'm getting out of here, I thought, standing up and brushing off the accumulated dust off my pants. I cracked my neck and headed towards the exit when I froze. Please tell me I heard wrong, I prayed.

I heard my heart beating, practically trying to tear out of my chest. I hid behind an aisle in the back of the supermarket, closed my eyes and crunched down, trying to even my breaths. This time, I didn't think I was being paranoid. If there was one thing I could rely on these days, it was my gut. Just me, myself, and I. Solo ride until I die. Which wasn't going to turn out to be much longer anyway. I shivered.

"Who's there? Show yourself. We know you're here," I heard a rough voice say, confirming my fears.

We? I thought, getting more scared by the second. I tried forcing myself to move but found I was unable to. My spine was cold and my vision blurred by fear.

"Show yourself," he repeated loudly.

I willed myself to think, to find a way out. There wasn't much space to run or escape. Part of me thought, Naybe it is my time. Maybe the same fate as thousands of people awaits me. But the other part of me- the stubborn part of me- thought, I'm getting the hell out of here.

Except that a lifetime of track and cross country didn't matter when it came to guns. In fact, it was pretty much useless. As to confirm my fears, the frightening sound of a gunshot exploded. I let out a gasp and cursed myself from making such an amateur mistake that would most likely cost me my life. I was an amateur, but that was beside the point. It wasn't the first time I heard the sound as I often went to track meets but it didn't help the fact that I was extremely jumpy.