[The Wattys 2021 Shortlisted Finalist]
One case, two detectives, three friends, and a thousand emotions.
Sometimes nothing is a coincidence, but then again, everything is.
After the mysterious deaths of Amyra Valdez's eldest Uncle followed by her...
My heart took a giant leap at his words. Was Kelvin alright-?
"Brian, you please stay here with Uncle and Aunt," I requested. "We have to go."
My mind was not working.
"June, fast!"
I rushed out of the hospital with Jonas and almost jumped into the car. Bruno leaped onto my lap from the car's back seat, finally finding his master. Jonas accelerated the car at the maximum limit he could through the city streets. I tried ringing Kelvin a million times, but he wasn't picking up my calls.
Just now Uncle Nick, and now Kelvin...
My heart ached at the thought. If you needed to be a strong person to witness something like that, then I would be the weakest person in the world.
We were just at the threshold of Xaviers' Bungalow when the sound of gunfire echoed in our ears. Someone was shooting from the window.
Where was Kelvin?
A bike engine roared from a corner of the lawn as Kelvin's bike appeared into view.
"Run!" Kelvin screamed.
He was badly injured.
Jonas put all his effort in jerking the car towards the opposite direction for the escape when-
BANG. Another bullet went off.
Jonas was shot in the right arm.
Blood gushed out of the area where the bullet hit him, and he lost control of the steering wheel because of the impact. A gigantic tree emerged right in front of our car, and I stretched out my hand with all my strength to control the steering wheel while Jonas worked on the brakes. The car escaped the tree just by inches at the last moment. Jonas later continued the drive with his left hand for what it seemed like miles until the men were no longer visible in the car's side mirror. The gunshots had terminated too. The car wrenched to an edge of the road and came to a standstill with a loud screech as Jonas pulled the brake pad with the best effort he could.
We both almost hit the windscreen due to the full force of our inertia but managed to cease the serious impact just right on time. Kelvin brought the full accelerated bike to a halt just right beside us.
"Jonas, are you okay?" Kelvin gasped.
Jonas nodded, although he clearly yelped from pain under his breath.
"Let me see," Kelvin suggested anxiously, getting off his bike.
"Amy, can you check the car's boot? There must be a first aid box," Kelvin instructed.
I flung open the car door and hurried towards the back to get out the first aid kit from the boot. Bruno hopped out getting the opportunity and followed me. Kelvin was examining June's wound in the meanwhile.
"Here, take it," I spoke in an apprehensive tone, handing the first aid kit to Kelvin.
Jonas shrieked in pain as Kelvin removed the bullet with a plucker. He somehow dressed the wound in a hasty process while I checked every second if anyone was approaching.
"We need to get out of here quickly," Kelvin advised.
"Do you know that Uncle Nick-" I murmured after he was done dressing the wound.
"Yes I know, Jonas informed me," Kelvin muttered in a dejected tone.
"Uncle Josh knows that you know about him," Kelvin explained. "That's why he sent hitmen to our house to hunt us down."
That struck me like a tremendous thunderbolt; I hadn't expected in any way that Uncle Josh would go that far.
Kelvin and I discussed for a few minutes about what to do next while Jonas remained in the car. I turned back to Jonas to inform him about our escape plan.
"I'm not going with you two," Jonas answered with a completely unknown look even before I had finished my sentence.
That was the most unexpected reaction from him as if it came out of thin air.
"Do you two realize that I almost died a while back?" he nearly yelled.
"Yes Jonas, we do realize that-" Kelvin tried to cool him down.
"I'm not playing with my life anymore," he continued in a sharp tone.
"You have no other option Amy, you know that you can't run away from it. And Xav Bro? He doesn't care about his life anyways."
What was wrong with him all of a sudden-?This was not the June I knew.
"But I do care about mine, unlike you two," he ended with a shrill.
I wanted to stop him badly, by any means, but I was tongue-tied by the sudden blow.
"Jonas, you are not in your right state of mind now-" Kelvin continued to calm him down, but Jonas cut him out in the middle.
"I'm sorry Xav Bro, but I'm not coming," Jonas repeated.
"You two can now go wherever you wish, and I'm leaving with this car."
Jonas stretched his hand out of the car window, passing the key wrapped in paper to my hand which I had left on the car seat while getting out.
"June, please-" I finally managed to speak.
I was on the verge of tears. His departure would leave me completely shattered after all these.
"Please don't leave," I requested as each inch of my heart twinged.
I was ready to beg him to stay.
"I'm sorry Amy."
That was his reply- A sorry.
With that, Jonas pulled the car and faded away in the blink of an eye. He left.
My best friend was gone. Will he ever come back?
"Amy," Kelvin whispered as he managed to stop me from falling down to my knees.
"They are coming."
I looked up. Through blurred vision, I could see the ominous glowing headlights of two bikes.
I didn't care. I didn't want to escape. Not after Jonas had left.
"Amy, please come," Kelvin requested, pulling me towards the bike.
He forcefully made me sit in the sidecar, placing Bruno on my lap. Kelvin instantaneously placed a hand behind my head, impelling me to hunch down as a bullet was shot in our direction. The bullet missed my head just by inches.
Kelvin kicked off the bike with the maximum force available, and we whizzed past the highway, eventually making our way through a dense forest like a bullet train. From the din of chaos behind us, I could say that they were following us at their best.
I had no clue where we were going. Not even a clue of how long we would survive this run.
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