“This day was inevitable.”
“The kind of things I had done; the kind of things I have been doing; there was no escaping.”
“I always knew that some day, I will run into trouble. What I hadn’t imagined was that 'that some day' will come so soon!!!”
It was a cold day; colder than a previous few. It had rained last night. Probably, that’s why a dense layer of fog had engulfed the whole town. The streets were empty. It was a quiet morning as it is supposed to be in any sub-urban vicinity.
“Some nights, I had dreams, scary dreams. In those dreams, I was running; running hard. It was like a déjà vu. Only difference was that this time it was real and I was being chased by real men with real guns.”
He was trying to run but struggled. He was limping and kept on watching his back. May be he was shot in his leg. He hit a lamp post and fell down. His forehead was bleeding and his shirt was oozing with blood. He could barely breathe. But he had to get up or else he will be killed today. He gathered all his strength to get back on his feet and started running again. He pushed away an old lady to make way for himself. He was scared to his death.
“Oh God, save me today and I promise…..I promise I will correct my ways for good”, he prayed while he was gasping for air
He again looked back to see whether he had lost them; he was hoping against hope.
Daniel was a sweet guy. He didn’t have any enemies; nor was he in anyone’s bad books. But then why would such a sweet person run after somebody in the middle of the town with a gun blazing in his hand. Not a sweet guy, after all!
Daniel was charging towards him with a gun. Even Daniel was limping a little. It didn’t matter. He had to catch him. He was furious and his eyes filled with anguish.
“How could he do this to us?” thought Daniel
It had become a cat and mouse chase. Daniel was running hard
“Run Daniel, run…..That son of a bitch…..Catch him” Daniel said to himself
He took a left turn by the corner as he kept on looking back but Daniel was right behind him. Daniel had his eye fixed on him.
“Damn it” he said “Will I ever lose these guys?”
He pushed a cart to obstruct Daniel’s way. All the vegetables and fruits toppled over on the road but couldn’t do much to Daniel.
Daniel had come closer to him. It was a matter of seconds; a matter of inches. Dan was about to catch him. Just then, a speeding bike rammed into him. He hit the ground and bruised his leg. He looked at the biker to see if he was safe. He got up and picked up his gun.
“Shit!!!!” exclaimed Daniel
He again started chasing him. There was no way Daniel was letting him go today. It was like watching a cat chasing a mouse. The market place became too small a playfield for the chase. Both of them kept on running. One chasing; the other being chased. Soon, the town fell short. They kept on running and soon hit the bridge at the end of the town.
‘Stop…!’ shouted Daniel, “Or I will shoot you”
He didn’t pay any heed to Daniel’s warning. But now, he could not disappear into the narrow lanes of the town. He was running in the middle of the bridge and Daniel had a clear shot.
Daniel fired a shot in air.
“Stop… Or I’ll shoot.”
He had to stop now.
“Please don’t kill me”, he begged “I can explain why I did this”
“How could you…?” asked Daniel.
“I can explain. Please don’t shoot”
“Shit…Don’t kill me please. I was hapless. I had to do it…Please don’t kill me”
Daniel had his gun ready. He again fired a shot in the air.
“Tell me you bastard why did you do it?”
----------------------------END OF CHAPTER-----------------------------
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