Chasing a Familiar Shadow

by Aman Gupta

  “You don’t understand,” said Emma, before Vik interrupted.

  “You don’t understand that I was told to come alone. I can’t miss this chance. I won’t. And I can’t be responsible for anything that will happen to you on the other side. Don’t be stubborn like your sister. Walk away when I’m telling you to,” said Vik.

  “Okay,” uttered Emma, letting go of the reference about her sister. “How are you going to get across, anyway? Fly?”

  “Maybe,” said Vik.

  “I was joking,” said Emma, as she saw Vik grab his duffle bag and head to the other side of the road. “Where are you going?”

  “Preparing for take-off,” said Vik.

  He climbed a tree, almost 20 feet high, and sat on the branch. He took out the Zipline gun from the bag.

  “Can’t believe I put this in the bag,” said Vik.

  He knew he had only a single shot. If he missed it, the rope made out of super-strength fiber would fall on the electric fence. He didn’t know if the material was a good conductor or a bad one. The range was good enough for him to target the thickest tree he could see. He aimed at the spot on the tree trunk, which had the highest visible surface area.

  Breathing a couple of times nervously, he shot the zip line. He missed his spot as the zip line went through the branches couple of feet below, but managed to latch onto the tree.

  “Oh, thank god,” said Vik.

  “Nice shot,” said Emma as she shouted from the road.

  Vik took off his belt and held onto the line tightly, using the belt as a sheave. He strapped the bag onto his legs and safely made his way down the line to the other side. Emma couldn’t spot him as he went to the other side into the thick cedar trees. She repeatedly called out his name, but couldn’t hear his voice. A couple of minutes later, she could hear someone coming towards the fence. The dried leaves on the ground guided her as she walked another 5 yards ahead parallel to the fence. She saw it was Vik, who was trying to hide his limp.

  “You made it,” said Emma.

  “Yeah,” said Vik. “It was a close one. A branch almost went through my ribs.”

  “Are you alright?” asked Emma.

  “A minute ago, if someone would’ve offered me this deal, then I would’ve taken it in a heartbeat. So yeah, as good as I can be,” said Vik. “Now, your turn.”

  “Be right there,” said Emma as she walked backward.

  “To leave,” said Vik.

  Emma stopped.

  “You’d need me,” said Emma.

  “Hope not. Because then, it wouldn’t matter if you’re coming with me or not. I’d lose regardless,” said Vik. “Head back to Morrow. Don’t tell anyone.”

  “Last chance,” said Emma.

  “It’s not your fight,” said Vik.

  “How would you get back?” asked Emma. “Morrow is far away.”

  “I’m going to find her and disappear or probably die trying. So no matter what happens, I’m most likely not coming back to New Frontier,” said Vik. “You stay safe, okay?”

  Emma nodded and headed back to the car. She looked at him one last time before getting in the car. She turned the car around and left, Vik saw her drive away.

  By his estimates, he was around 3 miles away. He began his uphill climb through the forest. The device in his hand suggested that the coordinates were near a river stream. He wasn’t sure if the stream would exist all these years later. The forest was unusually silent. His ears were looking for any sound or vibration coming from any direction. He didn’t want to walk into a trap that he couldn’t foresee. After reaching the top of the hill, he could see a river flowing on the other side. His eyes lit up. He looked around but couldn’t see anyone. The Moon acted as a giant flashlight, while Vik tried looking for a human other than him. His mind kept going back to a single thought – what if he had misunderstood the clues? How crucial was Joey’s missing note?

  He was expecting a cavalry, yet couldn’t spot anyone. He began his descent down to the foot of the hill. Cutting through fallen branches and bushes, he finally reached the bottom. By his estimate, he was standing within a few meters of the coordinates that he had deciphered. He was wary of calling Katie’s name, as he didn’t want to lose out on a fortuitous circumstance of gaining an element of surprise.

  As he was looking around while slowly walking to the river, he saw a red cloth hanging on a wooden branch. He grabbed it while looking around. He flipped it over to see an inscription in white paint.

  ‘Follow me.’

  He couldn’t see much through the dense bushes around him. He didn’t know what or who he was supposed to follow. Knowing that he was in the middle of some puzzle gave him some confidence that he was right about the coordinates. As he stood close to the river, he saw another red cloth mounted on a wooden stick across the river, on the other side, in the north-west direction. It looked like a flag. He could also see a wooden boat parked on the other side of the river. The river current was a little strong for a swim, but he realized he had no option. He was forced to ditch his bag, along with the weapons. He hid a handgun underneath his shirt down his waist and put on the night vision goggles over his eyes.

  “Well played,” murmured Vik.

  He began swimming in the north-east direction with the river current pushing him towards the west. He had to cover almost 50 yards, yet it felt like a hundred. The current took him past the point, but he managed to get out of the river. Another hundred yards and he would’ve gone down a small waterfall being fed by a bigger one. He lied on the ground, physically exhausted as he took off the goggles. He was breathing heavily, while trying to control the coughing. He crawled for a few yards, before getting up and walking towards the red flag.

  As he picked up the flag, he could see footsteps on the ground. Almost as if they were intentionally left for him, along with a flashlight. He picked up the flashlight and followed the footsteps. They were too big to be of a child, yet not big enough to be of a full grown man. Soon, he was out of the forest, standing in the middle of a razed field. He couldn’t spot the footprints anymore.

  He could hear the waterfall nearby, and the flowing river. When he tuned those sounds out, there was nothing but silence. He looked for another red cloth to guide the way, but couldn’t spot one. He put on the goggles and looked around. From the corner of his eye, he could see a shadow standing on top of the hill behind him. He turned around and saw a silhouette figure of a woman looking down at him, her hair flowing in the wind. Before he could get a decent look, she disappeared. He ran for the hill. He could see a man-made ladder carved out of the rock that led to the top. He realized he was standing inside a canyon. He climbed up with boundless ferocity.

  When he reached the top, he saw the woman standing a hundred yards away. When he tried to walk towards her, she shouted, “That’s far enough.”

  “Who are you?” asked Vik.

  “Not important,” said Elise. “What is important is I know where your daughter is.”

  Vik looked around.

  “Yeah, she’s somewhere behind those trees,” said Elise.

  “What do you want?” asked Vik.

  “I want Josh,” said Elise.

  “Josh is dead,” said Vik.

  “Actually, I have it on good authority, that’s not true. It’s time for you to show your face to the world. You’re going to lead us to Josh,” said Elise.

  “Us?” asked Vik. “Who do you work for?”

  “A wealthy and powerful client,” said Elise.

  “Alright,” said Vik. “You let my daughter go, I’ll take you to Josh.”

  “What makes you think you get to decide that?” asked Elise.

  “I’m the only one that can get you Josh, so yeah, I know I get to decide how and when your leader gets to meet Josh if they get to meet it,” said Vik. “If not, go ahead, shoot me with that gun in your hand.”

  Elise thought about it for a few seconds, then snapped her fingers.

  Vicky stepped out of the
woods. She fit the description that he had of the woman who had delivered the notes. Vik noticed she was walking with the help of a cane, while her forehead was bleeding.

  “Well, Vicky, it looks like you’re going to live after all,” said Elise. “She’s going to take you to Katie. But before that, I need to know if you have it with you.”

  “Have what?” asked Vik.

  “The chip,” said Elise. “I thought the symbols were self-explanatory.”

  She glanced at her phone and reconfirmed Vik’s identity based on the sketch drawn by Katie. A man whose intelligence was the stuff of the legends but couldn’t crack simple ciphers didn’t sit well with Elise. Vik, on the other hand, realized the missing piece which Joey threw away, talked about the chip. He was glad it wasn’t something else.

  “I have it,” said Vik. “But I’m not giving it till I get my daughter back.”

  “It seems we’ve reached an impasse,” said Elise, cocking her gun.

  “Your daughter trusts me. I’m her Dr. Feet. I promise I would hold it securely till we get her out of here,” said Vicky.

  “Fine,” said Vik, looking at Vicky. Her wounds looked fake now.

  He took out a small box from his pocket. Vicky approached him and took the box. She opened it to find a blue chip. As she held it up, she smiled. So did Elise.

  She walked over to Elise without the cane and gave her the chip.

  “It’s over. Now, my sister and I are free,” said Vicky, smiling. Elise smirked.

  As they were rejoicing, Vik heard sounds coming from the woods. A few seconds later, Anton appeared out of nowhere with a dozen armed men.

  “Well, well, well. What do we have here?” said Anton.

  The men surrounded Elise and Vicky.

  “I’ll take the box, ladies,” said Anton.

  Vicky and Elise pointed their guns at Anton. He whistled, and his men shot at them. Elise was hit twice in the chest and died instantly. Vicky went down on the ground after taking a couple of bullets in the arm.

  Anton approached her and picked up the box from the ground. He opened it to find the chip intact.

  “Pleasure doing business with you,” said Anton, after looking at Vik.

  “Wait. Where’s my daughter?” asked Vik. “You got the chip. Give me back my daughter.”

  “We don’t have her. She ran away,” said Anton. “However, we do have a friend of yours.”

  Vik looked behind and saw two men were holding Emma hostage.

  “You said you had my daughter. Where’s she?” asked Vik.

  “You don’t understand the situation, man. Do you want your friend back or not?” asked Anton, frustrated.

  “I want my daughter,” said Vik.

  “Fine,” said Anton.

  He gestured to his men, and they took Emma towards the edge of the cliff. Anton took out his handgun while the two men walked away from Emma. He shot at her right arm, and she fell down the cliff.

  A few seconds later, they could hear her shouting as she was barely holding onto the edge. She could see her death a hundred feet below in the dark valley. Vik ran to save her.

  Emma had slipped down a couple of feet as a rock came loose. Vik was forced to climb down a few feet, as he was holding onto the edge with his left hand, while his right hand was reaching out at Emma. With her right arm bleeding, she was holding onto the rock with her left. She knew she couldn’t switch her arms and give her left hand to Vik. Vik’s grip was slowly going weak, so was Emma’s.

  Anton approached them.

  “You know, you’re right. I feel your daughter is here somewhere,” said Anton.

  “Don’t you dare,” said Vik.

  “Vicky, tell me where she is, and I’ll let you live,” said Anton.

  “He won’t. Don’t tell him,” shouted Vik.

  “I’m going to count to three. Or else you’re going to wish you had died,” said Anton.

  Vicky had been around Anton and Victor for a long time. In her heart, she knew Anton meant every word of it.

  “A hundred meters ahead. That way. In a shack,” said Vicky. “She’s tied up.”

  “Find her,” said Anton, to his men.

  They went east, towards the direction Vicky was pointing at.

  “Bye, Jay,” said Anton. “You couldn’t save your daughter. Again. But don’t worry. Something tells me, I’ll see you soon.”

  Anton’s radio beeped a couple of times.

  “Send the helicopter,” said Anton. “We found her.”

  As Anton walked away, reloading his handgun, Vik could hear someone shrieking. He recognized the voice. So did Anton. He shot Vicky in the head before walking away.

  “Daddy…Daddy!” screamed Katie.

  “Katie, I’m coming. Katie!” shouted Vik.

  Her screams were fading away every second that passed. Vik’s hands started going weak. He began panicking. The decision to trade Emma’s life for a chance to save Katie was too much for his heart and mind to bear. In the end, he was forced to make a choice, favoring the only outcome he could control.

  “Katie..” cried Vik. “I’m sorry.”

  “Go,” said Emma. “Save her.”

  “Jump and grab my hand. Now!” said Vik.

  Emma swung to her right as far as she could, to gather some momentum. She let go when the swing took her towards the left. Vik managed to grab her left hand, barely.

  “Come on. Hurry!” said Vik as he tried to pull Emma.

  Emma grabbed his body with her right hand and pushed herself up. Katie’s screams had almost gone silent. Vik’s eyes were teary as he pulled Emma with all his strength. Emma managed to grab the top edge of the cliff and pulled herself up with her left hand. Vik climbed back on the cliff and ran towards the voice. A couple of seconds later, he saw a helicopter approaching the woods from far away before disappearing behind the trees. Vik could still hear the helicopter. He ran towards the sound. Before he could reach the woods, the helicopter emerged from the trees and flew away.

  He went down on his knees and cried in pain, looking at the sky. Emma’s face couldn’t hide her guilt and remorse. I shouldn’t have come back, she thought.

  Chapter 16: Trust

  Jay returned on Monday to Verati after his weekend getaway with Sarah and Katie. They had gone to their cottage in West Gate. It was their first trip to West Gate together. Jay had surprisingly made a lot of new friends when he performed on stage during a couples’ game. Sarah had learnt something new about Jay that day. Katie mesmerized the crowd when she played the piano. Sarah fell in love with the town all over again. Jay loved the autonomy and learnt about the history of West Gate from Rick and Bob. Although Katie insisted that they should visit Morrow Town before leaving after hearing wonderful stories about it, Jay was hesitant as he didn’t want her anywhere near TS – 19. He promised they would visit it next time.

  He knew it was an important week for him as he wanted to streamline Phase 2 as soon as possible. He purposely parked his car on a different level, as he didn’t want to run into Olivia. He received a message from Josh when he got out of the car. He had forgotten his current life when he was in West Gate. The guard standing next to the elevator stopped him when he tried to get on it. Vik showed his identification, but the guard asked him to accompany him. Jay complied with his request. The guard scanned his card and pressed the button to the 58th floor on the digital screen. Jay had never been on this floor; neither had he heard anyone who worked here.

  “Where are we going?” asked Jay.

  “You’re expected on 58th,” said the guard.

  Jay looked confused.

  When they got off the elevator, Jay walked forward before realizing the guard was already back inside the elevator.

  “Hey, wait,” said Jay, but the guard left.

  He walked down the corridor, past the empty cubicles. He could see conference rooms, laboratories, server hubs, and small offices on either side, with a private cafeteria. A workforce of 100 could easily fit on the ent
ire floor. As he reached the end of the corridor, he saw someone sitting in the office.

  As he opened his door, he read a name engrossed on the glass door.

  ‘Jay Miller’

  Puzzled, he walked inside and saw Victor Daulton sitting in the chair behind the desk. The office was huge but plain. It looked freshly remodeled based on the designs carved on the ceiling. A couple of paintings, a couch, and few potted plants completed the basic layout of the room. The glass wall behind Victor was covered with a decorative semi-transparent glass film. The decoration was of ancient New York City.

  “What is all this?” asked Jay.

  “Didn’t you read the name on the door?” asked Victor.

  “Yeah, I did. Wait, so...” said Jay.

  “Yes, just what you wanted,” said Victor. “A private floor for you.”

  “Isn’t it too grand? Not exactly the right way to remain inconspicuous,” said Jay.

  “You’re the new interim Vice President of Technology, till we find a CTO,” said Victor. “You deserve it.”

  “I thought we talked about this,” said Jay.

  “I did. Then you got overruled,” said Victor. “By me.”

  “Why?” asked Jay.

  “So that you know your place in my company,” said Victor. “I decided that you should have skin in the game.”

  “That’s not what we agreed on,” said Jay.

  “I don’t care,” said Victor, in a stern voice. “Why wouldn’t you want to put your name on this? Are you hiding something?”

  “No,” said Jay. “I just don’t want to responsible for the mess.”

  “I don’t foresee any mess,” said Victor.

  “Doesn’t deny its existence,” said Jay.

  “Just say the word, and you’re off the project,” said Victor.

  “You’ll never get Josh to comply,” said Jay.

  “When my daughter, Sarah, was ten, she had a huge crush on a boy in her class. She couldn’t see beyond him. The boy knew that and began using her. You know, getting her to buy expensive gifts, good grades, and whatever ten year olds desired back then. Sarah was smart enough to know she was being used, but she didn’t care. She had too much confidence in her love. That eventually, the boy would see beyond her wealth and her last name, almost like she saw a different reality. But that never happened. She made a critical mistake – she didn’t realize that a ten year boy doesn’t care about love. He wanted something else, and she was his perfect opportunity,” said Victor. “Just like you’re Josh’s perfect opportunity. It needs to grow and do things it was born to do. If you feel it will let anyone get in the way, you’re fooling yourself.”