Chasing a Familiar Shadow

by Aman Gupta

  “Yeah, I understand,” said Joey.

  “What do you understand? We’re not leaving anyone here,” said Emma, retorted, looking at Joey. She was upset at the thought that she could be saying farewell to Kate and Eric.

  “Let’s go,” said Eric. “You guys take positions.”

  Eric and Kate left, while Emma and Joey occupied two different spots. Emma identified three guards on the roof while Joey decided to kill the ones standing at the door.

  Eric signaled from afar, as he and Kate got ready to enter the compound. He threw a grenade near the cars parked at the front of the building. A couple of seconds later, the cars exploded.

  Emma immediately shot down two guards standing on the rooftop, while Joey shot one approaching Eric.

  Eric and Kate took out their handguns and began shooting the guards in front of them. One of the guards fired back and narrowly missed Kate. Kate took cover behind a burning car. As soon as the guard stopped firing, she shot back through the flames, killing the guard instantly.

  Eric entered the building, while Emma and Joey engaged with the guards who were shooting blindly at the trees.

  Kate went around the building towards the warehouse.

  Clay ran outside the compound and saw seven of his men had died. He ran to one of them and picked his rifle. He identified the location of the shooter when Joey narrowly missed a shot aimed at Clay. Clay immediately fired multiple times at that spot through the trees, looking through his scope. Emma noticed on her right, as Joey was shot on his left bicep. He dropped on his knees before falling from the top of the slope, landing twenty feet below.

  Emma immediately got up and ran after him. Clay kept firing at that spot, till he ran out of ammo. Six more guards came running out of the building.

  “You two go around the building,” said Clay. “You four come with me back inside. We need to secure the girl and the guests.”

  Unknown to Clay, Eric had already entered the building, managing to escape the eyes of the guards. He could hear their footsteps from far away, allowing him to hide in time. Soon, he made it to the end of the corridor. He kicked down the door with his right leg. The moonlight entering from the small windows above, allowed him to see. He could see the chains hanging from the top.

  “Vik?” called out Eric.

  “Eric?” said Vik, who couldn’t see much. “Come quickly. Straight ahead from the door.”

  Eric walked straight and saw Vik was standing on a stage. Eric noticed the chains on his wrists and ankles.

  “There’s no time to find a key,” said Vik.

  “I’ll get you out of these,” said Eric. “I’ve done it before.”

  “It’s a chain, not a crane,” remarked Vik. “So, it should be easy.”

  Kate had gone around the building, looking for a way inside. She was calling out Katie’s name, hoping that Katie had been brought here.

  “Katie! Katie!” said Kate.

  She noticed two guards coming from afar. She took cover behind a wall when she stepped on pieces of glass lying on the ground. She looked above her and noticed a window almost 15 feet above her. She noticed an old, rusty drainage pipe that was going up to the roof. She began climbing it. Almost halfway, she was around 6 feet away from the window pane. She tried reaching it, but it was too far away. After a couple of deep breaths, she pushed herself against the pipe and jumped the opposite way.

  She barely managed to grab the window pane by her fingertips. She pulled herself up, grunting, and entered the building. The corridor was dark.

  She walked slowly ahead, minding the walls of the corridor when she saw someone running. She could hear the screams of a girl.

  “Katie!” yelled Kate as she ran after the voice.

  She reached the end of the corridor when she saw a man fighting two guards. Kate couldn’t get a clear shot. Suddenly, she was grabbed from behind by a guy. She turned around and saw his face. It was the guy she had noticed back in Sierra.

  “Get that other guy,” said Clay as he put Kate in a sleeper hold.

  A guy went after Vik, who was engaged in a fist fight with the two guards.

  “Vik, watch out!” yelled Kate.

  Vik was out of energy and strength. He was barely able to keep up. He had been completely overpowered.

  Suddenly, Clay was stabbed in the back by someone. He let go of Kate and turned around. It was Eric.

  “Why don’t you fucking die?” yelled Clay.

  He removed the knife from his back and pushed it into Eric’s guts. They slammed each other’s head on the walls, as they rumbled down the corridor before reaching the staircase. Clay pushed Eric down the staircase.

  “How are you still alive?” said Clay. “I strangled you to death with those chains.”

  “Try cutting off the head next time just to make sure,” said Eric.

  After exchanging punches and kicks, Clay delivered the final blow to Eric as he stabbed Eric in the eye. Eric tumbled down the stairs, lying on its foot.

  Kate got up and helped Vik. She reached for her gun, but a guard stomped on her left hand. She cried in pain as the guard kept stomping repeatedly. Vik picked up the gun and shot dead a guard before the other one kicked Vik. Kate got hold of the gun and shot the remaining two guards. She helped Vik up.

  “I need to find Katie,” said Vik. “She’s here. You make sure we have a clear path.”

  “Will do,” said Kate as she ran down the hallway.

  He got to the end of the dark corridor and noticed a locked room. After pushing multiple times with his shoulders and kicks, he finally broke down the door. He saw a small bedroom behind broken glass, while Katie was sitting on top of the bed.

  She saw someone coming from the shadows and immediately hid under the bed.

  “Katie, it’s me, Jay,” said Vik.

  Katie quickly got out from under the bed and ran out of the room. She hugged Vik, who got down on his knees. He cried as she wept on his shoulders.

  He felt relieved. A moment that he would’ve happily died for. He had gotten a part of his family back. He felt like he had cheated death numerous times so that he could have this moment.

  “Come with me, we need to go,” said Vik, a minute later.

  They ran out of the room. As soon as they got to the corridor, they saw Clay was standing in front of them.

  “Two gone. Two more to go,” said Clay as he wiped the blood off his mouth.

  Vik looked at Katie. “Get out of here.”

  “What about you?” asked Katie. “I’m not leaving you, daddy.”

  “I’ll see you outside. Hide near the edge of the cliff,” whispered Vik.

  Katie nodded.

  Vik stepped forward as Clay ran towards him. Vik tackled Clay away, giving Katie the chance to escape.

  “Run!” yelled Vik as he thwarted off Clay’s attacks.

  Katie sprinted down the hallway passing through the dead guards without looking bad. She could hear her father's grunts, but she knew as long as she was in the building, her father could never defeat Clay. She took the staircase on her right. As she got down to the ground level, a guard started chasing her through the corridor. She ran outside the building and went left towards the cliff. The guard chased her. She ran as quickly as she could. She stopped to catch her breath when she couldn’t hear the guard anymore. She turned around and didn’t see anyone.

  She turned back and saw a shadow of a person in the woods. They stretched out their hands. She walked closer towards the shadow.

  “It’s you,” said Katie.

  The shadow picked up Katie and put her over their shoulder.

  “No, what are you doing!” said Katie, resisting. “Stop! Daddy!”

  The shadow carried Katie deep into the woods, disappearing into the night.

  Clay repeatedly punched Vik on his face. Vik was almost knocked out until he heard someone’s scream. It was just his mind playing tricks, but that gave him a short burst of power, allowing him to push Clay. Clay fell on the floor
. Vik grabbed Clay’s right leg and stomped on his knee cap. Clay screamed in pain as his leg almost split into two. Vik repeatedly kicked Clay on his head, knocking him out.

  Vik saw outside the window and could see something burning. His vision was blurry, partly due to ash rain. He rubbed his eyes and saw red flames in the air.

  “Katie!” remembered Vik as he ran down the corridor looking for her.

  When he got down halfway through the staircase, he saw Victor Daulton standing in front of him.

  “Where is Katie?” yelled Vik as he grabbed Victor by his collar.

  Victor didn’t say anything, almost enjoying the panic on Vik's face. Vik tossed him away and got to the ground floor. He saw Eric’s body lying nearby. He looked at him for a second before running out.

  He ran out of the building, searching for Katie. He scrutinized the cliff a hundred meters away, but couldn’t see anyone. He went to his right, looking around the building, just to make sure that Katie hadn’t gone that way.

  He heard someone yelling, ‘Daddy.’ The sound came from the woods near the cliff.

  Vik immediately hurtled towards the cliff through the ash rain. He sprinted up the cliff reaching the edge. He looked into the woods, but couldn’t see anyone.

  “Katie!” yelled Vik, breathing heavily.

  He was scared of losing her again. He went into the dense woods to check but couldn’t spot anyone as far as he could see. A minute later, he returned to the edge of the cliff when he thought he heard someone. He looked down the cliff to see if Katie had gotten down. He heard the sound of some leaves rustling behind him.

  He turned around and saw someone standing a few feet away. They were holding a gun in their right hand, wearing a beige overcoat. The golden hair locks looked familiar.

  Vik couldn’t see the face properly, so he walked around, almost falling into a hole near the edge of the cliff.

  He looked at the face and gasped in disbelief.

  “Sarah?” said Vik.

  If he was dreaming, he didn’t want to wake up. He took a step forward to hug her, but she pointed the gun at his face. Vik stayed put. He looked like he had seen a ghost, while she looked like a woman on a mission.

  “I thought you died. I looked for you everywhere. Oh my god, I can’t believe it’s you. Why didn’t you reach out? I dropped by so many times at our old house, at the cemetery, hoping that you would come to life,” said Vik. “I’m so happy.”

  The ashes that touched Vik’s face got wet by his tears before falling on the ground. Sarah didn’t say anything, and her face didn’t even show a micro-expression that Vik could read. She looked almost dead, except he could hear her breathe. A thought ran in his mind, however ephemeral. Was it really her or an Emulation? It could be Victor’s final trick. But somewhere in his heart, he knew it was her.

  Vik searched in his pocket and took out a picture of Sarah and Katie. He showed it to her, but she didn’t move her eyeballs.

  “I dreamt of this moment but now I can’t find the words,” said an emotional Vik. “I’m sorry for everything. I shouldn’t have left you alone after dragging you into the world that I created. That I was responsible for. I thought I was protecting you by pushing you away, but I didn’t realize that I was putting a target on your back. I’m not asking you to forgive me, I just want you to know that I still love you, Sarah. I always have, always will. I want us to be a family again. You and me. And our daughter.”

  His throat were eating his words faster than he could speak. He looked around, hoping that Sarah had found Katie.

  “Where’s Katie, Sarah?” asked Vik.

  He asked like a worried father would, showing genuine care for his child. To her, it resembled a taunt. A reminder that the actions of the man standing in front of her had gotten her daughter killed her, and was now mocking her memory.

  “Why are you so quiet?” implored Vik. “Please say something. Anything.”

  He looked at her, pleading with his eyes. She had promised herself that she wouldn’t succumb to that face again.

  She was trying to control her emotions. It was the moment she had dreamt of. A chance to make things right. She took a deep breath and pulled the trigger twice. Vik looked at her without reacting. Almost as if his body was subconsciously denying its slayer the satisfaction of victory. He touched his heart as his chest started bleeding. He saw his red hands as he went down on his knees.

  She came closer and bent forward. He was waiting to hear her voice. It was the last thing he would ever hear. It wasn’t the worst way to go. A year ago, if the devil would’ve offered him this deal, he would’ve taken it in a heartbeat. But not today. He had started dreaming again since last few months.

  “You shouldn’t have sat down on the table that day at the ice-cream parlor,” said Sarah.

  His mind had gone blank when she shot him. Her words brought him back, before they killed him. Perhaps she said it since killing him once wasn’t enough. Only this time her words hurt more than her bullets.

  “Bye, Jay,” she whispered in his ears, before pushing him in the hole on his right.

  Sarah looked down as Vik lied lifelessly in the 3 feet deep hole. She kicked the mud and ashes on the ground, into Vik’s grave, burying the love she had for him while burying his body. He felt she buried him like a shameless secret, a figment of her past that had grown into a tumor.

  Vik saw her eyes, but couldn’t see a sign of a tear. He closed his pupils as his life flashed before his eyes. Of all the moments he saw, both good and bad, this one felt oddly gratifying. Perhaps because he felt his family was safe and whole again. The sudden surge of happiness in his mind brought a faint, unconscious smile on his face. It almost ruined Sarah’s moment of reckoning but she didn’t care anymore. She dreamed of standing over Jay’s grave the first time she broke down standing on top of Katie’s grave.

  Wiping away her tears remembering Katie’s face, Sarah turned around and walked down the cliff a stronger woman than the one who had gone up on seeing Vik. She had conquered her past. She had tried to bury the memories but couldn’t find peace like she wanted. She hoped that burying the man would get the serenity she longed for. In her mind, a wife and a mother had buried the husband who couldn’t understand the sanctity of marriage and reverence for his family.

  Victor Daulton was waiting in the car near the compound, lost in his thoughts. Sarah opened the door and sat inside without seeing anything. Victor drove the car away as he looked on his right, and saw the grass in the compound catching fire when the wildfire reached the yard after destroying everything in its path.

  As their car drove away towards Sierra, Emma and Joey appeared out of the trees, hobbling towards the compound. She had seen Vik come out of the building and run towards the cliff, while she was helping Joey.

  “I’ll look for Kate and Eric,” said Joey as he held his left bicep with his right hand. The fall had also damaged his knee though he couldn’t sit and wait to acknowledge that.

  “I’ll help you,” said Emma.

  They went around the building, only to see the backside of the compound was on fire. The warehouse had caught fire, which was slowly engulfing the entire compound, including the front building.

  Joey and Emma tried to go inside, but they could see the fire down the corridor, as it was making its way towards the front.

  “Kate!” yelled Joey.

  “Eric!” yelled Emma.

  But they couldn’t hear anything.

  “They’re gone!” said Joey.

  “We don’t know. Keep looking,” said Emma.

  “Where’s Vik?” asked Joey.

  “I saw him going towards the cliff,” said Emma. “I’ll look for him.”

  Emma ran up the cliff while Joey tried to find any sign of Kate and Eric on the right side of the compound.

  When she reached the top of the cliff, she couldn’t see anything, except the lake in front of her. She looked around for footprints when she saw blood on the ground. She got down on her
knees and touched the blood. She saw something buried in the ashes near it. Her heart beating loudly, struggling for every breath, she picked it up with her fingers. It was a picture of Sarah and Katie, the one that Vik kept with him at all times. She had seen it herself. Her heart broke into pieces. She hadn’t felt such pain since the night she learnt about her sister’s presumed death. Like that night, she didn’t have a body to know for sure.

  She looked around but could only see ashes. The rain had already gotten heavier in the last hour. The entire cliff was filled with ashes, mud, and dust, including the hole where Vik lied motionlessly. Only if Emma had stepped on the ground two feet to her right, she would’ve felt the hole in the ground under her feet.

  Joey came to the top of the cliff when the entire compound had caught fire.

  “Emma, we need to go,” said Joey.

  She didn’t say anything. She was trying to hold back her tears.

  “Kate, Eric, I couldn’t find them. I think they are gone,” said Joey as Emma heard a lump in his throat.

  “Vik is dead too,” said Emma as she stood up.

  Joey noticed a picture in Emma’s hands, with blood on it.

  Joey felt like crying but knew he had to make sure that they survived.

  “We need to go,” said Joey. “This whole place is about to go up in flames.”

  Emma didn’t move. Joey pulled her by her hands and dragged her down the cliff.

  “No! No!” said Emma.

  “Emma, we need to go, please!” said Joey.

  Emma saw Joey’s arm was still bleeding. She couldn’t lose him too. She pulled away her hand. Joey stopped. Emma wiped away a lone tear in her eye before running down the cliff. Joey ran next to her. They looked at the compound again through the ashes, before running away.

  They reached their car, parked almost two hundred meters away. They could see the fire sneaking up through the woods. Joey immediately started the car while Emma hopped in. He drove as fast as he could. Emma saw her world being burned down in the rearview mirror.

  They both had lost their family. Again.

  Joey stopped the car one last time near the uphill past the canyon, as he drove around the craters, bodies, debris and massive potholes. Sierra was now a realistic reminder of the present state of the world. Joey and Emma got out of the car.