You know those times when you just follow your instincts to wherever they lead you? Well this was one of those times for me. 

The vocal bang resonated when I squeezed the trigger. The bullet flew in matter of milliseconds, burying itself into the chest of one of the men. He rebounded back with the impact, shocking the living daylights out of his companion and also giving me a chance to take my next aim.

The second bullet flew and buried itself into its target, but what I did not realise was that as time passed I had moved from my place behind the door and was out in the hallway, totally exposed. Quickened footsteps of numerous men from down the hall caught my attention. Their firearms aimed at me.

The hair at the back of my neck stood as a shudder passed through my body. I swiftly leapt out of their line of fire, carefully maneuvering through the lethal stream and contorting myself to avoid getting hit. A certain individual leapt at me but before he could do anything I sunk down and sweeped his legs out from under him. He collapsed and the firearm slipped from his hands. I ended his consciousness with a firm kick to his face.

I looked around and observed that five men are coming right at me with four more at their heels. My eyes widened and I turned on my heels and ran. I ran making zig-zag patterns to make it harder for them to shoot at me. Taking two swift turns I saw an opening ahead. Hope filled me as I saw an escape from this hell.

The men were still behind me but their number had now increased considerably. Bullets fired relentlessly as I took cover behind the wall which lead to another hallway but away from my only escape. My back was compressed tightly against the protection of the barrier. I turned around and shot as many of them as I could. My gaze transferd to the dark hallway in which I was currently standing and noticed the approaching footsteps and a nearing shadow in the dim light.

I spun my body in the direction of the progressing individual, swinging the firearm with my movement. The gun violently landed against him making him reel back with the force. I turned to face the person and raised my leg to kick him. As he fell back with the force I took the oppurtunity to run. I dashed out of my temporary hiding place and ran as fast as I could towards the brightly lit exit.

As I reached the exit, the bright light almost blinded me and I banged against some sort of a wall. The gun slipped from my hands.  I clutched my head and closed my eyes as black spots appeared in my vision. I took support on whatever structure I banged against. As the throbbing reduced a bit I opened my eyes to look at what I banged against. I was almost surprised to find a glass wall separating me from another room which was brightly lit. I was the greatest idiot to think that in a headquarters where a certain madman lived, the exit could be so easily found.

As I peered into the other side of the glass I saw numerous glass walls dividing the space into rooms. To my horror, each room was packed with people with barely any space to move. As far as I could see there were six rooms like this- filled with people- and three empty rooms. The people included men, women and even children, all huddled up against each other. But what was peculiar was that each of them did not mind being huddled up and they also had a vacant look in their eyes. I banged against the glass to gain their attention but in vain. I was horror struck at what Ryan had done to these innocent people, especially the children.

Suddenly I was pulled to my feet and my head was smashed against the glass wall. I screamed. 

"You think you could get out so easily? Poor you Tracy, there is no one left to save you anymore. Now you better tell me where you have kept the keys to the safe.", A familiar voice spoke from behind me. Ryan. 

He pulled my head back and banged it more harshly against the wall. I screamed. Blood ran down my head and past my eyes blurring my eyesight. All of a sudden I felt how tired my body was. My shoulder ached from the accident wound. My sides were bruised and throbbed terribly. My head was bleeding and throbbing. I slipped in and out of consciousness trying my best to focus on what Ryan was saying to me. He banged my head against the wall a couple of more times, making me black out completely for a few seconds. I couldn't take it anymore as my knees gave out. Ryan's grip on me loosened as several gun shots resonated around me. I slipped to the floor, barely able to keep my eyes open.

The gunshots continued but surprisingly none hit me. I vaguely wondered if I was imagining the gunshots. A figure appeared in my vision and held my face. I tried to keep my eyes open and look at the person in front of me. The person suddenly pulled me into an embrace and held me close. That person told me," Tracy just don't close your eyes ok?". I nodded at the soothing voice. 

"Tracy look at me, don't close your eyes...how about you tell me about the happiest moment in your life?", the voice continued.

As I was about to speak, flashbacks of vague memories filled my head. A soft voice cooing me to go to sleep, my mom and dad, hand in hand smiling at me.  A bright smile on Kyle's face as he took my hand and we ran. Jane's contagious laughter when I screamed on seeing a bug on me. My brother's goofiness as he ran around the kitchen after stealing my chocolate milk. Aaron's beautiful brown eyes...

I couldn't speak. I couldn't stay awake anymore. I had no energy left now. I felt myself being lifted up before I was engulfed by darkness.

~RV