Prologue (Part 3)

Anna clenched her fist, she could feel herself shake. A mixture of both anxiety and excitement rushed through her head. “It’s been way too long,” Anna whispered to herself as she grasped her trembling arm. With her eyes closed, Anna steadied her breath. With all her years of experience, she knew how detrimental to her performance being agitated could be. Once she could no longer feel her arm jitter, Anna grabbed her rifle and proceeded to peek, just enough for her to observe the assailants. Now she just needed to wait for the landscape to be illuminated again.

Sszzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Anna spotted the source of the light orbs: a heavily clothed individual on the far left. It seemed to be coming from a stubby-looking orange pistol; she mentally marked her first target.

Instead of slowly approaching from cover to cover under the veil of darkness like before, the five remaining individuals casually strolled towards Anna and looted the bodies along the way. Assuming that their victims had already retreated to the convoy. Anna felt slightly insulted by their seemingly carefree attitude. Recalling what she needed to do, Anna’s eyes swept the area for any advantages she could take. The shards of glass that littered the ground near an abandoned building caught her attention. After quickly formulating a plan, she seized a palm-size rock in her left hand. Right before the darkness fell, Anna took another deep breath.

She carefully tracked the individual with the stubby-pistol while remaining hidden. The moment the light completely died out, Anna tossed the rock she had in her hand towards the left.

PUM-PUM

“Four,” Anna counted mentally.

A thud could be heard shortly after. She quickly dashed towards the right, knowing that her opponents were not expecting an ambush.

They fired at Anna’s previous position until the rock finally landed on the ground.

Clack.

Assuming the sound was Anna making a dash for the left, they began to lead their shots in that direction.

Carefully, Anna picked up a few shards of glass and threw them at the ground near the visible muzzle flashes, each of them shattering into dozens of pieces. Confused, the assailants halted their fire to assess their situation.

“Where the hell are they?!” one of them shouted with a wavering voice.

Taking the opportunity, Anna fired two more rounds towards the source of the noise.

PUM-PUM

“Three.”

Then she began to silently sprint around her opponent’s last known position. The remaining three individuals imminently began to fire at where they had last seen the muzzle flash. A stray bullet grazed the back of Anna’s leg, taking with it a small chunk of flesh and nearly knocked her off-balance, but Anna persisted.

PUM-PUM

“Two.”

Anna quickly took shelter behind cover and readied her rifle toward the direction of the two enduring survivors.

Catching on to Anna’s tactics, the remaining two chose not to fire but instead to make a run for cover. However, the moment one of them tried...

Crack. He had stepped on the shattered glass.

PUM-PUM-PING

“One.”

Panicking, the last bandit ducked down onto his knees, frantically waving his gun.

“FUCK YOU! WHERE ARE YOU?!”

Under the sound of yelling, Anna was able to insert her last cartridge into the rifle and cock it without being noticed.

“YOU’RE FUCKING DEAD YOU HEAR ME!”

Anna aimed her rifle towards her final target. She almost felt sympathy for the man desperately attempting to find her. However, they lost her mercy the moment they choose to raid her convoy.

“Zero.”

CLICK-CLICK

Anna quickly ducked behind her cover. The man aimed his gun toward the source of the sound and began firing. No matter how hard she tried, the bolt on the rifle would not budge, denying her access to the chamber. The gun had jammed at a critical moment. Anna suddenly felt the urge to sucker-punch Hailey.

“I’ve told her many times to maintain her damn weapon,” Anna muttered.

With limited options, Anna made the judgment to wait until the firing ceased before charging the man in the hopes that he would be in the process of reloading. After three more seconds of consistent firing, the barrage came to an abrupt stop. Without hesitation, Anna rushed out of cover and towards her enemy, attempting to make the least amount of noise possible. Becoming mindful of her fatigue and injuries, Anna matched her steps with the man’s rapid breathing to mask her approach. Though she could not see where her target lied, she could clearly hear his panting.

“Just a little bit more.”

Crack

Anna had stepped on a shard of glass.

PUTT

The first shell exited the barrel before the gun aligned with the man's aim; thus, it did not make contact with the approaching Anna.

PUTT

This time, Anna was not so lucky as the round ripped through her thin layer of clothing, digging itself into her abdomen. Knowing the consequences of staggering, Anna gritted her teeth and pressed forward, tackling the man before he could get another shot off. The man fell backward and head first into the solid ground, putting him in a daze. Anna pulled out her pocket knife and jammed it into his wrist, pinning his arm to the ground and thus forcing him to release his gun.

“URAAGGG,” the man screamed in pain.

Using her body weight, she sat on his stomach and pinned his arms with her knees. With a firm grip and whatever strength she could muster, she hammered the man’s face with the stock of her rifle.

BASH

“AAUGGGGH,” the man cried as he desperately attempted to free himself. With his nose now broken and bleeding profusely, he struggled to breathe in between his screams of agony.

BASH-GUSH

“AAAAHHHHHHHHGGG!” The rifle landed directly in his left eye; the sheer force of the object ripped through his eyelid, embedding itself deep into the socket. With nowhere for the fluids to escape, the pressure buildup caused the outer layer of his eye to burst open.

Anna wanted to end the man’s suffering, but she simply lacked the raw strength to do so. Lifting up her rifle, she could hear the sloshing of body fluids. She smashed her rifle towards the man again.

BASH-KLUU

“MMMMMMMMMNNNNNNNNN.” This time the butt plate of the rifle made contact with his mouth, first ripping open his lips and then caving in his jaw. The man’s tongue was now impaled by fragments of what used to be his teeth.

Anna felt queasy and her arms became weak. Although she could not see the grotesque sight before her, the noises made it clear what was happening. Her hand was drenched in what she had hoped was just blood. She wanted to halt but knew that it would only prolong his suffering.

BASH

“URRggggggggg.”

With each successive buttstroke of the rifle, more and more flesh was ripped from his face.

BASH

“P-P-lEaa...”

BASH

“Uuuaaa.”

BASH

“Jusst wannntee-”

BASH

“Toooo surviveeeee...” The man started to wail in pain. He waited for the next strike, but it didn’t come. He lost all feeling in his cheeks and much of his face. Liquid continuously gushed from his left eye socket down the side of his head.

Anna held the rifle up high, pausing for a moment after hearing his pleas. A heavy feeling gripped her heart as she questioned whether she was truly being merciful by refusing him the fate of just slowly bleeding out on the cold hard ground. The man before her was now reduced to a pile of mumbles and cries. She had already crossed the Rubicon; there was no turning back. Anna offered her final words of solace:

“May the ancients grant you the mercy that I could not.”

BASH-CRACK-SPLAT

"…"

Silence returned to this cold and desolate world.

Anna fell over to her side, feeling relieved that this fiasco was now finally over. The gunshot wound to her abdomen had not stopped bleeding since it was inflicted. The adrenaline that made her temporarily immune to pain had worn out. A sharp pain, coupled with a burning sensation, coursed throughout her body. Anna wanted to scream but did not possess the strength to do so.

Pummm. The gunshot from afar notified her of the convoy’s safety. She let out a faint smile.

She knew this was her end. Tears began to flow from her eyes as Anna regretted leaving Anya and Ethan behind. She wanted so desperately to hold her child in her arms one last time, but she realized it wasn’t possible. Anna wanted to plead with the ancients, but after what she had just done, she knew the ancients would not listen. Exhaustion overtook her as she closed her eyes. Anna muttered one last word:

“Anya…”

***

"DAMNIT! Where the hell is she?!” Hailey screamed as she smashed her fist into the side of the iron carriage.

“It’s been an hour since the all-clear signal, we have to leave,” a man with an authoritative voice commanded.

“FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCKING GODDAMNIT!” Hailey punched the carriage again, this time leaving a dent. “It’s all that fucking Ethan’s fault. He knew the risks and yet still gave the green light for this route. What kind of sick bastard sends his wife into harm’s way like this?”

The man showed no change in expression.

“Stephan should have been the one to plan the fucking routes, he should be the one in charge. Not this incompetent jackass!” Hailey gritted her teeth as veins began to pop out.

“Ethan’s been trying,” William joined in on the conversation. “He didn’t plan for this tragedy.”

“YOU CALL THESE SHIT TRADE DEAL TRYING?!” Unable to contain her anger, Hailey began shouting again.

“ENOUGH. There’s no use in arguing over this now. We’ve waited long enough. Without Anna, I’m not willing to risk another engagement,” the man declared as he walked toward one of the carriages.

“We have to notify her family and return her rifle,” William proceeded to turn around and enter one of the carriages as well.

Hailey, being the last one still outside, punched the carriage once more.

“Fucking bullshit…”