Daniel woke up to a gunshot. Coming to his senses, he squinted his eyes in pain. His left temple was throbbing and he couldn’t help but let out a groan. The room he was in was shaking like an earthquake. Where the hell was he?
He opened his eyes and winced as his headache became unbearable; the gunshots weren’t making it any better. He was on the floor of a truck’s trailer, with his hands bound in front of him. To his left, the thwarters were firing rifles out the rear. He looked around his confinement, wincing every time his head felt like splitting in two. He found Sara right opposite to him, bound just like he was. Despite her red hair strewn all over her face and the dark circles around her eyes, she was still pretty. She was wearing a black camisole and black joggers. Her lean face was filled with worry and her sharp nose was almost quivering.
Daniel tried to reassure her. “Don’t worry Sara, we’ll find a way–”
“Pah! Don’t worry? Really? You must be joking, sir!”
Daniel was startled by the voice right next to him. On his right sat Reid, he hadn’t noticed him until then.
“Look around you!” he continued, waving his arm. “You’ve got nowhere to go!”
Daniel looked back to the left, outside the truck. Swarms of leeches were chasing after them, and the thugs were keeping them off with their rifles. Everyone swayed with the motion of the truck, yet they kept their balance.
“You should thank me for saving you two,” said Reid.
That enraged Sara. “Saving us? You saved us? Don’t throw that shit at me man!”
“You’re alive for now, aren’t you?” he asked innocently.
“And for how much longer?” asked Daniel.
“Ah well… That depends, see… We’ll find out soon enough.”
The gunfire had ceased. Looking outside, Daniel found no more leeches. They were out of danger. The thugs cheered and sat themselves on the trailer floor. To Daniel’s relief, the truck slowed down.
“Well done boys!” exclaimed Reid. “There’s a party due back at base!”
That garnered another collective cheer from the troupe.
“Go ahead, scream louder,” said Sara. “Let’s attract a couple more leeches, there isn’t enough havoc already.”
“None around this area, we’ll assure you that,” replied one of the thugs.
Daniel’s head was still hurting, but he had come to his senses a little more. He felt something wet and sticky down the left side of his face. His hands were bound with rope and his wrists were beginning to itch. There were about five thugs, Reid, Sara, and himself, in the trailer; he didn’t know how many of them were in the cabin. Daniel scanned Reid’s hulking frame. He had no way of taking them all down.
Reid decided to speak up. “Danny, was it? Saw the leech you shot in the neck back there in the house. Not many know that you’ve got to shoot a leech in the neck. You’ve got to kill that wretched parasite that’s clutched to their throats. Stupid worms.” Daniel didn’t respond. “It’s pathetic, you know. Almost hilarious! I can’t bear to watch a bunch of idiots shooting them in their chests and heads.”
“Maybe everyone would know that if you told them all,” said Daniel.
Everybody jumped in their places as the truck ran over something on the mud road. Daniel’s head throbbed again.
“I try to!” said Reid, exasperated. “But you all keep running away! I’ve got only so much patience.”
“We run away from you for good reason, Reid,” said Sara. “Instead of hunting for us, how about you hunt all those leeches down?”
That seemed to amuse Reid. “You crazy, miss? We don’t have enough ammunition to hunt every leech down. We’re in a lockdown, remember? There’re too many!”
The smell of petrichor filled Daniel’s nose and the air became a little humid. He looked out the back of the trailer. He could see that their road now ran parallel to a river. Reid gave him a strong pat on the back and his head started throbbing again.
“Now don’t get so depressed, sir!” said Reid. “You’re about to be a part of something extraordinary! You too, miss. It’s all for the good of humanity!”
The only reply he got was Sara spitting on his face. He wiped it off with his sleeve and eyed Sara. “A feisty one, eh?”
They travelled in silence for a while, the only sounds filling the air being the hum of the engine and the rattling of the trailer, which softened the gushes of the river.
This time Daniel decided to break the silence. “Since when were you following us?”
“Not until you entered that neighbourhood,” replied Reid. “We were tracking the movements of an infestation that was heading for where you guys were. Lucky us, wouldn’t you say?”
“Why the hell were you tracking leeches when you want nothing to do with them?”
“Where they are is where your other friends wouldn’t be, right? Reid snickered. “You people are really good at hiding. It’s a big city too! But with a little process of elimination, we’re bound to find you all, eventually.”
The truck came to a halt. They were on a narrow bridge that was crossing the river. Everyone in the trailer other than Daniel and Sara were hustling to get out. The thugs waited for Reid to get out first.
“You can thank us for our company,” he said with a bow after he jumped off the trailer. “Now if you’ll excuse us, we have some business to attend to. But don’t worry, we’ll leave our most pleasant companion, Mutt, to guard you here.” The thug seated just to Daniel’s left chuckled cruelly, the same guy who had apprehended him outside his house.
As he said that, Daniel saw a pickup truck come up from behind. It pulled up beside the truck, out of sight. The other thugs started to get off too. Something caught his eye; sheathed on Mutt’s waist was a knife with its handle exposed. He saw Mutt get up to leave. With not much time to think, he fell on Mutt. He felt his fingers curl around the handle. Mutt quickly shrugged him off and pointed his gun at him. Daniel quickly rolled belly-down to hide the knife in his hands. He was holding it the wrong way, and the blade was pressing against his stomach.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” Daniel pleaded. “I was trying to readjust and I slipped. I’m a little–”
“Shut up. Now, don’t be trying anything funny. This time, I mean it,” Mutt ordered as he poked his rifle at Daniel’s head. He jumped off the trailer to stretch his limbs. He hadn’t noticed the knife missing and was surveying his surroundings.
Daniel rolled facing up and turned the knife so the blade rested on his bonds. He began to slice at the rope by moving the knife to-and-fro with his fingers.
Sara was alarmed. “Danny, are you–”
Daniel stopped hacking at the rope and signalled her to lower her voice before resuming again.
“Danny,” she whispered. “Your shirt…”
Daniel was in too much of a hurry to realise there was blood on his shirt and his hands. “It’s nothing, just a small cut,” he whispered back.
Finally, the bonds came undone and Daniel got up on his knees. Mutt was still standing right outside, but his back was facing them. He reached for Sara’s bonds and cut her loose too.
“What are you planning?” Sara whispered, concerned.
Daniel ignored her. He got his feet under him in a crouch and slowly made for Mutt. His socks helped absorb the sound of his footsteps. He reached the edge of the trailer and inspected the scene outside. He heard noises of a conversation approximately where the pickup truck was parked, and the sloshing of the river far beneath them. No one other than Mutt was in his direct view, and Mutt still hadn’t noticed him. Swiftly, he shoved the knife into Mutt’s neck and dragged him into the trailer again. Except for a few pained gurgles, Mutt made no noise as he faded away, eyes open. Daniel dropped him softly on the floor as a pool of blood spewed out from his neck, wetting the trailer. Daniel hopped out of the truck and landed on the road. He turned to help Sara, only that she wasn’t next to him. She was deep inside the trailer with her back pushing against the wall, mortified.
“Come on Sara, we’ve got to go!” Daniel whispered harshly, his tone severely urgent.
Sara didn’t move. She was staring at the body of Mutt, petrified. The blood flowed down to where she was sitting, but she didn’t even budge as it soaked her pants and socks.
“Come on girl, this isn’t the time to–”
“Yo Mutt!” a voice interrupted him. “They need you there.”
The voice was so close. Daniel could see the rear of the pickup truck parked beside the trailer. Whoever was coming was going to be there in seconds, and he had almost no time to react. As the source turned around the backlight of the truck, Daniel leaped at him and shoved the knife into his stomach. He then kicked him square in the chest and sent him flying backward, toppling off the bridge with the knife in his stomach. He heard the collective gasp of the other thwarters, and then a huge rush towards his position.
“Sara we’ve got to go, now!” he screamed at her, but she gave no reaction whatsoever.
Daniel saw a foot appear by his side; there was no time left. He abandoned Sara and jumped off the bridge, diving into the river below.
Click here for Locked Down | Chapter 4
