Just Another Story

In the background, there was an awful commotion, men’s raised voices and women screaming. There was a deafening sound, a gunshot. I was used to all this from my days in the military. I turned in time to see a figure dart towards a balcony of a theatre. On the ground, there was blood but I paid no attention. I took off after the fleeing stranger.I am Jacob Coulter, an army general and the first thought that crossed my mind was to give chase. I followed him up to the balcony. On reaching the balcony, I saw the killer vault over the balcony and onto the alley below. I jumped after him but unlike him, landed on my hands and feet. Without giving myself time to recover, I was up and on the murderer’s trail.I saw his shadow turn a corner. As soon as I turned the corner, he was clear in my sight. I had come so far, I could not afford to lose him now. He turned two corners; I did the same, hot on his trail. Finally he reached an old and dilapidated house. He ran in and barred the door shut. I grew certain that this was his hideout.Standing beside the house, I took a breather and called the police force for back up. They immediately sent two police cruisers to my location. After that I searched for a way to enter. I found a broken window on the second floor of the building and also a climbable ledge. I started my ascent. Soon I was at the window. I entered and got a small cut on my leg. I stealthily moved from room to room, always wary of possible ambush.As I reached the downstairs room, I heard a battle cry and I spun around to see a man wielding a butcher’s knife running in my direction. My reflexes took hold and I dodged the immediate swipe. He was reeling back for another strike when I backed up against an old cupboard. He struck again and this time, he nicked my bicep. Searing pain shot through my body but I ignored it. I knew if I fell unconscious now, I was dead meat. I was at the cupboard when I saw a pole lying by a window, presumably used to hang curtains once but had since fallen due to disrepair. In the meantime, he was ready for another strike, but this time I was ready too. I dived for the pole. Giving an enraged roar, he followed tail and in a split second I got hold of the rod and thrust it in his direction. It hit him on the head and he fell.The police had arrived in the meantime and had broken in. I spent the next few hours getting patched up in the hospital. The doctors told me that my arm would never heal completely and thus I would have a permanent scar as a memento of this dangerous self-proclaimed mission.The next day I was awarded yet another medal for tirelessly working towards keeping my country safe. I was extremely happy and received the award with great pride.Devdut Dutta Student, VIBGYOR High, Horamavu