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