1. Captured

Clank. Clank.

The harsh sounds of the metal objects were incredibly piercing on the quiet road, sending chills down one's spine.

Even the group of usually bold and confident boys could not stop the terror from engulfing their hearts as they stared at the armed men in front of them. It was as though death was staring back at them.

The men's faces held malice and a mad thirst for revenge, while all the boys had was fear, fear for what lay ahead for them. The men were here for them as promised and the boys knew it.

"Did I not warn you to be careful?" The gang leader spoke as he gently struck his baseball bat against his palm, his lips curving up faintly. "Did I not tell you that I am vengeful and would definitely seek you out once I came out of prison?"

The four boys stared at the man in horror, recalling the dreadful time they testified against him and his gang members in the police station.

"I had been plotting my revenge all this time and now, I am here." He quirked his brows at them and even though they were a few feet far from him, the boys could see his eyes gleaming with wickedness. "With a vendetta, and I will not settle until I have all of your limbs broken."

"Run."

Even before he could take action, one of the boys in the group shouted and immediately after, the four boys took to their heels. The man was here for them and the only way to save themselves was to run away from him as fast as they could. Calling for help was futile as they could see no one on the deserted road.

"Alan, call the police." The boy who had shouted before spoke again, his voice breathless and terrified.

"I am on it." The other boy replied as he continued to call the police. However, he could not place a call even after trying for some time. "Shit! There is no network here." He cursed out loud and looked behind him, only to find the men picking up pace.

"What are…we…we going to do, Neil? There is no one around us and…."

"Shhh, let's just keep running. We might find help on our way." Neil interrupted his friend, who was just behind him.

The situation was not entirely in their favor. They were exhausted after playing an exciting match of football and now, they were being chased by the gang members who held a grudge against them. And unfortunately for them, they were now in an area where their phones did not have any network.

"Neil, Alan, Archie, let's split at the intersection." The boy who was in the lead suggested. "If we stay together, we might get caught all at once. If we split, we can seek help somewhere." He suggested and pushed up his glasses that had slid down his nose.

"Joel is right. Let's split." Neil agreed and the moment they reached the intersection, the group divided into two.

While Alan and Neil turned right, Joel and Archie ran in the opposite direction, forcing the men behind them to stop momentarily.

"You, follow those two bastards." They heard the leader shout from behind. "And others follow me."

"Alan, recheck your phone." Neil huffed lightly, the exhaustion taking a toll on their bodies and their pace reduced gradually.

"Still no network."

Right then, they heard gunshots and the two boys felt their legs turning weak in alarm.

"Neil, this is bad." Alan gritted his teeth as he stared at the long road ahead with nowhere to hide. "They have guns."

"Dammit. We shouldn't have chosen this path today." Neil cursed under his breath, frustrated by how the situation had turned out. However, there was no room for regrets now.

"Kiddos, stop right there." They heard the man shout and the boom of the gun immediately after. "Otherwise, please do not blame me for putting a bullet through you."

Alan looked at his older brother. By now, they had been reduced to jogging. Even if they tried to run, they would be caught quickly. They barely had any strength in them and Neil gritted his teeth as he nodded lightly, surrendering to their fate eventually.

The brothers finally stopped running and turned to face the man who had pushed them into a corner.

"At least you know what is beneficial for you."

The boys noticed that, unlike them, the men in front of them showed no traces of weariness. Other than the droplets of sweat that trickled down their faces, they still seemed high in energy. They were undoubtedly at a disadvantage.

Alan looked at his phone discreetly and his eyes twinkled when he saw the two lines indicating the network connection. However, he did not reveal his excitement even to his brother and placed a conference call to his father and the policeman who had caught the gang previously, hoping for someone among the two to answer him.

A sigh of relief escaped his lips when the call connected. Though he did not know who had answered him, he was glad that someone at least did. He then placed his phone in his back pocket and stared at the man with a revolver.

"You two sure are brave, or should I say extremely foolish?" He spoke with amusement and started walking towards them.

Alan and Neil retreated a few steps back, too scared to speak.

"If I were you, I would stay still. You do not want to provoke a man with a gun, do you?" He gave them a sinister smile and tilted his head and at the next moment, Alan and Neil felt their breaths being sucked away. The man resembled nothing less than a demon who had come to destroy them.

"Capture them." He ordered and Alan and Neil both stared at him in horror.

"Alan, run away," Neil spoke under his breath.

"No way. I am not leaving you alone to deal with him."

"Alan, we cannot call for help if both of us get caught. So I will try to distract them and you run when the time is right."

"But…"

Neil did not listen to him and stepped forward as he retrieved some marbles from his pockets and a slingshot he carried with him everywhere. He thanked his habit of taking them around whenever he left his house. They came in handy at the right time. He waited until the man was right in his target line and accurately aimed it at his hand.

"Alan, run." He shouted and aimed his marbles one by one while he also started running behind his brother slowly.

As soon as Alan heard his brother, he started running with all his might.

"Fuck. Catch them." He heard the leader of the gang holler. However, immediately after, he heard him gasp in pain and Alan, for the first time, found his brother's ability to harm someone using his marbles remarkable. He pulled out his phone as he continued sprinting.

"Dad." He almost yelled in relief. "Please save us."

"Alan, where are you? What is happening?" His father sounded frantic and worried and Alan felt guilt ripple through his heart.

"Dad, Ramin and his men have captured us. We are near the abandoned mansion. Please help us.."

Suddenly, Alan felt a push from behind and stumbled over his feet, his phone slipping out of his hands. He fell to the ground and hissed in pain when his palm scraped against the asphalt road.

"Were you calling for help?" The man chuckled lightly and picked up the phone while Alan turned around immediately. "Too bad. No one will come to your aid."

With a smile, he lifted his hand and smashed the phone, shattering it into pieces. However, Alan was not worried about his phone. Instead, he was focused on his brother struggling to break free from the men while blood oozed out of his lips.