1 Run

"Run…. Run for me, Alex. They are catching up to us…." a trembling voice of a young boy demanded as he tried to pull Alex to run with them matching their inhumane speed.

"I cannot run anymore brother Zed. My leg is hurting terribly." Alex said in a painful voice.

"Just a little longer, Alex. We are almost there." Zed tried to encourage him.

After running for a short distance, Alex stopped abruptly, and slumped on the ground, unable to move a single extra muscle. "You both go. Leave me here. They would not do anything to me." Alex said in a taut voice. "You won't make it if I tag along. You can still bring help once you reach there," he said, staring at his bloodied leg.

"Alex!!" Zed reprimanded. "This is not the time to play the hero. They will skin you alive if they find you, you know that." He was feeling desperate with each passing second.

"Stop reprimanding him, Zed. After all, he is still a kid. He is already exceeding his limits by running in that state of his leg." A girl in her teenage years stopped Zed from reprimanding Alex any longer with her flat voice. Then she tried to put on her sweetest smile which was not much different from her usual poker face as she kneeled in front of Alex. She pointed at her back and said in her usual monotonous voice, " Here. Climb my back, Alex. It will be faster this way".

"But sister Rain…" both Alex and Zed tried to protest at the same time which was instantly suppressed by a murderous glare from Rain's otherwise poker face which was an inapt gaze coming from such a young girl.

As a result, Alex quietly climbed on Rain's back and Rain and Zed began rushing again.

"There they are. Found them. No wonder our men couldn't chase her, they are running faster than the speed of their cars. Tsk... These siblings have upgraded their powers once again." A sinister voice was heard behind them. And before the escapees could do anything, a deafening sound of a gunshot was heard.

"Ahhh" a shrilled sound echoed their surrounding which was a contrast to the peaceful scenery of the mountain they were in. Rain held her left shoulder on instinct.

"Sister Rain" both Alex and Zed panicked.

"It is nothing. I am just fooling them." Rain said as she tried to smile at them to assure them which came out as a rather stiff smile before she pulled Alex in front of her without stopping even for a second. "Just keep running Zed. Do not stop" Rain said, panting.

"Acting tough, isn't she? Doesn't she realise, she's in her weakest state right now." the voice in the back laughed maniacally.

"Well, she would not be Rain if she wasn't tough, and we would not have to work so hard to chase after her. So what, if she's at her weakest state right now? She's still giving us a hard time to capture her." Another croaky voice appeared beside the owner of the previous voice. "Now stop wasting time and shoot again," he said as he pulled out his own gun.

"Bang…Bang..." A series of gunshots pierce their peaceful surroundings next.

"We have to run. We cannot let them catch us. Run Zed. We have to run." Rain shouted at Zed in a flat voice.

The young boy and girl seemed to be unfazed by the shots as they kept on running at almost the same speed as those bullets.

"Bang.."

This time the shot pierced through the left torso of the teenage girl, which slowed her down for a moment. She then gave a quick glance at the boy running beside her and at the one in her arms. They both were fear-stricken but nonetheless determined to escape this hell. No, she could not give in now. Just a bit more and they will be safe. She amassed every bit of energy and determination within her, held Zed's hand tightly, and ran at even greater speed than before.

"Run Zed. Run," again she shouted. Even her usual monotonous voice had an edge to it this time.

The two men behind them continued shooting with their modified guns... Some managed to scratch the girl, but she made sure that none of those shots hit the boys. Her life did not matter anymore. She just wanted the boys to be safe.

"We have to run. We cannot let them catch us. Run Zed. We have to run" Rain kept on muttering. Her face showing the expressions for the first time in years.

"Brrrrrringgg..." the alarm clock on the bedside table echoed making a boisterous sound as the clock stroked six.

"Run Zed… Run faster." a drenched Rain was tossing and turning on her bed, muttering non-stop.

"Brrrrriiiiiinnngggg" The sound began registering in her subconscious mind, and she abruptly opened her eyes.

A familiar room came into sight as she scanned the vicinity, panic-stricken. It took a moment for her to register her surroundings around her. Once she realised the situation, she turned off the alarm and took a sigh of relief as she mumbled in her usual flat voice, "That dream again."

After adapting for a while, she got up and headed towards the bathroom for a quick shower. Just as she came out, her phone chimed. She rushed to pick up her phone causing her bathrobe to slide down her shoulders. She hastily picked up her phone, kept it on the dressing table, and turned her back against the mirror, which reflected, an old ballistic wound on the left shoulder of a freshly bathed woman.

"Hello, Zed?" she answered the call in a rare cheerful voice.