1 Zero Chapter

"Or ˹those caught in˺ a rainstorm from the sky with darkness, thunder, and lightning. They press their fingers into their ears at the sound of every thunder-clap for fear of death. And Allah encompasses the disbelievers ˹by His might˺."

-(QS. Al-Baqarah 2: Verse 19)

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---TEGUH 'The Banjarman' : Zero Chapter ---

Teguh could feel the pain of a bullet in his thigh together with the sense of wet blood in his pants.

The darkness that surrounded him only made him more afraid.

Teguh now is trying to walk as best he can with his legs which have been crippled by the pain of the bullets.

He looked around him.

Empty city streets.. housing that is quiet and looks uninhabited.. with windows covered with plywood boards and rolling doors that look rusty..

Some plastic waste and glass bottles are scattered around it..

The street lamps lined up illuminating the street with some of the lamps already looking broken.

Panic followed him as he walked.

He didn't know where he was going or what he was going to do after this.

The only world and home that could welcome him, was now chasing him with a gun.

He also did not want to meet the police and become a 'fly'.

Like what the people who were chasing him were thinking right now.

"Oi 'fly'! Don't run you dog!" , said Sabri who was holding a revolver with silver in one hand.

Teguh just crossed the deserted street of this deviated by dragging his foot who was in pain.

*DOR!*

Sabri's gunshots were so loud they could be heard all over the street from behind.

But Teguh can't feel the shot right now, all he can feel right now is panic at the sound of the shot.

Looks like he missed the target with his shot.

"Don't go like a puppy! Be manly! Let's be a cowboy!" , said Sabri with the sound of his footsteps echoing in this deserted street.

Teguh could see Sabri who was getting closer to him.

With a black jacket with long bottoms, with yellowish cream jeans and a long hairstyle that reaches his neck.

Also the grin on his face enjoying chasing his gruesome victim.

"I'm not the 'fly'! Listen to me Sabri!" , said Teguh with a bitter face and his jaw pressed together due to exhaustion and feeling cornered.

"You even sound like a 'fly' when you say that," said Sabri who walked towards him.

Teguh can't do anything.

The shadow of death that had been behind him since he entered this world he could feel was approaching.

He had a revolver in his pants, but the bullets were out.

"What a fool you are Sabri! Stop chasing me!" , shouted Teguh on this street.

"Even thought you just a 'fly', it's really hard for you to kill 'Banjar man' ", said Sabri with a grin, "You killed 3 people there, dog"

"Sabri listen to me! The boss is mad! He's starting to accuse everyone of being a 'fly'!" , said Teguh while holding his thigh which looked like it was already covered in blood.

Sabri is only getting closer to him..

Sabri's black jacket moving in the dark only added to his fear.

His dark, hard footsteps made him feel how trapped he was.

"You will look someday you goddamn fool! After I die you will be accused of 'fly' after this!" , said Teguh by releasing the remaining anger in him.

By now almost all of his anger had been swallowed up and replaced by the fear of death.

But somehow there was a kind of feeling that he had to accept this death.

Teguh just clenched his teeth and gritted them, knowing his current condition.

Teguh then took out his revolver slowly.. with the silver iron skin of the gun reflecting the street light..

Then he pointed it at Sabri.

"Oh come on Teguh! You have more kind of tricks than a small thing like this!" , said Sabri while pointing his gun at him which is now enough with him, "I know damn it if all your bullets run out, I count how many times you shot our man"

The distance was close enough now, and Teguh knew that Sabri wouldn't miss his target again.

Teguh could only sigh with fear creeping all over his body.

He didn't know what he was going to do now.

His legs were too sore for him to run any further.

The bullet's out.

All negotiation cards have been blocked.

"Looks like I really can't negotiate with psychopaths like you for godsake" ,said Teguh as he lowered his gun slowly.

He's going to die like this...

Dying to be like what he hated in the rules of his life for years..

Something he didn't expect.

The fear is gone, replaced by a complicated sense of surrender and acceptance.

The only thing that matters is love..

Too bad he didn't live longer.. he could at least be more than he is now..

There was a feeling that he wanted to repeat everything.

Maybe he-

*DOOR!*

Gunshots were heard.

It was so fast that he couldn't see anything.

Not as dramatic as TV, novels, or comics maybe, but this is how it feels to be shot dead by a bullet.

Fast, simple, and nothing too stressful.

Teguh always thought that whoever invented the gun would not want people who died in war to feel the pain before they died.

It felt like a needle pierced his left chest to his heart.

It really hurt.. but he knew it would be a while..

And then all that was left was darkness creeping up on him.

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"Hah!" The sound of Teguh's breath seemed to have risen after being drowned in the sea out of his mouth.

The smell of floor cleaner along with a strange smell of rot like dirt wafted around him..

Teguh with a surprised face just saw where he was now.

"Where am I?" , he said with a tired face.

He saw it, he was in a kind of white room.

Then he could feel the porcelain tiles on his thighs.

The floor was a bit wet on his feet.

in the toilet?

Then feel something in his hand, and he really knows it after holding it for decades.

Knife.

A rather sharp iron knife, from the few scratches and smoothness he could tell it had just been sharpened, the handle itself looked smooth black but had a few scratches too.

Is this a kitchen knife?

Then he saw what he was wearing.

The clothes he wears look rather neat.. with pants whose fabric is a bit familiar with a grayish blue color..

Office wear?

He thought so until he saw the logo on his shirt pocket.

Looks like a white fire on a brown background.. or a bird? The one whose head is covered in something?

Is she wearing school clothes?

What happened?

He just died right?

Is this heaven or hell?

Is he buried?

He wasn't even sure the body would be buried, he didn't have any family who wanted or still would.

Sabri at the most transported his body to a forest and burned the corpse.

And then he remembered...

Or maybe the memory in this body made him remember.

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Notes:

'FLY'

A worst title that can be matched to a person in the world of gangs.

That means the person who is the undercover police spy in the gangs.

At least in some gangs in Indonesia.

Abroad the majority call it:

'Rat'

The police officially call it an 'informant'.

No one wants to leave police spies in the hands of the mafia.

So all the gangs in the world have the same way of getting rid of spies:

Kill him.