Chapter 6: I'm still alive

"Doctor, when will he wake up, he is an important witness and we can't waste much time"

" Look, Miss Vayu, he needs some rest ...he is out of danger, but we can't push him ...give him some time..."

I heard faint noises of people talking around me, I could sense that I was still alive and the burning pain from the wound in my abdomen made it clear. My vision was blurry and my eyes stung when I tried to open them forcefully.

"Breaking news... Agent Leo of WPD was apparently stabbed by the Predator and he was by far the first one to face the Predator twice and still be visible to the society...WPD is waiting for his consciousness to learn more about the encounter...Is Predator a Winterwich hero or an evil?...stay tuned to VBC for more updates on Agent Leo and his tragic meet with the Predator."

There was a constant chattering of the Television and I heard my name several times, I just hoped they got him, even if they didn't, I had a piece of information that will make the whole path clear, but I just couldn't wake up from the bed, I wanted to yell but my throat barely made any sound. I tried hard to lift the upper part of my body which apparently disturbed the wound and made me yell involuntarily, though I referred to it as "yell" it was just a moan, yet it managed to grab the attention of whom I thought was a nurse.

The woman started hitting my cheeks, my ears were numb and eyes were blurry, it seemed to me like she was wailing and I could barely understand what she was speaking, but I heard her saying "wake up" a couple of times, I could only see a fuzzy image of her face and thus failed to recognise her, as I was trying to identify her, based on the vague image I was seeing, I felt a slight sting on my right arm. The doctor probably had given me a shot of analeptic, my senses started getting better after the sting.

"Leo...wake up already," she said in a cold voice.

For a second I thought it was my mom but I was wrong, my vision slowly started becoming less blurry and I saw agent Vayu and the doctor, standing next to my bed, that must be a strong analeptic, I was able to move my hands freely and my senses completely returned, but the wound was still hurting.

"Now tell me...what did you see?" asked Vayu with hands on her waist.

Vayu was my batchmate just like Surge, she worked with the Intelligence and Investigation team for three years, then she took maternity leave for a whole year and later joined the police force after being divorced, apparently, her husband turned into an alcoholic. (No wonder, years of dealing with someone like her will eventually lead to alcohol)

"Don't tell me you didn't get him...Fuck...I was so close."

The wound burned like hell but the way Vayu looked at me caused more anguish, she was feeling pity for me and I hated that expression on her face.

"Leo...listen, sweetie ...we don't have time, who stabbed you and what happened there?" she said, putting her palm beneath my cheek.

"It was John...The first person who went missing!"

The expression on Vayu's face shifted from sympathy to astonishment while the doctor was writing some medication.

"You mean Lynda's husband...are you sure?"

"I am sure...I don't know if they started all this..but I am sure it was John."

I couldn't imagine a normal middle-aged couple doing such a huge organised crime and I didn't find the dots that connected them to Mario. Vayu walked out of the room hurriedly and the doctor handed over the prescription to the nurse and the both left, suddenly there was utter silence in the room, the stings from the wound continued and I was surrounded by a lonely vibe, with so many thoughts in my mind I closed my eyes and with all that silence in the room, I could hear my heart beating, it was so soothing that I departed to sleep.

"Marzia...that was a mistake... I am sorry."

Her face glowed brightly resembling the orange evening sun, we were standing on the warm sand as the cold seawater washed our feet, tears rolled down her cheeks, I knew that I treated her awfully yet I tried going close to her and she pushed me away with repugnance.

"Leo...I did everything a girl could do for her love...why weren't you satisfied?...why did you do that?"

My heart was drowning in guilt and I shifted my face towards the ground, I couldn't look her in the eyes, she has done everything for me and all I gave her was a betrayal.

" I know ...I am pathetic ...but I love you...I am sorry Marzia...please don't leave...I love you."

She was disgusted even to look at me, I could sense her anger as she wiped the tears off her face and walked away from me, I wanted to stop her but I couldn't move, I tried calling her name out but I couldn't speak, my body started twitching and I suffered to breathe, suddenly some mysterious bright flash blinded me and everything turned dark, when I opened my eyes, I was in the sewer and it seemed to have regained all its glory. The floor was covered with a thin sheet of sewage water and heaps of cocaine were lying around the hall. He was sitting at the centre of the hall playing with his shotgun.

"Welcome back!" said Mario, as he pointed the gun towards me.

His voice and stare were so demonic that I had goosebumps all over my skin just like how it happened twenty years ago. The swing of his finger at the trigger petrified me and before I could do anything, I heard a loud bang. When I opened my eyes, I was still in the hospital bed. I let out a sigh of relief and looked out of the transparent glass wall, the night lights of the city were burning bright, common folks never really cared about all those missing cases or the Predator, even when the numbers were going beyond thousands because they had much greater things to worry about.

I was contemplating at the skyscrapers when I heard a loud screech, it was from outside the building, I carefully got down from the bed and walked towards the glass wall to check for the source of the Noise and before I reached the wall, the glass shattered and the pieces of glass gashed all my body.