BEGINNING - 5

John opened the small backpack that was on his back and took out a sleeping bag for Jane to use as a bed, while he walked out of the hut to look for wood to make a fire.

Click. John turned on his flashlight.

He walked alone among the trees to look for firewood and some plants that could be used as a complement to the food he was going to make, he pulled some leaves while picking up the fallen wood and walked back to the hut.

Jane again looks pensive with the state she is in now, she stares blankly at the floor and the voice of John stops her daydream.

"Hey, imma cook some foods, so we can have strength for tomorrow."

"Yeah."

John removed the ornament on his bracelet to light a fire, the ornament is made of magnesium and can be used as a lighter to light a fire when rubbed against iron.

He took his drinking container that could turn into a pot while taking out the rations and bread he had stolen this afternoon and gave the bread to Jane. "Here take it," said John handing him bread.

A few minutes later, the food he made was cooked and he gave it back to Jane, while he only ate a piece of bread and a few herbs he picked earlier.

Finished eating the dish, he told her to stick out her leg. "Gimme you foot, let me take a look," said John with a bandage and ethanol in his hand.

Jane stretched her legs while still chewing the food in her mouth.

Her legs looked full of blisters from running for twenty-four days, she treated Jane's feet carefully because she didn't want to make her feel pain and discomfort.

John took off his shoes and socks, he told Jane to put them on. "That's gonna be a hassle if you wear mine, take this socks so you can feel a lil bit better while running," said John putting his socks on Jane.

"Tell me about yourself, and the face behind your mask."

"I can't do it."

"Why? I won't reveal your identity," Jane coaxed him.

John responded to her question by telling her to sleep while he stayed awake. "Now go to sleep and I'll be on guard outside," said John as he stood up and walked out the door.

He again combed the area and placed several traps so that when the hunters came he could find out, the rope he was carrying was now shortened due to being used to make traps.

John peeked from the window of the hut to see his condition, Jane was fast asleep in the midst of such a situation, maybe because her body was tired.

John looked and felt sorry for her, then suddenly.

Krook… Grook…. The sound of Jane sleeping while snoring.

Shit! I forgot how this little girl sleeps. John cursed in his heart as he sighed.

John looked up at the sky as he lay down and closed his eyes to rest for a moment, he again imagined how he had met his idol in the first place.

Just as John was closing his eyes, he heard the faint sound of the trap he had set.

His eyes widened open when hear that the trap he had set gave a warning signal, he was startled from his sleep and crept towards the source of the sound carefully so as not to be noticed.

"Enable thermal vision," John whispered.

There are eighteen hunters chasing him now, he recognized one of them who was in the front position, namely Michael.

The brutality that Michael does is very inhuman because he does not hesitate to kill civilians in order to achieve his goals, and that is not what John likes.

John who was lying down, grabbed a smoke and shock grenade while throwing both of them into the middle of the hunters at the same time.

The three smoke grenades and the two stun grenades that John threw made them flinch and black smoke billowed out of the canisters.

"Get close to each other."

"Stick together."

"Stay around me, careful from an ambush," said the team leaders to their members.

They were close to each other while walking backwards to avoid the sudden attack and the smoke blocking the view.

John stood up and threw a stone at them, he deliberately announced his position to lure them into a trap that had been prepared in advance, some of them shot at him and the team leaders ordered to stop the shooting because it was meaningless and just a waste of ammunition.

Michael thought back to what happened ten years ago. "Move and becareful, this will be something," said Michael walking in the direction of John running.

The night vision they use makes it easier to see John's movements in the dark, some of them move from different directions to minimize casualties.

John moved from one place to another, he fired his gun at them while taking cover behind a tree.

Dezing, dezing, dezing. The bullets from them flew at each other.

He pulled the rope that ran across the ground and there was an explosion sound along with it.

"My arm's, help me."

"Legs, my leg's."

"Take them to the back for cover!" Michael shouted to another hunter who was a few meters beside him.

Brack! A bullet hits John.

The bullet hit him in the stomach but caused no injury because he was wearing a bulletproof vest, the other squad that had dispersed earlier started to join the battle.

John was surrounded from both sides, causing him to run backwards for safety while pulling some ropes to cause the trap he had set to explode.

Duaaar… Duaaar… boom. Explosions were heard from several different places.

He shot those who did not have time to take cover from the explosion, as many as seven people John had managed to paralyze and some of them were still trying to fight him.

Smoke and fire began to appear from where the battle took place.

"Back off! Back off!" Michael shouted in the midst of these conditions.

"Give me covers!" another team leader shouted at Michael.

The team leader grabbed the shoulder of his partner's bullet-proof vest, and pulled him closer to the tree for fear that he would get injured if he was hit by a shot from John. "Keep shooting!" he ordered to the other hunters who were still able to fight back.

He did the same thing again, but now helped by Michael because they both knew doing it alone would take too long.

Huh… hah… huh. The sound of John's breath panting while leaning against a tree.

Should I? Fuck! I don't want to. John said to himself.

John is not only fighting with the hunters, but also fighting with himself.

He was undecided, should he kill or just paralyze them, because the possibility for Jane to be caught was much greater now.