Chapter - 38 - Intruder

The tall man saw a small forest ahead and ran towards it with relief in his heart because he was sure he could cut off the men chasing him. The tall man heard voices of those men who were chasing him from not so far behind him and quickly ran into the forest. After running a little deeper into the forest, he found a heap of dry leaves on the side of a sharp slope pathway.

The tall man quickly moved to hide beneath the heap of leaves and noticed a small river not too far away from where he was standing. He covered himself well with the leaves and waited for the men to pass by so that he could cross the river and reach the other side of the city.

The men in black suits soon reached the spot where the tall man was hiding. The tall man stiffened his muscles so there won't be even a slight movement from his body. The men in black suits looked around and realized they had lost him. One of the men looked to the side and saw the river. He shouted to his leader, "Look, there is a river there. I think he would have escaped that way." All the men looked in the direction where the man pointed and rushed towards the river at once.

The tall man hiding beneath the heap of leaves let out a deep breath after he made sure all the men were gone. He slowly sat up from the heap and examined his bleeding body. 'I clearly told Ben to make sure whether they had guns or not !! Darn it Ben !! I would have been dead if I stayed any minute longer there. Ahhh !!! It looks like I have lost a lot of blood and have to get treated first. I can't go to the hospital in this state for now, I have to find another way.' he thought looking at the red fluid flowing out from the cut. He removed his black jacket and tied the sleeves tightly around the waist applying a temporary pressure on the wound.

The tall man took a deep breath and walked slowly towards the river. The river was shallow and he crossed the river without much difficulty except for the agonizing pain from the thigh. He had no energy to take another step but still he was determined to move forward. 'I can't die like this. I will have to find a way soon.' thought the man as he looked around for a way to get treated.

The tall man's steps grew heavier and heavier in every step he took. He tripped over and fell face down landing heavily on the ground. He rolled over holding his abdomen while controlling his pain. He calmed down after a few moments and a view of the beautiful night sky appeared when he opened his bloodshot eyes.

He could clearly feel his energy draining from his body because he was drifting in and out of his consciousness as he laid down on the ground but tried his best to keep himself awake by pinching his thigh. He stood up slowly taking deeper breaths and kept moving forward.

The tall man saw a building not far away from where he was standing and an idea popped in his mind. He reached his back to check for the gun and walked towards the building. He decided to take shelter and get treated in one of the apartments for the night. He was not really sure whether he was lucky or the heavens were helping him because he saw the balcony door of the apartment on the first floor was wide open as he checked the backside of the building.

The tall man gathered all his remaining energy and climbed up the pipeline and jumped quietly on the balcony but he landed on the floor with a light 'thud' noise. He laid there in pain but didn't make a single noise as he thought the people living in the apartment would be alerted by his groan.

He was sure no one heard him landing on the floor and was also relieved when he noticed all the lights were switched off in the apartment. He knew he wouldn't last long if he didn't get treated right away so he stood up slowly with the support of the balcony rails. He took out the gun, as a precaution before walking quietly into the apartment.

Gianna's eyes shot open as soon as she heard a 'thud' sound from the balcony as if someone jumped in. She strained her ears to listen for any further movements from the balcony as she slowly moved her hand to find her phone and it was only twenty past eleven. Gianna was sure that there was someone on the balcony and also knew it couldn't be an animal from the intensity of the 'thud' sound.

Gianna continued to lie down on the couch and got caught a whiff of something metallic. The metallic smell was surely the smell of blood and she wondered whether the person was wounded or someone else's blood was on his body. She praised herself for switching off the lights in the apartment so now she can sneak an attack towards the intruder.

She grabbed the pillow from the side and waited for the intruder to get near her while holding her breath. The couch was visible from the balcony but it was not possible to notice her as Gianna was lying down on the couch.

The tall man sneaked in silently and strained his ears to listen for any movements in the house. He slowly walked towards the rooms as it was adjacent to the balcony and found both the bedrooms and washrooms empty.

He let out a sigh of relief and moved towards the kitchen to have a glass of water letting his guard down completely but to his surprise something hit hard on the side of his face out of nowhere!!