Among Us (8)

"Now, Ethan." Nolan broke the chain of his thinking, "Should we hear your side of the story now?"

Fuck, I need same time to think. How should  I use "it"? On who should I use "it"? I can buy some time if I give in now. Yes, I have no other choice. I'll think about something by then. I just need some moment. He smiled, Yes. I'll fool them around a bit. Then when the time is right, I'll use "it" and get the hell outta here. The horses are right out there. I can use one and escape. Yes, yes, yes. I have all figured it out. What will you do now, Nolan?

He started to smirk.

"You're...smiling." Will noticed.

"Hehehehehe."

"Ethan, you..." Olivia didn't finish her sentence.

"Hehehehe."

"Oi, Ethan. What the fuck are you doing?"

"Hahahahaha."

"He has gone mad." Manny mumbled.

"GYAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!"

Ethan started to laugh like a psychopath. The people around them got a bit confused and worrying. They did know if he had gone completely insane or not. Everyone had the same expression on their face, except Nolan. His face was as emotionless as ever, as if like he already knew it was going to happen.

Ethan put his right hand on the door and started to slide it down slowly. He slowly turned his face to the others. He was smiling like a psycho which gave Will the creeps.

"Yes." He said slowly, " You're right. I am the traitor. I screwed up the maps. Yes, I've been carrying information to Arnold and his men. Yes, I threw Ruby in the closet. Yes, I've been lying to you all. Yes! Yes! Yes! It was all me! Me! Me! Me! I am the one who did it! Hahahaha!!"

"You were with me in the winter mission." Nolan said, "We were heading for straight hell full of cannibals. You knew that all along. But still why did you pretend not knowing? You could've died too."

"You really want to know the truth?" He got all serious. After a pause he added, "Because I was ordered to. And I don't value my life. To fulfill my desire, I would do anything. Did you hear me? Anything!"

Ethan stopped for a while to breath as his breathing was unstable. He stood still and got his hand off the door. He slowly raised his head and look straight, at Nolan.

"I've always hated you, Nolan." He started to speak with a low volume, "You are smart and still pretend like you don't know anything. You haven't changed at all."

Nolan didn't say anything back to that comment.

"Even before all this mess..." He continued, "You always came first in class. Girls were all over you. But nothing interested you. You were always with a moody face as if like you were always bored...with all those people around you who weren't smarter than you. Nothing could interest you. You always looked down on the others. It really pissed me off."

"..."

"And yet, you're still the same. Nothing changed, nothing at all. All you do is show off your smartness and look down on people. That's what you're good at, aren't you Nolan?"

Nolan ignored everything and stayed with the previous topic. He finally clenched his jaw, "What else did you do?"

...

The sun went down about half an hour ago. The motorbike was going really fast through the straight forest rode. At this pace, Ren and David would reach the 4th place in no time. David was feeling cold as he was riding nonstop for hours now. His hands were freezing. He had to make them warm over and over again with a gap of few minutes. But all of the wind couldn't reach him as he was behind Ren. He couldn't understand how he wasn't freezing at all. Maybe he was just used to with these kind of situations.

After a few minutes, they reached the end of the road, which brought them to a town. They weren't sure if it was the entrance or not. It felt like the town started from nowhere. David looked at his map.

Looks like this is the place.

He got off the bike.

"Are we searching the place?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, I'll park the bike here." Ren got off his bike.

The road they came from, which entered the town, took a left turn and gone through the area. The left side of the road was covered with forest and the right side had houses placed serially. David looked around. It seemed odd to him how there weren't any deads near by. He couldn't even hear any growling. He looked at the houses and noticed something. The front windows were broken, all of the houses.

And what are those on the doors? Are those bullet holes?

He got closer to one of the houses and touched the holes.

These are fresh...what the hell happened here?

"What are you looking at?" Ren came closer to him after parking his bike.

"These holes." David touched them.

"Are those bullet holes?" Ren asked, "They look fresh."

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking." He looked around, "And this place. it's really quiet. There could be people near by. Stay sharp."

"Hey, look." Ren said, "Something is coming!"

David turned his head left. Few lights were flashing a bit far away. A jeep with few bikes were heading their way.

"What should we do??" Ren seemed impatient, "They haven't notice us yet but if they get any closer, we'll be screwed."

"Fuck." David tried to open the door of the house, "Dammit! It's jammed!"

Wait, is it really jammed or somebody is in the-

Just then, the door got opened from inside and pulled them in the house and the door got closed again.

"What th-" David lost his balance and fell in the ground.

"Shh." The person peek through the windows, "Don't talk. Stay low."

David and Ren did as they were told. they stayed low and hid behind the walls. The jeep and the motorbikes got closer and stopped at the end of the road.

"Shit, my bike! They'll see!" Ren whispered.

"They've already seen it." The person said while looking through the window.

"Oi? What is this bike doing here?" One of the guy on a motorcycle asked, "Was it here from the start?"

"We've gone through here countless times now. Did you ever see it here, you blind bitch?" A guy from the jeep said.

"What the fuck did you call me, you shit hole?"

"What the fuck up, you assholes." the one with the steering said, "This is serious. Someone might have entered the area beside them. Search the whole town! Don't leave any spots unchecked!"

"We should take the bike with us too." One of them suggested, "That bitch won't be able to leave then hahaha."

"Good thinking." The one with the steering replied, "Oi, Mike!"

"What?" A person replied who was sitting at the back of the jeep.

"Bring the bike."

"Tch."

The person came out of the jeep and got closer to the bike.

"Shit, my bike." Ren whispered.

"Did you bring the keys? Or are they attached with the bike?" The person asked.

"No, they are with me."

The guy named Mike sat on the bike. He grabbed the handles and looked the both sides of the bike. He got down from the bike and crouched down. Then he pulled some wires out of the bikes and started to switch them with one and another. David and Ren couldn't see what he was doing but the bike suddenly made a noise. That guy named Mike got on to the bike. They went back as soon as they came.

"My took away my bike." Ren said, "How are we supposed to get away now?"

"You're...David." The person said, "You came out of the coma. I never thought I would ever see you again. I can't believe my eyes."

David was shocked.

"How do you know my name?" He asked, "And how the hell do you know me?"

"Don't you recognize me?" The person asked, "Oh, I can't blame you for not remembering my face. You went through shit."

"I still can't recall your face." He asked, "Who're you?"

"I am Rodriguez." He replied, "Jack's right hand. You remember now?"

"You..."

"You and I were on the same mission to wipe out the riders. Do you remember now?"

"You're...that Rodriguez??" David came around.

"Yes."

"Wait, if you're alive, then-"

"Jack..." Rodriguez said after a pause, "He's..."

"H-he's...what?"

"..."

"He isn't dead, is he?!" David grabbed Rodriguez's both shoulders.

"No, he is alive. But..." Rodriguez looked away, "He got shot in the stomach. I don't think he is gonna make it."

"Shot? By whom??"

"These people you just saw."

"Who're these people?"

"Even I don't have any clue." He said, "We've been stuck here for 2 days now. When we arrived this place, they were already waiting for us. They shot our horses dead, shot Jack.. They tried to kill us. But we barely escaped and since then, we are hiding. They have lost track of us. Well, for now. But it's just a matter of time they would find us. They've been on patrol ever since we came. We can't even escape. We don't have our horses, no vehicles."

"Where's Jack?"

"He is upstairs, sleeping. He has a really high fever." Rodriguez turned to Ren, "I haven't recognized you."

"He is Ren. A newcomer." David replied for him.

"Hello."

"Nice to meet you, I am Rodriguez."

They shook hand.

"I forgot to mention, when you people left, Rust was attack by some people."

"What?! Is everyone okay?!"

"Yeah. It's under control. Their leader is dead...I killed him. So, there is noting to worry now."

"Have others made it back?"

"No." David added, "Katie and Synthia are still out there."

"Dammit. What the hell is happening?" Rodriguez mumbled.

"I wanna take a look at Jack." David said, "Is he awake?"

"Nah, not really." He sighed, "He's been having some episodes, it's the fever. He keeps mumbling something."

"Show me where he is." David started to climb the stairs.

"David, don't mention anything about the attack in Rust. He is not in his right mind."

"Alright."

...

"What the fuck did you say?!" Arthur grabbed Ethan's collar and pushed him against the door.

"Hehehe, you heard it right."

"Nolan!" He screamed, "I am gonna fucking kill him!"

"No, Arthur! Get away from him!" Nolan ordered.

"Hahahaha."

"You...why the fuck are you still laughing??"

"Because, you're dad could be dead already."

"You motherfucker! I am gonna kill you!" He threw Ethan on the ground.

"Arthur, don't!" Nolan's stomach hurt a little for screaming out loud.

Arthur got on Ethan and grabbed his collar again. His eyes were raging with killing intention.

"Tell me where's my dad is! Now!"

"Hehehe...I don't know." He replied with a smile, "Hit me all you want."

"AAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"

Arthur started to land powerful punches on Ethan's face, nonstop. His mind went blank. Ethan didn't defend himself, or he just couldn't. He was never been punched like this before so he had no idea how painful it was. All he could see was Arthur's bloody fists and darkness.

Am I already bleeding? Fuck, I am about to lose my mind. No, not here. Not like this. I gotta get out somehow. Ahh, I can't think straight.

"Fuck! Tell me where is my dad is?!"

"Heheheh-"

"Fuck! You motherfucker!"

"Arthur, stop!" Olivia shouted, "At this point, you're really going to kill him!"

"I don't fucking care!"

Nolan looked at Marco, "Do it."

"Roger."

Marco came behind Arthur and stroke the back of his neck. Arthur lost his sense and fell on Ethan. Marco grabbed him and pulled him away from Ethan. Ethan slowly stood up while coughing. The corner of his lower lip got cut and was bleeding. He touched the area and looked at it. Then e started to smile again.

"What you said earlier, about Jack being in trouble...is that true?" Nolan asked.

"Why would I lie?"

"I don't know, don't ask me. That's what you've been doing all these time, lying."

"Believe it or not, I don't care." He leaned against the door.

"Why are you doing this?" Nolan asked, "What will you gain doing all of these?"

"You really wanna know?" Ethan slowly sat down on the ground sliding against the door.

"Fine, if you really wanna know so bad...then I'll tell you." He said after a long pause, "It all started that day..."

...

"Did you remove the bullet?" David asked after looking at the wound.

"Yes, I did."

"Since when he is like this?"

"Since the day he got shot, since the night."

David looked at sleeping Jack. He had a really high fever. He looked like he lost some weights. If David were to be honest, he almost forgot Jack's face. The last time he saw Jack's face when he was beaten down on the ground by Arnold covered in all blood. He felt bad for him seeing him like this.

"We're almost out of foods and no water." Rodriguez sighed sat on a chair nearby, "I don't know what we will do. We don't have anything to escape this hell. If we leave the house, we'll be killed in no time."

"Something isn't right."

"Ah, did you say anything?"

"They have the advantages in number. Why aren't they splitting up and searching all the houses? It would've been more easier to find then? They are just wasting time."

"Yeah, I've noticed that too." Rodriguez replied, "They move all together, they don't split. They don't even search all the houses. I don't know what they are doing."

"But at this rate, we'll be discovered." David looked through the window.

"I know that. But what choice do we have? We can't force through the area by ourselves. They have the advantages in number and weapon. We never stood a chance."

"Umm hmm." David shook his head, "There might be a way out of this."

"What's in your mind, David?"

"They might have the advantages in number and weapon. But they still don't know our location. As long as we can keep it that way, we would still have a chance to get through this."

"I am not following you."

"You sai-"

"D-David, i-is that you?" Jack woke up, "It's...it's really you."

"Hey, Jack. Yeah, it's me." He smiled, "It's been long."

"Am I dreaming?" Jack's voice was really low. David could hardly hear it.

"No, you're not dreaming, Jack. I am right here."

"I am dreaming. My throat...i-it's burning. Water. I want water."

"We are out of water." Rodriguez put a hand on his forehead.

"I have some water." Ren brought out a bottle from his bag and gave it Rodriguez.

He helped Jack to drink it. After drinking the whole bottle, he went back to sleep again.

"Huh, what are we gonna do?" Rodriguez sat on the chair again, "Oh, you were saying something."

"Yeah." David replied while looking at sleeping Jack, "I have a way to escape this place."

...

After patrolling the whole town, they started to move towards the end of the town where they found the bike. They didn't see anyone but they knew that they are still out there, also they had been clearing out the deads. The guy with the steering was the leader of the party. He was told to kill off the guy named Jack and everyone with him by his boss. His boss also told him to be extra careful. The guy with Jack named Rodriguez was his right hand. As he heard from his boss, that Rodriguez guy was really sneaky and stealthy. If they were to enter any house, he would kill all of them and they wouldn't even notice. So, they were avoiding entering the houses.

No risk. We have the advantage in number and weapon. They are just two people. Well, not two. There are more now. We have to be careful.

The jeep moving slowly surrounded by 7 motorbikes. One of them was Ren's.

"I am bored." The guy sitting on the front sit of the jeep said, "How long do we have to do this?"

"Don't let your guard down, they could be anywhere." The leader said.

"We've been on patrol for 2 days straight. How long would it be? Let's just search the house and finish them off."

"No, didn't you hear what boss said? It would be risky."

"You're just coward. One of them is already injured. The other one can't do shit on his own."

"Hey, I am the one in charge here. So shut your damn mouth."

"Tch."

The party reached the end of the town and stopped. Nothing was there as usual. They turned their jeep and bikes around to go back. Just when they would about to move, the leader heard a whistle and noticed something with the corner of his eyes. He looked up and saw three bottles with fire coming towards them.

"Everybody! Fucking move!!" He screamed out.

But it was already too late. The molotovs hit some of the bikers and one hit the back of the jeep.

"GYAAAAAAA!"

"AHHHHHH I AM BURNING!!"

"MY EYES!!"

"WATER!! WATER!!"

In no time, the group of 11 people came down to 7. The leader came out of the jeep and took cover behind it. The one sitting next to him got beside him. But the one who was sitting in the back, didn't survive.

"Everyone! Take cover!!" The leader pulled out his handgun.

Fuckers. They are throwing molotovs. Where the hell did they get those? Did they have them from the start? No, that can't be. If so, they would've used them from the start. But that doesn't matter now. They got us. But they also blown up their hideouts." He peeked carefully, Three molotovs, one came from the left house and the other two came from the right one. You bitches are fucked.

David slowly raised his head and tried to look through the window, "Tch, could've  done better."

...

About an Hour Earlier

"A way to escape the place?" Rodriguez repeated David's question, "How?"

"Earlier you said that they all move together all the time. We can use it against them."

"Yeah, how?"

"If they were to be caught in an explosion, they would all die together."

"Yeah, I know that. But we don't have any explosions." Rodriguez replied, "No grenade, no nothing. Wait, don't tell me you have grenades."

David shook his head, "I don't. But...we could make some."

"What do you mean? How?"

"We would use poor man's grenade." David gave his answer, "In other words, molotovs."

"Molotovs?" 

"Yeah, molotovs."

Molotov; a crude incendiary device typically consisting of a bottle filled with flammable liquid and with a means of ignition. To put it simply, it's a bottle made of glass filled with gasoline, kerosene or alcohol and has a rag, which is stuffed into the opening of the casing. To use it, one has to light the rag on fire and throw it at the target. The bottle will break and the fire will do the rest of the job. Making one is also as easy as it sounds. It's needed only three components. A casing, fuel and a fuse.

Finding bottles made of glass weren't hard for them. There were few in the kitchen downstairs.

They searched the bedrooms for old cloths. But the main problem was to get fuel. The house didn't have anything to burn. If Ren's bike were not to be taken, they could had used the fuels from it. To find some flammable liquid, David searched the house beside the one they were using for the hideout. It had a garage, so there was a high possibility to find some gasoline or kerosene. He started with the garage. There were only one broken car, with few materials lying down here and there. Still, it wasn't hard for him to find few bottles of gasoline. But most of them were empty. Some of them had a little amount of gasoline left inside. To be more sure, he searched the house but unfortunately found nothing.

The fuel covered for three molotovs. Still, a bit got left. But it wasn't possible to make another with that amount. So they decided to share the rest.

"We have three molotovs." David said, "Each of us gets one. All you have to do is light up the rag and throw it."

"What? Like are we supposed to just throw at them when we see them? Is that what you're trying to say?" Asked Rodriguez.

"No. You'll wait for my signal. Then we will through them at the same time. In this way, the impact will be more powerful. Since they are moving all together. We might even get lucky and get them all."

"What signal?"

"Umm..." David thought, "I'll whistle."

"What if we don't get all of them? Our hideouts would be discovered."

"Then we fight."

"This is risky."

"We don't have a choice."

"I think we should reconsider."

David looked at Rodriguez, "It's a do or die, Rodriguez. We are out of foods and water. They are on patrol all the time. There is no way to escape. Not to mention Jack needs proper medical attention. If this goes on like this. We would die anyway. So which is better?" David asked, "Dying with or without fighting?"

Rodriguez hesitated to answer. Deep inside, he always knew that fighting through it was the only option from the start. But being hidden all this time from them with an injured person affected his mentality. He didn't want to fight. Rather, he was scared. 

David is right, we have no other choice but to fight our way through this.

"What next?" Rodriguez asked.

"Next?" David said, "If we manage to finish them off, we would be able to get a hold to the jeep. And escaping this place would be a piece of cake."

"So, when are we doing this?"

David looked through the window, "We are doing this as soon as they come back."

"Hey, isn't this too early?"

"Nah." He shook his head, "It's already 2 days late."

...

"GYAAAAAAA!"

"AHHHHHH I AM BURNING!!"

"MY EYES!!"

"WATER!! WATER!!"

Few of their members were caught in fire and were running aimlessly to escape the pain of burning alive. But it was pointless. They were as good as dead. The guy seated on the back of the jeep was also burning alive. He left the while screaming and entered the forest. The rest of the members were taking cover behind the jeep and their bikes.

David slowly raised his head and tried to look through the window, "Tch, could've done better."

He loaded his rifle and looked at Ren. He was also ready with his gun on his hand. He also looked at David. David nodded. He also nodded back. David raised his head and looked through the window again to observe the place of their cover.

7 people. It would be hard. I didn't bring much ammo.

He heard some shootings coming from the house beside them.

Rodriguez. He has already started shooting.

The opposite team also started shooting.

I am assuming they didn't bring much weapons ammo either as it wouldn't take much to kill just 2 person. I hope they didn't bring grenades. We would be fucked otherwise. But if not, we still have the advantage. We could win...No, we will win.

David and Ren also started shooting. 7 people against 3. It was meant to be difficult. 

"Kill those motherfuckers!!" 

"They are hiding in those houses!!"

"Come out, pussies!! Are ya scared?! GYAAAHAHAHAHA!!"

The opposite team was shooting continuously. David and Ren spent most of the time taking cover. But David could hear Rodriguez shooting from the other side.

Tch, don't shoot pointlessly. At this point, you'll run out of ammo. David said to himself.

"Fuck, my gun got jammed." Ren said, "Not a time like this!!"

"Here use mine." David passed his handgun to Ren.

"Thanks."

"Stay low. Observe their position and aim for the head."

They continued with their shooting. David stood up sliding against the wall behind and keep away from the window. He laid his eyes on one. 

One shot. Only need one shot. It has to be real quick.

He exhaled, pointed his rifle and shot. The bullet hit the person's throat.

6 more to go.

"Fuck! They got one of us!!"

"It came from the right one!"

Ren also took position like David and shot one in the chest.

5 more to go.

...

"God dammit!!" The person next to the leader said, "We are getting fuck by them!!"

"Calm down! Take a good look." The leader said.

"What?!"

"There are three of them. Two on the right, one in the left." The leader said, "The one on the left is firing rapidly and carelessly. He would be out of ammo in no time."

"Yeah, I noticed that."

"We still have the chance to win." He said, "First, take him down when he is out. The rest will freak out and will start to lose their will."

"Okay."

"Just don't shoot yet. Wait...and watch."

...

10 minutes into the combat and Rodriguez already finished most of his ammo. He counted the last ones.

Shit, I've wasted my bullets. I am almost at the end of my line.

He peeked for a second.

5 of them are still alive. But I've got only 4 bullets left. Tch, I got all scared and wasted my bullets. Not to mention the combat when we first entered the town. 

He looked at the 4 bullets he had on his head. He started to freak out a little bit. He knew that if he couldn't take down 4 out of 4 with these bullets. The odds would be against them.

I gotta make these shots count no matter what!

He took some breath in and out. To be safer, he changed his position. He reloaded the last 4 bullets and hole the gun with his both hands. His hands were shaking and his heart was beating really fast.

No matter what, I gotta make these shots count!

He peeked through the window.

Found one. 

He pointed his hand.

Fuck, stop shaking.

He held his breath, pointed and shot. The bullet hit one of them in the head.

Okay, nice. 4 more. I can do this. Just keep calm. You got this.

He changed his position again. Proceed the same method. He pointed and shot. This one hit the person in the throat.

3 more. From 11 to 3. It is balanced now. We are winning.

He wiped away his sweats with his sleeves. He changed his position again. Held the gun with his shaken hands pointed and shot. This one hit the person on the head.

Just then he noticed. The left people were hiding behind the jeep. One of their's head was out of the cover a bit. 

If I can take him down. It will be down to 1. Then the victory is confirmed. I can do it. I can do it. I can do it. I can do it. It's up to me now. All these lies on my hand. If I can make the shot properly. We would win. If we can come this far, then we can surely win. Yes. Nothing can stop us now. But don't get carried away. If I take one wrong move. It would be all over. Stay calm, stay calm. Breath, breath. hoooo... I have still one bullet left. I can do this. But gotta make it hurry.

He pointed gun, stopped his breathing. His hands were still shaking. And he was sweating nonstop.

Here it goes.

He pulled the trigger. Nothing happened.

What??

He pulled the trigger again, nothing. He kept pulling the trigger. 

Wh-what?? I still have one bullet left. What is the matter??

He pulled out the magazine. It was empty.

Oi Oi...wh-where's the bullet?? I am sure there was another one. There was 4. I shot 3. Where is the another one??

He looked around the floor. Then he noticed. The 4th bullet, it was lying down a bit far away.

F-fuck! It might have slipped through when I was reloa-

"SHOOOOT NOOOW!!" one of the opposite team's member screamed out.

"Oh Fuc-" Rodriguez couldn't finish his sentence.

A bullet hit his head and his body fell on the ground.

___