Kapitel 3: Escape

Bang

Max, in the nick of time, moved his head to the side as he somehow was able to feel the bullet just graze past his ear.

Max quickly took the gun from that man's hand and punched him in the face.

The other two were surprised to see their teammate miss such a clear shot at such close range.

However, just as they were about to aim, they heard the sound of a gunshot again.

BangBangBang

Three shots were fired from the gun in Max's hand, which hit right in their heads.

Their bodies were about to drop, and with their remaining consciousness, they saw Max had already left the door.

Thud

Along with the sound of their bodies dropping, Max also slid open the kitchen door.

Max turned his head around in panic when he didn't see Ana in front of his eyes. From the corner of his eyes, he saw a man carrying Ana in his arms. He was trying to get up the wall but was failing because of Ana's trashing.

"Shut up!" The man in anger was about to punch Ana when suddenly.

Bang

A strong pain ran throughout his head, and his consciousness became blurry.

Ana landed on the ground and got terrified by the blood on her body and the wide-open eyes of the uncle that was taking her away.

She got up and ran toward Max. "Papa."

Max's hand fell, which was holding the gun that had smoke coming out of it. He squatted down and hugged Ana. "Ana, are you okay?"

"Papa…papa….that uncle is…is…" Ana clearly was still in fear of what she saw with her eyes.

Max took his daughter in his chest and got up. He rubbed her back, caressing it softly, which calmed her down. He said it with a bit of sadness in his voice. "I am sorry, daughter. It will be alright."

Then Max's ears picked up the sound of footsteps.

He ran into the wall and jumped over it by grabbing its top. He did it effortlessly, unlike the previous guy, who was struggling many times.

Max tucked Ana's head inside his chest and ran toward the forest.

"There they are! Shoot them!" One of the men noticed their escape and alarmed the others.

They came around the corner and chased while shooting at Max.

BangBang…

Max dodged some and quickly turned to another to escape.

"You guys stay in the car, we will tell you where they will go." A guy said to a walkie-talkie in his hand and ran with his teammates.

Max looked around him, trying to find a way to escape faster.

However, unlucky for him, nothing passed by him.

'Damn it!' Cursing in his mind, he decided to use the only thing his eyes caught.

He grabbed a bicycle that was parked outside a house, and from the looks of it, it was used by a delivery boy.

"Hold me tightly." Max made Ana hug him like a koala. He started paddling at a fast speed from the start, and the slippery road helped him furthermore.

Riding it, he would go around from time to time but wouldn't find anyone. But just as he was about to pass by a cross-section, his eyes caught a glimpse of a car coming toward them at full speed.

Luckily, Max was about to pass that section quickly, but it alarmed all the people that were searching.

Max paddled in a hurry as a snowy mountain came into view. He could use the woods to hide and escape, and the steep snow would give vehicles a hard time, especially motorcycles, which could be used there too.

Quickly, coming before the foot of the mountain, he took Ana deep into it.

The cars which were all chasing him finally was to catch a glimpse of him climbing the mountain. They were having a hard time chasing Max because of the flexibility and mobility of the bicycle on narrow roads.

"Kill them fast; the police are warned. They will be coming at us shortly."

They got out of the car and chased behind Max on foot.

Bang

A bullet missed Max and hit a tree ahead of him. He quickly picked up the pace and used the trees to help him hide.

Along the way, Max would shoot them back, which he wouldn't miss unlike them.

He was the top assassin for a reason.

Ana suddenly watched as her father killed many uncles along the way. "Papa, are you a bad guy?"

Max was stumped for a second but quickly regained his composure.

Bang

Killing another man, he said to Ana with a cold face."Yes, Ana. Your papa is a bad guy. He kills people to live. Ana…Do you hate papa?"

Ana immediately shook her head. "I do not hate you, papa. I know you are doing this to save Ana. Papa is a knight for Ana like Hueg is a knight for Princess Vanety in My Adventure."

Max's heart raced upon hearing those words, and tears started to come out of his eyes.

"My Adventure" was a cartoon show about a knight and princess going on a journey where the knight would save the princess every time. It was Ana's favorite show.

Max shot another person and spoke with a shaky voice. "I am very fortunate."

He felt he was blessed with the best daughter ever.

Max put Ana down beside a tree and looked at her big, curious eyes. He rubbed her head and said with a smile."Ana, can you wait? Papa will take care of those uncles."

Ana squeezed her fist and strongly nodded her head.

"What a brave girl." Max walked away, leaving behind his last words. "Stay there; don't go anywhere. Papa will come."

Ana saw her papa's figure vanish in the sudden hail. She crouched down and heated her hands by breathing into them. 'Papa, come back quickly, please.'

Ana waited silently in the bone-aching cold that was on the mountain, and it increased much more as the intensity of the hail escalated.