It took me a while to realize that my eyes was already open, it was as if the environment was blanketed by darkness. I tried moving my arms but they didn’t move, I started to feel the metal wrapping around my wrist. A bulb flickered on, the bright yellow light from the bulb blinded me for some seconds. After my vision got clearer, I realized that I was seating in a wooden cabin with my arms chained to the wall. Aaron was seated on a metallic chair facing me, he had a pistol in his hand. 

“Where is Susan?!”

“She is right beside you.”

There was a figure lying by me, I couldn’t see the person’s face because was turned away from me. Aaron tapped the pistol gently on his laps, as if he was beating a drum with the gun’s muzzle.

“You have been awake for how long? Ten? Fifteen minutes? And you still didn’t notice the girl lying beside you, after all that training you received.”

“Susan! Susan! It’s her cloth, What did you do to her?!”

“Chill out, she is not dead, she is just sleeping, I gave her a bit of my medicine.”

I struggled and pulled the chain binding me, it didn’t budge.

“Susan! Susan!!!”

“I promised you that I will show you Susan, now that you’ve seen her, I’ve fulfilled my part of the deal.”

Aaron cocked the pistol, “Now I will show you God, any last words?”

“Yes, I have something I want to say to you!”

Aaron pulled the trigger, my heart skipped a beat, no bullet was fired. My heart beat rate spiked. Can empty chamber, you are lucky. This gun contains just a bullet in one chamber, I guess the universe still wants you to speak. Choose your next words wisely.” Aaron said as he cocked the pistol. “If.... if.. if you.. you ki.. kill me, you.. wii... will mae.. mae.. make.. thi.. things worse for.. for you.. your.. yourself.” My heart was in my mouth as I uttered those words out loud. “And why is that?” Aaron asked. “My job was to find you, finding Susan is Kelvin’s job. I have the location of my phone turned on, and I told Kelvin to keep tracking me. He is probably on his way here, and I am sure he will bring the police with him. So if you kill me, there is no way you can explain all this to the police. That is why I should be breathing when the police gets here, so that I can convince them that this is not what it looks like. All I want is to get my friend back, please, I want nothing from you.” After saying that I was surprised, I told so many lies with a straight face. Kelvin doesn’t have my location co-ordinates, so he has no way to track me. And I just don’t want to rescue Susan, I want to ruin Aaron’s life after I rescue Susan. Destroying him was the only thing my heart yearned for.

   Aaron pulled the trigger again, no bullet was fired, the chamber was empty. “First of all, your friend Kelvin is in police custody. So you have only three chances left.” Aaron pushed for some seconds, then he continued, “You remind me so much of Azrael, your father. He called me this evening and told me to make sure I kill you.” Aaron’s word sent shivers down my spine,  “You.. you know my father?” I asked.

“Kid to tell you the truth, all of this is a game you can’t win, none of this was a coincidence. Even though I might be ruthless most of the times, I am beginning to feel sorry for you.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I am not allowed to tell you this, but since I am still going to kill you..... I will just tell you. Do you remember those puzzles and trainings you received as a kid?”

“Yes.”

“It was to prepare you for now, for these tests.”

“Tests?”

“Yes, two tests, the first being to find Susan. Before she is killed.”

For some reason, Aaron’s words reminded me of what we saw in the store that night, the piece of paper with the message, ‘your parents are killers,” written on. The boy in the picture, Alexander.

“Who is Alexander?”

Aaron stood to his feet, pointed the gun at me and pulled the trigger. No bullet was fired, “ it’s now fifty-fifty for you kid.” Aaron said. “What if all this was to set you up? Once you kill me, the police will get here and arrest you!” I yelled. “Don’t act smart kid, all these ideas will get you nowhere.” Aaron replied.

“Do you really trust someone that ordered you to kill their own child?”

“I am quite that all the things I revealed didn’t affect you psychologically in any way, you are really your father’s son.”

Aaron pulled the trigger, no bullet was fired.

“You are now on your last straw kid, the next time I pull this trigger, you’ll be joining your ancestors.”

I heard a faint sound, Aaron heard it too. The sound got louder by the second, it was the sound of a siren. Aaron walked to the window, he opened the blinds and peeped through. “This wasn’t part of the plan.” He murmured, I heard him. Aaron sat down on the floor with his back rested on the wall, then he placed his two hands on his head. “What’s wrong?” I asked. “You were right kid, your father tricked me, the police is here.” If Aaron looked at me as he spoke, he would’ve seen the smirk on my face. I had the upper hand, this game will now be played by my terms.