The Hitman

The Hitman
He is breathing heavily. His calves burn so much it feels like they are on the surface of the sun. But he has to keep pushing. He can hear the distant barking of the dogs and see the faint glow of the far away flashlights.

The night air is cool on his face and, with no lights to show him his surroundings, he continuously trips on roots and gets smacked in the face by low hanging branches. Yet, regardless of the obstacles, he is a few hundred feet in front of his pursuers.

His lungs feel like they are about to explode with the force of an atomic bomb. "I need to keep going," he says to himself, even though it sounds more like a gasp than anything. "If I get caught, my life is over."

His run is more like a body convulsion now. With every step, his body hunches over in pain and then straightens back out before the next step. He grunts in pain every time his feet touch the ground after a stride.

A couple dozen feet in front of him, he sees a small clearing outside of the woods. For the last few feet, he finds a burst of energy and he sprints out of the woods onto a cliff. He looks down and there is a huge expanse of black water. The water looks incredibly cold and the waves crashing against the cliff look merciless and unforgiving.

He looks behind him. The shrubs a little farther back are rustling and the barking has become excedingly louder. IF he didn't jump, the things he would experience would make him lose all of his will to live. If he did survive the jump, his pursuers may think he is dead and end the search. He smirks at the thought. Just as the first dog jumps out into the open, he dives head first into the water.

~   ~   ~

My name is Seth Cameron. I guess you could consider me as "extremely dangerous." Or, at least, that's what the FBI pegged me as.

Although I am only seventeen, I'm a hitman. My friend's dad owns a gun shop and whenever I need a new gun or ammo, my friend gets me it. The dad is usually out hunting, so I never have to worry about running into him there. And, as long as I give my friend a quarter of all my profits, I don't have to pay and I'm set to go.

As I'm exiting my friend's shop, red and blue lights come speeding down the street with at least a dozen cop cars following the lead one. The first one drifts by the shop as the driver slams the brakes on. The others behind it allign themselves in a way where I wouldn't be able to get out without a fight and a lot of luck. But I don't need luck. I have wits. At least twenty cops in total all jump out of the cars and have their guns pointed at me.

"Put your hands behind your head and drop to the ground NOW!" one of them shouts from behind his car. I smirk. I'm not going down without a fight. I reach into one of the inside pockets of my jacket and pull the pin on the object I grab. The cops know what's going on. One of them shoots at me with the bullet just missing me and whizzing past my left ear. Before other gunshots follow it, I throw the frag grenade. No longer worrying about me but about getting away from the cars that will soon be exploding, they all run and dive behind some cover.

I take this as a golden opportunity. Before the frag goes off, I sprint in a direction that will eventually bring me to the woods located at the edge of my town. Seconds later, with me just out of range, a series of explosions goes off behind me and the surviving cops are screaming in pain, terror, and pure fury. I smirk again. Another squad evaded. Now all I need to do is get to the woods. Then I'm home free.