Chapter 7: Dream On
He was running. Running out of his breath. Running for his life.
There were bruises and cuts all over his body and they were burning against his skin. But he didn't stop. This was important. This was the mission.
He checked his pockets again. The drive was still there. It hadn't got lost in the shuffle earlier.
They will be coming back for it soon, he thought. I got to keep moving.
The sounds of screeching tires broke his line of thought. They had found him. He needed to hide.
That's when he saw their ride. It was a black SUV parked over where he had been just minutes ago. How did they find him so quickly?
He looked for faces in the strike team who had been sent after him. He recognized a few of them.
I trusted them. I trusted them with my life and now they're here to kill me.
He checked his cell. There was still no reply. Nobody was coming to help.
I'm on my own.
He briefly thought about calling his godfather. No, that would put him under danger rather unnecessarily.
But he needed to get this drive in the right hands. Whom to call? Whom to trust?
The strike team was circling on his location. I need to find cover, he thought.
There was a warehouse nearby. He ran into it before the team could spot him.
He checked for his gun. There was still a few rounds left. Not enough to take them all out.
There is very little chance of me getting out of here alive. But this drive needs to get out. How? How to get it out?
Just then a bullet whizzed past over his head. Here we go again, he thought.
He immediately ran inside to the large box laid out and hid himself. But the strike team was moving fast towards him. He wouldn't be able to hide for long
Soon they had reached his hideout and the rounds were fired again. This was not his normal standard issue gun. These were machine guns. This is going to tear the place apart.
He waited for the firing to end. They had to reload the clip at some point. And then it happened. The firing stopped and he could hear the shuffling of clips.
He took his opportunity and shot the nearest two that were firing at him. He saw that he had found his mark, but he didn't wait there. He shot a few more rounds and ran for the back door.
The drive was still secure. There is a lake nearby, he remembered. I could find my way out of there.
He bolted the back door on his way out. That should keep the strike at bay for a few minutes. Then he started to run towards the lake as a fast as he could and he reached till the waterfalls. But the feeling of a gunshot wheezing past him stopped him in his tracks. He turned around for the source. It was a single man.
He was dressed completely in black, had a black mask on with goggles over his eyes. And he had a shining metallic left arm with a red star on top.
He immediately knew who this person was. The person who many believed to be just a myth. It was the Soldier.
He had known that the soldier was connected to all of this, but never for a second had he thought that they would actually send him to retrieve the drive.
I'm dead.
The soldier walked up to him and pointed his gun straight at his forehead and held a hand out. Obviously, he was here for the drive and wanted it to be handed to him.
The strike team would join them at any moment and then there would be no escape. How do I get out of this?
The waterfalls behind me. That's the only escape, he thought. He slowly inched towards the falls. He was sure that the soldier had noticed the movement but he didn't move an inch and just kept on pointing the gun, holding his hand out.
The soldier was still staring down at him. He should have shot me by now? Did he have orders to take me alive?
He inched towards the falls a little more but this time the soldier didn't stay idle. He actually fired at him. But the soldier shooting him also prompted him to shoot back at the soldier's head. The bullet hit the mask but it didn't have the desired effect. It didn't even put a dent on his face.
The soldier was unfazed by the shot.
But the soldier hadn't missed his shot. The bullet hit him just below his left knee.
The shot at point blank range actually brought him down to his knees.
He looked up at the soldier and the gun pointed to his face. This is how I'm going to die.
The shot he had fired had some effect on the mask because the soldier was removing it now along with the goggles.
But the face he saw under the mask actually shocked him.
I know this man. But it couldn't be him. He was presumed dead decades ago. How could it be him?
He called out to the man, "Sergeant". This was a last ditch effort.
The soldier faltered for a moment as if recognizing the title he was referred to.
"You don't have to do this".
These words caused the soldier to drop his gun a little.
This was his opportunity. He pulled the gun on the soldier.
But that was his big mistake, because as soon as he pulled the gun the soldier shot him in the chest. The force of the shot propelled him over the edge and he started falling down the waterfalls.
I'm going to die.
Harry woke up before he hit the water.
Another dream? Where are these things coming from?
But waking up brought him back to the predicament at hand. He was shot in the chest just like in the dream by the same person. But he wasn't dead. He could feel the pain in the chest. Why did he dream that? Was it real?
But then he remembered the events after being shot. He remembered being pulled into himself and the tightening around his chest, feeling his breath leave him. He had apparated.
But the real shocker was what happened after. He remembered seeing a face. The face of his godfather.
Harry opened his eyes for the first time after waking up and looked around. This wasn't a hospital. This was just a shabby room. Where was he?
He tried to get up from the bed, but found himself unable to do so. That's when he came to a startling realization.
He was chained to the bed.