Nemo

A weird guy called Nemo traps two victims...

 

Feeling an unpleasant smell after the freezing water on which I was lying had woken me up. I opened my eyes, which were only able to see the darkness. They were burning because of the smell, just like my lungs which had already gotten used to the smell. Something near me was burning.

The only ray of light diving through the window had lightened the room up a bit. Without that ray, I would be too afraid to walk. I was afraid of the dark, so I felt the need of rushing towards the window. I dragged my body through the water, breathing deeply not to freak out.

I had finally reached the window, the light. I sighed happily and wanted to open the window, so that I could get rid of the smell of pain. I reached the knob and harming my wrists, I tried to turn it. It was locked. I stuck my face onto the glass to see if there was anybody to help me out, but all I could see was plain solitude. With a faint fear, I knew I had to turn the lights on. I had to find the switch in the dark. I held my breath and dived through the darkness, touching the walls for some help.

I found the switch, just before I heard a painful cough. I was not alone in the room. I switched the light on and it flickered, but darkness was dominant enough to kill the light. I asked who that was. He would not answer; instead he gave a quick hateful question, wondering where we were.

“No idea,” I spoke silently. He could be the one who had trapped me there. Ready to attack, I made him speak to find where he was. Yet, I suspected that he could be armed.

“Me neither,” he spoke. “Tell me who you are.”

I sneaked towards him as I covered the faint splashes up with my voice. I could hear that he was moving faintly. Maybe he had realized my closure as my voice got closer to his ears, or maybe it was just the splashes that made him aware and that made him prepare for an encounter. I decided to tell him a false name, maybe he could set me free that way.

“Richard England,” I spoke, stepping further from the light not to be seen.

“Come on,” he rudely grunted, “Step into the light. I know you are lying.”

“Tell me who you are, first!” I howled.

“Does that really matter? Do what I tell you, I have a gun.”

“You cannot see me,” I replied, but then realized that he could hear me. I had to obey him to stay alive. I walked towards the little window.

After a silent observation, he spoke. He was close to me, but his face was still in the dark. I could hear his muscular legs in his trousers and his huge boots, but that was all. Judging from what I could see, he did not need a gun to kill me. He could kill me in minutes and with bare hands. “Hopefully,” he replied, “You are not him.” He sighed.

“Who?”

“The man called Nemo,” he spoke. “My rival.”

“Tell me more.”

“Nemo,” he spoke. “He likes it when he knocks some men out and keeps them in a secret place until they are saved, and shoots them when they escape themselves.”

“Shoots them? How do you know?”

“Nemo used to be a friend of mine. We were soldiers, fighting for the same aim. You know that war in Iraq, don’t you?” He went on, seeing me nod. “Well, we were friends until that day when we were attacked.

“We thought the danger was over that day, so we were having a man-to-man chat and walking in the streets of Iraq. Suddenly, the stabbing sound of a sniper was heard. Nemo was shot, he could not stand up. I escaped and he wanted to take revenge on me then, for not saving him.

“For years, he did everything to frighten me. He posted the photos of captives who starved to death or were shot. Those disgusting photos were enough for me to fear, so I changed my address. I moved to another city, but it seems like he has found me, because I remember men following me. Then I woke up here tonight… Anyway, what did you have to do with Nemo?”

“I don’t know why he has chosen me,” I replied.

“Maybe it was just to force me to see somebody suffering live before my eyes, or maybe it was you that angered him. Don’t you have a reason?”

“Not really… I am pretty much of an antisocial. I don’t speak much; I don’t have many friends here.”

“Maybe that was the thing irritating him,” he spoke, “Your being antisocial.”

“Insane,” I barked. “So, isn’t there any way out?” The man replied negatively, with a quick answer.

“You will be shot if you leave,” he added, “He shots too accurately to hide from. By the way, call me Finn.”

“I think we can escape from this place,” I replied without leaving a pause between his words and mines. “You told me you have a weapon. You could break the glass.”

“That was truly a lie. If I had a firearm, I’d already have shot you down. Move away, though. Let me try breaking it.”

I could see his scarred face as he came closer to the window. His scars were long and thin, like narrow paths from his sweaty cheeks towards his eyeballs. He had numerous scars on his arms, too.

He stepped behind and inhaled deeply. His punch met the thin glass with a scream and a crash. He made it.

“Go and check,” he ordered. “If it’s worth coming outside, I will. You know, it’s hard for me to exit from such a small door – I don’t want to be scarred again for nothing.”

With utmost agility I plunged through the windowpane and stepped onto the terrain. No gunshots could be heard and I reached some light at last. A new day had just dawned. I leaned towards Finn’s arms and pulled him outside. He thanked me for it.

We were in the middle of a deserted farm, out of the dark house. I could hear Finn sigh. “We made it,” I spoke. “We could escape.”

“I was not expecting the escape to be this easy,” he hummed, searching for a sniper aimed at us. “No tall buildings around… I can’t believe that he just let me go.” I agreed, but this way it was much better. No risk of death, I thought, all we had to do was to find someone to help us after walking towards the highway across the farm. Finn followed me.

Two cars passed us by, without offering some help. Then a white car, almost ruined and too old to be seen around those days, pulled up near us. A driver with a brown cowboy hat left the car.

“What are you doing here?”

“We come from that cottage,” Finn spoke. “We want to go back to the city.”

The man nodded. “Alright, where in the city?”

“Just a place where there’s life… We want to escape from this place.”

The man gently invited us into his car and as we settled, he turned on a country tune and started to sing along. When the song was over, he asked how we ended up there. I realized I could remember something before the abduction, a dinner in a friend’s house, but I did not let anyone know about that. I, instead, asked Finn how Nemo looked like.

“Nothing extraordinary,” he mouthed. “He is a thin guy, he looks too weak. Though, he hides a monster behind those little eyes of his.” He addressed the driver. “Do you have a cigar to spare?” He leaned towards the sunburned hands of the driver and when his body leaned on his back again, exhaling a mouthful of gray mist, he sighed with joy.

I tried to remember how my friend looked like. He could not be Nemo; of course, my friend had never been in Iraq in his life, even for a trip. He did not know how to fire a gun either, and he turned out to be much taller than Nemo, according to the way Finn had described him. I searched for my mobile phone to call my friend, but it was gone.

“No worries,” Finn talked desperately, “You won’t need it when you die.”

The silent driver slowed down before a crossing. He was surely not listening to us, he looked as deaf as walls. He slowed down, made a decision and went on his way, wordlessly as before.

“Where do you live?” Finn asked the driver. He did not show any reaction. I heard the car doors get locked. Finn repeated the question when I realized that he was driving faster than before, trying to go as farther than the city as he could. We had passed the last gas-stop already, before the next barren land. I glanced at Finn in terror, who had prepared his fists for a fight.

“Where are you going?” I asked. No reaction, like before. Finn pushed me away from the driver, not to let me block his distance to the driver. Quick as a flash, he grabbed the throat of the driver and threatened him to kill if he did not speak. The car span on the barren road, but the driver could stop it without causing any harm.

“Look, I really have to take you to the address I’m given,” he uttered and begged us not to cause any problems.

“WHAT IS THE ADDRESS?” Finn had freaked out. The driver rushed his hands towards his pockets; we had to expect him to draw his gun at us. Instead, he gave Finn a wrinkled piece of paper.

“I really have to,” he repeated. “They got my daughter, I have to save her!”

“Who are they?”

“I heard you talking about a guy named Nemo. I think the head of them is the guy you’re looking for.”

“Then take us to the damn address,” Finn yelled. “We have no time to waste. We’ll save your daughter and take Nemo down.”

“We can’t.” I could talk at last; it was good to feel that I had recovered a long-lasting shock and terror. Finn was ready to shout at me too, I could see that in his eyes. “We do not have any weapons,” I added silently. A synchronic sigh of two people followed, then a deep silence. The man started the car again with a smile:

“I have one.”

He lifted a wrapped little box carefully and laid it onto the passenger seat next to him. He then asked Finn to open the box for him. “This was a delivery from Nemo,” he added, “to be opened in case of emergency.”

Finn grinned as he unwrapped his present. He was disappointed to see a Parabellum, not because the box was deep enough for a bigger weapon, but because he would have more fun by shooting Nemo with a machine gun.

“A CZ7 5/85,” I spoke, “Known to be the most accurate one…”

“Trying to impress me, aren’t you?” Finn grinned. “Yeah, much better than the other Ceskas. Though, a Steyr AUG HBAR-T would be much better.” He had defeated me this time, I did not know much about machine guns. He turned his face rapidly towards the driver. “Is this all you have?”

“It is.”

“And when do you think we’ll get there?”

“We’re close to the address… Do you know how to handle a gun?”

“I used to be a soldier, an accurate one.”

“Nice,” the driver spoke, “You will need your skills.”

We had arrived in fifteen minutes. We were near a cottage, but this time it was different. The daughter of the driver was there, and so was Nemo. We had to do our bests to save the girl and kill Nemo.

The driver pulled up and tried to create a plan, but I gently interrupted him to suggest my plan to the guys.

“Finn knows how to use a gun, so he keeps the gun. We enter the building, you save your daughter and go outside to secure her when we start a brawl, after being sure you are safe. When the girl is secured, you too come and join us.”

“That will fail,” Finn warned strictly. “We only have one gun here. Can you use martial arts?” I shook my head. “Then, there will be a little change in the plan. You know how to use a gun, don’t you?”

“Not much,” I replied. “I’ve never taken any shots before. I only know their names and such.”

“Alright, aim the weapon at the threat and pull the trigger. Don’t try any headshots until you get the grip of it. Just try to weaken them and I’ll do the rest. The new plan, to summarize, is that we all enter, this guy keeps the gun. When you two go out, we will start the fight. And you,” he pointed at the driver, “after securing the child you will join the fight too. We can’t do it all alone. As for Nemo, leave him alive for me.”

When we left the car behind, I could feel the strange sensation deep inside. Was it excitement, fury or fear? It was a vague feeling, but it was enough to leave me breathless. I kept my hand close to the gun hidden under my shirt. Finn quietly asked if everyone was ready and seeing us nod, he commanded the driver to knock the door.

“Brought them here,” the driver replied the bodyguard who answered. “I want to see the boss.”

“You three, follow me.” He gently span on his heels and walked towards the room which was occupied by a tiny man in his yellow raincoat, and a girl who could be nine at most. The driver quickly rushed towards her daughter and had begun cuddling her when the tiny guy interrupted their love.

“It is good to see such obedient people.”

“Nemo,” Finn whispered, but Nemo ignored Finn. Instead, he went on talking to the driver.

“It must have been hard to make them follow you. I hope you didn’t neglect the gun.” He glanced at us. “Give me the gun.”

“It is in the car,” the driver replied fluently.

“And what made them follow you? Love?” He gave a noisy laughter which turned the girl’s face into a sour expression of hatred and fear.

“They knew that Ellen was kept here. They have feelings, Nemo.”

“Nice,” he spoke, turning to Finn. “It’s been a long time, mate.” He stood up, ordering his men to lead the driver out with her daughter.

“I am not your mate,” howled Finn.

“Too bad, I now have a reason to kill you.” He returned to his seat. “And you,” he addressed me. “I know you are not Richard England.”

“How do you know about that pseudonym?”

“I watched and heard everything there in the cottage. I set you free, to make my plans become real. I kidnapped a girl, I locked you up, I gave the girl’s father two addresses and when you saved yourself, he had reached you. Then, he took you here. Nice plan, isn’t it?”

“I don’t understand what it has to do with me. It is your enmity; I don’t see myself related to it.” I couldn’t believe that I could speak to a psychopath in such a rude and aggressive way. I was expecting him to bark at me, or stand up to hurt me, but he acted calm.

“You remember, cousin, what happened when you stole my bicycle?”

“Your cousin?” Finn was slowly being driven mad.

“Yes, I am,” Nemo replied. “I told you I would be back for revenge before my escape.” I nodded. “I have been following you for a long time. Though, it is not a surprise that you cannot remember me right now. We were just seven when I left.”

“I still can’t believe that you are my cousin Jack.”

“Call me Nemo,” he corrected, “And to prove it I can tell you my story. After the death of my family, your mother took care of me when we were three. We were being raised just like brothers – until we were seven. You stole the bike I was awarded in a contest and I was angry enough to escape.”

“All correct.” I was shocked. “And what happened after the escape?”

“I lived like a homeless for a year. One day, I met a fortune teller. When I told her I was homeless, she took care of me. She tried to teach me how to foresee and tried to make me a fortune teller, too, but I wanted to own physical power. I escaped her tent and was back to theft. I improved my agility.

“I was 20 when I was accepted to a secret organization of the strongest thieves in the world. We planned an attack on the Whitehouse, but I had a severe accident during the attack. I remember seeing a huge man near me before passing out, after something exploded near me. He saved me then, taking me to a hospital. He knew I was a thief, but because of being a member of the organization he was sure I could be their man. I learned that he wanted me as a secret agent when he came with an offer. When I accepted, everything about Jack Winston changed. His face was gone; his ID was changed and such. A man who was called Nemo was born then.”

“And this guy called Nemo was sent to Iraq to gather some information,” Finn added, “after further training.”

“Right,” he spoke. “And you know the rest, I suppose. Finn spoke of our story, judging from what I’ve heard when monitoring you.”

“And your new name, Nemo… what does that mean?”

“Nobody,” Nemo sighed. “I am plain nobody, can’t you see? Everyone thinks that Jack is dead, but he is alive. Weird, no?”

“Sorry, cousin.” I drew my gun. “You have to pay for each and every single ruined life. You are somebody, and who you are is an uncontrollable psycho-killer.”

“Shut up.” He stood angrily. “Killing makes me feel fine.” With a slight movement of his head, the bodyguards in the room took out their Ingrams. “Or you will die.”

“I AM NOT AFRAID OF YOU!” I shot him. It was not a headshot, as Finn could expect. Right after the shot, when I saw Nemo bleed on the ground, the weapon slid down and away from my shaking hands.

“Your first shot,” Nemo could hardly speak, “Pretty fine for a starter.” I heard the bodyguards get ready for an attack and in half a second, I kicked Nemo’s table and rolled behind it, grabbing the gun. While I was trying to kick the chair, I saw Finn grabbing the wrist of a bodyguard and taking his weapon. All that happened in less than two seconds.

As I tried to shoot the guards, Finn had come nearer to me. He crouched behind the iron table. Finn shouted he was proud of me when he realized that I had just killed a bodyguard. When the last bodyguard was down, I dropped my gun too, in fear.

“I quit,” I cried.

“Well done, boy!” Finn got up. “We are safe now. Are you alright?”

“Not shot… hopefully.”

“Leave us alone with Nemo, then.” He blinked. I looked at my mortally wounded cousin, who was crying painfully on the floor, away from the table.

“Well done,” Nemo whispered. “You have talent, cousin.” Trying to ignore the emotional scene of two brother-like people, one of whom had just killed the other, coming together, I left the cottage and hoped to find the driver and her daughter outside. Their corpses were lying on the yellow grass. The bodyguard had shot them after hearing a gunshot, probably. Maybe these were plain orders by Nemo, maybe he felt he was in danger. I stood there as I heard Nemo cry painfully, again and again.

Author's Note

this will be handed in as a homework... wish me luck with it :)