Almost all the roads were rough but this one was on a different level for Richard. Maybe it was because he was thinking too much about his wife and their unborn baby, or maybe it was just rough today. This wasn't the first time he was travelling to the boarder, in fact, he had lost count. And yet he still remembered the first time he became the "Master of the boarder," way before he had a daugter, or even a wife, with whom was about to labour again in three or four days...he didn't know. Everything reminded him of her. Slave trade was becoming dangerous as time went by, thanks to the rebellion that was slowly growing in the country, and this kind of deals demanded his presence.
Everything was going smoothly when he arrived, the merchants were pleased with the packages they ordered for and he expected this to end in a few days, even fewer than he had planned..or so he thought. The first day was a success and for a while, he tried to stop thinking about his small family when he was in his tent enjoying his evening meal. Unexpectedly, he got a message later the next evening that his wife had given birth to a boy, and that she was waiting for him to pick a name for the young master. So happy he was that he planned to leave his most trusted partner in charge the next day as he wanted to see the newest member of the Johnson family.
Suddenly, a loud shriek was heard from a distance followed by a ground shaking explosion. The rebellion attacked earlier than anticipated! He tried to run to his tent to grab his gun but alas! The tent was aflame within a blink of an eye. His guards tried their best but they were outnumbered that the only option was to flee, only to find their vehicles aflame. It came to the final option- run!
Anywhere away from the camp was safe, or at least safer because they were attacking from almost all directions and to add salt to the wound, the machandise joined the attack, and expectedly, he was the targeted kill. And no, the rabels didn't have any guns but whatever weapons they had, they were making good use of them.
He wasn't athletic enough and so eventually he got too tired after crossing the river. His remaining guard had to hide and hope the rebelion didn't venture that far looking for him. He covered him with mud then carefully and creatively covered him with twigs and leaves after giving him a pistol. He then left a visible trail leading away from the spot before vanishing, supposedly to look for a car.
This was the longest night Richard Johnson had ever experienced. Later on, about six or seven hours after the guard left, he could see them following the trails. Richard hoped his guard returned sooner because he had no chance whatsoever for survival. There were so many of them that the gun was of no use. He was even struggling to control his breath. He panicked even more when he saw how some of the merchants that had already paid him and left earlier in the day were tied up in a caravan and wore nothing but their underwear. "And here I am thinking of how rough my night is," he thought to himself. He shifted his hopes from expecting the guard sooner to expecting him in the morning. He didn't want to be tied like that, he couldn't survive that torture. And dying without seeing his son was the beast he feared most.
The numbness of his body had been making him uncomfortable as time went by, and so, a while after they had passed he tried to carefully turn. Immediately he moved his leg, he felt a cold movement on his leg followed by an excruciating pain on his ankle. He let out a painful groan as he quickly pushed himself out of his perfect hiding place. He heard a soft distant hiss in the next bush. It couldn't be! Just when he had thought the worst had passed! He limped towards the river to clean the mud on his foot and at least try, if atall he could, find a way of sucking out the venom, all that was in vain. He tore a piece of clothe from his shirt and tied hes leg, just above his knee, in an attempt to prevent the poison from reaching his heart. All the worst possibilities started crossing his mind, including the pain of dying before seeing his son. He washed his face so that, just in case his dead body was to be found, they'd recognise him. Not long after, everything got blurry. He quickly knew his time had come and he shed a tear as he succumbed to the dizziness and fell down...