Her Sacrifice
"GO!!" She pushed the people in front of her. She commanded them quietly to avoid being detected by the armed men chasing after them.
*BANG BANG BANG BANG*
"Find them and kill them all!" Someone yelled with full of angst after firing a gun.
They all turned their heads around to look at the direction where the faint sound of gunshots and the shouting came from. Basing on the volume of the voice, the bad guys are still quite a distance away from them. Feeling panicked knowing that the danger is near yet they are not moving at all, she ushered the others one more time. "GO! Now! Leave me and save yourselves!"
"But-"
"MOVE! Or else we all die here together!" She interrupted her friend. She is heavily hurt from all the past beatings and tortures they gave her. Not to mention a fresh gunshot wound on her shoulder when she shielded one of the other hostages. She was afraid that she will be a burden and will only slow down their escape, so the least she could to help is to let them leave her and let them run for their lives.
"Chloe! No-!"
"Just go! My legs are broken and useless. I can't run with you guys and it'll slow you down by carrying me, so just go! I'll keep hiding in here. Come back for me when you get to the soldiers and everyone else is safe." Jung Ji Won, or Chloe (her English name), held her friend's hand.
Anthony, her Filipino friend and colleague, started tearing up when he heard Ji Won's words. Her selflessness and bravery was just on another level. "I promise!! We'll definitely comeback for you! Stay safe until then please."
"mmn... Okay. Now go." She looked at all the people in front of her and flashed each and everyone a faint smile as an encouragement.
Ji Won watched as the rest of the hostages ran to the woods. When they were nowhere in sight, she sighed in relief. Looking down at her injured legs and feet, she chuckled in self-pity.
Gunshots and screams of agony and pain can be heard from all directions. But right now, she was not affected at all by these sounds. She doesn't look afraid at all. Her eyes only reflect a mixture of sadness and giving up. With her cold hands, she puts pressure on her wound that's still oozing a lot of blood.
Accepting that this might be her end, she was ready to die on this cold night, alone in a dense forest. Bit by bit, her energy is slowly depleting, she cleared her mind and let the darkness engulf her.
-----
3 years later...
At a private VIP hospital room...
*beep beep beep*
Only the beeping sound from the machine and the slow and steady breathing of the beauty through the nasal cannula can be heard inside the quiet room. The sunlight shines the room through the windows. The white curtains are swaying along the winter breeze from the outside. The sleeping beauty lying limply on the hospital bed, her thick and long brunette locks spread over the white pillows. Her skin has become paler, as white as the untouched snow for not being out under the sunlight for 3 years.
Suddenly, her pointer finger on her left hand twitched. The first one was barely noticeable. The second time her finger twitched just after a few seconds after the first movement, it became stronger.