Among the enemy

Rou hid from the noise behind an abandoned stone house, the vehicle patrols did not stop sounding near his position, leaving him a small space to catch his breath before looking for a new hiding place.

The sour taste inside still lingered in his mouth, it was the first time his hands were stained with blood and he could still see the stains on the helmet he took from the guard before he started running.

"That trash should not be far, continue searching the southern sector of the island," said one of the guards leading a group of 3 men to his side.

Closely following the dirt road that led off to the west of the lighthouse, Rou came to an abandoned building. The building rose some 20 meters above the ground, the main entrance was blocked by some welded metal bars and a couple of padlocks. Still, after circling the place for a few minutes, Rou was able to enter the interior after finding a broken window.

Without a trace of light inside, Rou waited for his vision to get used to the darkness as he brushed off the dirt on his body.

His mind was still in turbulence, it was the first time he had taken someone's life, even if it was unintentional. Rou had heard of killers seeing the world differently after taking another person's life, creating within himself another personality willing to bear the burden of the lives he took in the future.

"If I was cornered again, would I shoot without fear?" he asked himself looking at the rifle he got from the guard. He now had a way to defend himself, but it wasn't entirely safe, Rou didn't know how to handle the rifle, plus if he fired and failed to hit his target his life would be over.

When his vision allowed him to see part of his surroundings, Rou found that he was in a warehouse at least 50 meters long. The boxes stacked in the warehouse were covered with dust, sealed with a large amount of black tape.

Before opening one of the crates, Rou's eyes sparkled as he found a water faucet near his position. He quickly walked over and turned on the faucet waiting for the water to come out. A few seconds passed and the sound of water was heard, after the water came out, Rou waited for a few more seconds for the color of the water to clear and began to drink his fill.

Taking off all the dirty clothes he was wearing, Rou brought to his side a metal bucket and started to clean his body to remove all the putrid smell he was carrying. While Rou was concentrating on cleaning his body, a familiar scent came to his position.

"This must be...", Rou stood up naked and ran towards one of the boxes that caught his attention, as the smell on him was washed away by the water, Rou was able to get an idea of the contents of the boxes closest to him.

"I knew it was soap, it seems that luck has not completely abandoned me", after opening one of the boxes, Rou found inside a large amount of bar soaps, of a brand unknown to him. Without wasting any time, he returned to the water bucket and changed its contents when he noticed that the water was turbulent.

It took him about twenty minutes to remove almost all the dirt on his body and he stood up in the darkness satisfied with his work.

The suit he got from the guard named Ted was one size smaller than his. Rou looked at the design of the suit and it reminded him of the one used by the German army during their expansion into the European continent. Unlike the suits worn by the guards inside the prison, the suit in his hands was black in color and on top of the helmet, it had a compartment where he could store some belongings.

After a few minutes, Rou changed his appearance radically. His posture was straight and a large part of his stomach was hidden by the suit, which had an inner girdle that was at its limits.

Rou adjusted the collar of the suit, as high as he could and put on the night vision helmet, hiding his face making him totally unrecognizable.

"I hope this works," Rou climbed out the cellar window after the patrols arrived at his location.

As Rou walked along the shore of the island, he saw in the distance a two men walking in his direction with the rifle pointed directly at his head. "Stop right there. Identify yourself before we open fire," said one of the guards.

Rou froze, trying to control his nervousness, he clutched the rifle in his sweaty hands and with an interrupted voice replied. "I got lost, while searching for the fugitive I got separated from my group and I don't know where I am," Rou said while positioning one of his fingers on the trigger of the gun in his hands.

"Ah...are you an idiot. How could you possibly get lost on this small island," the other guard replied lowering his gun as he identified Rou as one of his allies. "If you want you can accompany us until we have to go back, we could use a hand from someone like you," the guard mistook Rou's bulky body for someone muscular.

"Still, I've never seen someone your size, how long ago did you come to Vargo?" the other guard asked walking westward across the sandy beach.

Rou kept pace with the men across the beach, "A couple of weeks, I'm still not used to this place."

"I see, you're a newbie, it's normal that you don't know this place well. Now I'd be at the station drinking for a while if it wasn't for that fucker who escaped from the southeast area, when I see him I'll put every bullet in my gun in him in just a second.

Rou choked for a moment as he heard the guard's words, how many seconds would he last alive the moment they discovered his identity.

"Tell me kid, how did you come to this damn place?" asked one of the guards leading the group.

Rou remembered the bony fucker who drugged him, shaking his head he replied, "I need the money, besides, how do they know I'm a kid?" he asked.

"Ha, where did we start," laughed the two guards. "Your stature is too short for the job, so you must be a child who just left his mother's breast or you must have had many problems in your life, secondly, every now and then your voice reveals a high pitched tone indicating that you still lack maturity, thirdly and most importantly, only a child would neglect like that how to wear the suit of a trained guard. So wait there and don't move, I'll help you with that".

The guard pulled Rou as if he were a rag, what kind of strength he must have had to lift Rou so easily. After a few seconds, the disheveled suit on Rou's body was in perfect condition.

"See, that's how it should be used," the guard returned to the front. "Now let's move on, we still need to finish checking Beid Beach before we return.

Rou listened to the men's conversation, both were retired military men who came to that place after the situation in their countries deteriorated. What was strange to Rou was the way their gazes changed every time they named their place of origin.

It was the same look that Brother Kang gave him when Rou named the fort of Abaroh.

After about 5 minutes, the three of them arrived at the end of the beach, where about 20 guards were boarding the transport vehicles.

"By the way kid, you still haven't told us your name," said the guard who seemed to be the leader.

Rou hesitated for a moment, what name should he give, the moment they discovered his lie he was dead, but if he delayed too long in answering he would be even more suspicious.

When a man, dressed in a red uniform, with a stern aura about him walked in his direction , Rou answered so as not to be questioned by the others, "My name is Dmitry," Rou said getting into the vehicle next to the two men.

"Good name kid, mine is Klaos and my partner's name is Melniv. Now let's get back let's have a drink, it seems the fugitive has already been found," said Klaos, the leader of the group indicating the driver of the vehicle to move forward.

"Did they find the fugitive?" asked Rou not believing Klaos' words.

"Of course, there is no possible escape from Vargo. It looks like the guy was unlucky and was washed out to sea against the breakwater at the side of the lighthouse," said Melniv leaning his body against the back of the vehicle. "He's not the first one to try to escape boy, from the moment the Andreev family catches one of these bastards, they will die one way or another, there is no exception."

The bony one spoke of the young man from the Andreev family, how long it must have been since he was sent to Vargo, would his angel be all right, the questions grew in Rou's mind, but now the most important thing was to survive, only then could he do something for his future.

"Home, sweet home. Let's get a drink, my treat tonight for the arrival of our new companion," Klaos said jumping out of the vehicle.

"Boy, you should take advantage, he's not always in a good mood," Melniv said pulling out a pack of cigarettes. "Do you smoke?" he asked.

"Sure," Rou took one of the cigars and lit it.

Cof-Cof!

After coughing a couple of times, Melniv slapped Rou's back and added, "No need to act tough boy, take it easy."

Rou shook his head, as he caught his breath. It seemed that his body was still not used to the nicotine smoke and his eyes watered a little.

"What are you two doing, come on," Klaos shouted from inside the residential building.

"You heard him, let's go inside before he gets mad," Melniv led the way as Rou wiped her eyes.