The sounds of gunshots filled the air, and bullets hit the water surrounding my kaiak. When the bullets shot the water, and barely scraped my kaiak, the water spit up, making it hard for me to see ahead. My arms had never been so tired from paddling. But that didn’t stop me from moving my wooden mobile vacation as fast as it could go.

I looked behind me. Men in dark clothing that concealed their faces headed towards me in small motor boats. They were gaining on my little kaiak.

“I thought they couldn’t find me!” I shouted in exasperation. My forehead wrinkled in confusion, worry, anger, and basically all of the above. As soon as I heard the sputtering fishing boat mortar on the lake I knew who it was, and why they were here. I had been so sure that they wouldn’t be able to find me, after all it had been two years, living in a secluded cabin home by myself on a lake, shutting myself off from the world to conceal my identity from anything that could lead them to me.

“Come on!” I shouted again, over the noise. I flinched as I heard the loud metallic whizzzz of a bullet close to my head and shoot through my kaiak. I could’ve sworn a couple of the hairs on my head came with it. The hole now in the bottom of my kaiak made a noise like a belch, then I saw water start to trickle through the tiny hole. I jabbed my foot over it, and kept going. I could see my cabin now in clear view, just about 100 feet away. Maybe I could outrun them and make it to my house to reinforce myself. That would take a miracle.

“Get his boat instead!” I heard one yell to the others over the noise. They must’ve noticed the little damage that they’d caused accidentally. They weren’t the brightest guys around, but they sure had a license to kill. Anyone and anything. Ever since an accidental incident two years ago, they made it a point to tell me that I would retreat me decision. But by then I had already been ready to escape the world, I knew what they would do.

“It’s a kaiak!” I shouted back, daring to turn my head. But, bullets started to pierce my kaiak, and it started to make holes on the floor. I tried to cover them all with my feet, but it was no use. I didn’t want them to shoot my feet.

I looked behind, and they were gaining. They would catch up to me any second. I heard them coming, and when they passed, one of the guys reached out to grab me, and pulled me out of my kaiak by the momentum of their boat, and then I was in the water.

I heard the guys laughing and pointing. Soon, their guns were pointing all at me as they started to circle me with their boats. I was sputtering water, and trying to stay afloat, but it was excruciating to tread when my arms were already dead from paddling. I would sink. I would rather sink than be killed by them.

I gave my house a look of longing, which was closer, and the men prepared their guns.

“Hey fellas.” I gulped in my most confident voice despite its shake anyways. Those two years of wasted seclusion. They found me anyways.

“Hey.” said one of them. The rest cackled.

“You’re still mad about the little incident a couple years ago?”