PROLOGUE

"I wonder what Tricia will do when she learns of who you are" laughed a shiny blonde guy who was sitting in the passenger's seat of a Range Rover in the middle of the night.

"Oh I'm sure she will come crawling back on her feet saying that she is sorry and that she didn't mean to look down on me" replied a black haired guy, he has a chiseled jaw, a perfect nose and beautiful blue eyes, his lips were thin and sexy, giving any lady who met him the urge to kiss him. He was sitting in the driver's seat of the Range Rover, smiling handsomely.

The blonde with light gray eyes and baby face which made him kind of cute laughed again before asking "but really Carlos, why do you like hiding your identity from women?"

The handsome man who was called Carlos smiled "any woman that wants to get into my heart have to first love me when I'm a nobody because my identity will always be my secret" he looked at his very good friend and flashed him a smile "do you think I will ever find a woman like that John?"

The blonde guy, John shrugged "it depends. I mean it's possible, I just hope you won't lose the woman you love because you want to keep your identity a secret."

"I don't see that happening."

"I hope so too, you see..." John was saying when suddenly two SUVs pulled over in front of their car, they watched as the doors were opened and three men got down from each plus the drivers making them eight in total "that doesn't look good."

"Who the hell are they?" Carlos asked with a frown.

"I don't know but whoever they are, they are bad news" John said, subconsciously, his voice has turned into a whisper "we really shouldn't be here Carlos, I don't trust this guys."

"I'm going out to meet them" Carlos unfastened his seatbelt to get down from the car.

"Hey" John grabbed his arm "that's not safe, I really think we should get out of here, what you should do is to step on that pedal..." Just then a knock was heard on the car window and they both looked up, the man standing outside indicated for them to wind down the window, John looked around to see that their car has been surrounded and he gulped, he instinctively stopped Carlos who wanted to wind down "let's get out of here Carlos, these guys are bad news."

The knock came again, fiercely this time "what the?" Carlos was angry, he wanted to get down and speak to them but John refused and just then, they saw the man pull out a gun from inside his jacket. Their faces paled and the man was still asking them to come down while pointing the gun on the window. John immediately pressed the start button of the car and Carlos stepped on the accelerator and the car sped off. They heard series of gun shots behind them but they didn't stop.

John watched them get into the SUVs from the rearview mirror, he kept on urging Carlos to go faster.

"I'm trying" Carlos barked as he fastened his seatbelt back, he just can't believe it, who will dare to kill him? To point a gun at him? His mind was running wild and he thought about making a phone call but the SUVs were fast on their trail. One of the SUVs caught up to them and forcefully hit their car causing the car to swerve but Carlos managed to get it back on track, the SUV got closer again and hit them hard. Carlos struggled with the steering to control the car but before he could get a hold on it, they were hit again and so the car left the road, hitting the railings and falling off the slope.

Carlos fought to control the car or better still reduce the impact of the fall but the car was on high-speed and so somersaulted continuously down the hill. After the fall, Carlos awoken to a sharp pain in his forehead, his hand pressed his temple but then he heard the faint sound of footsteps and knew their pursuers were getting closer, he turned to his friend John and shook him continuously while whispering his name.

John opened his eyes with a soft painful cry "we need to get out of here" Carlos said and he nodded before they both unfastened out of their seatbelts, they opened the driver's door and crawled out of the car, the faint speaking of men and footsteps were getting closer, they stood up and looked around them, they were in the middle of nowhere and were surrounded by trees, they could see the faint light of headlamps up ahead and knew there is a highway up ahead, if only they could get there, they could be saved so they quickly but quietly made their way through the trees.

They had both sustained injuries with the accident but now is not the time to look at the wounds nor feel the pains, they must get out of this woods and free from the pursuers who Carlos still found strange that they wanted to kill them, who could it be? Who really want to wipe their faces off this earth?

A stick snapped under his foot and flashlights found their way on them with a man's voice "over here, found them."

This was their cue, so they both started running despite the pains they feel in their bodies. The men were gaining on them since they were perfectly fine. John missed his footing and went flying to the ground, a lot of sands and tree leaves found their way into his mouth. Carlos stopped and went to help him when John heard the words of the men and suddenly shout out to Carlos "run Carlos, they are after you. Don't come back for me, keep running, I'm right behind you. Run, run, don't look back, run Carlos."

A loud gunshot was heard and Carlos didn't hear John's voice anymore, realizing what had happened, he screamed "John!" But then he realized that his scream was giving away his position, he reached up his hand and covered his mouth tightly while he silently sobbed hard for the lost of his best friend who was more like a brother. Remembering how John wanted him to escape, he decided to not let them catch him, he started running, with all the strength in him.

He can't let them get to him, he must survive to take revenge for his friend's death, he has to live to bring those men to justice. As he was running, his eyes kept blurring over and he kept wiping away his tears, he suddenly missed his footing and went sliding down a slope, he hit his hand and legs on rocks and they all pained him but none could amount to the pain he feels in his heart, a stick suddenly impaled him and he winced and thankfully, he has gotten to a stop from his fall, he stood up immediately and looked at the stick in his stomach, he grit his teeth as he yanked it out.

The blood soaked his hand and dripped in between his fingers but he was at the roadside now, he could still hear his pursers so he ran out of the woods, there was a filling station opposite, he crossed over to make a phone call with their phone but remembering his pursuers had guns and how they ruthlessly killed John, his heart ached immediately and he decided he can't risk the life of the sale's boy and besides he will be long dead before the cops get there.

He looked around and not far away was parked a truck, he made his way towards it, limping, he saw an elderly man relieving himself at the roadside and knew he must be the owner, the back of the truck was filled with haystacks and he immediately climbed into the truck and buried himself in the haystacks. It wasn't long before he heard the elderly man whistling as he opened the car door and got in, the truck sinking a little with his weight, the engine roared to life not long after and he knew they were moving.

Carlos couldn't tell how long the ride has been but he knew he has passed out twice and they were still on the road, all his body was aching him and he moved away the hays on his face, the sunlight shined brightly on his face and he was blinded for some seconds, he couldn't believe it was already morning, just where is the elderly man driving to that he hasn't gotten there by now? He thought but weariness soon washed over him and he covered himself in the hays again and slept off.

When he opened his eyes again, it was already sunset but they were still on the road, he sat up a little not risking the elderly man to see him and he looked at his stomach wound which the blood on his shirt has already dried up that it turned brown and was sticking to his wound which was already turning yellow, with some slimy stuffs on the surface, evidence that it had been infected, he tried to yank out his shirt that has stuck to his wound and he had to bit forcefully on his lips to keep from shouting out loud, he soon noticed that the shirt was ripping away with his flesh and he decided to stop, the wound has reopened and fresh blood was gushing out.

He used his hand to press on the wound and suddenly he felt light headed, he hasn't eaten for a whole day and had lost a lot of blood, he covered himself in the haystacks weakly again before passing out. Waking up again, he realized that the truck seemed to be pulling over, finally, he thought. He heard the engine go off and the reeking sound of the door opening, he noticed the car rise up after the elderly man got down. He prayed silently that he shouldn't come to check on his hays, he followed the sound of the man's footsteps and noticed it was drifting away, after that he heard a door open and a faint voice of a woman followed by the shutting of the door.

He waited a while more to be sure no one was coming out again before removing the haystacks on his body, the moon was full up in the sky and shinning brightly, he weakly got out of the truck, his legs wobbled and he grabbed a hold on the truck and leaned on it to support himself. After feeling a little energy passed into his legs, he stood straight but his wounds didn't let him so he bent over with his hand pressed on his wound and he limped away from the truck. He looked around him not fully knowing where he was, he decided to knock on the man's door but thought against it, first he needs to find a hospital.

Carlos limped in the silent streets of the night, even after walking for such a long time, he has no inkling of where he was, everywhere looked so unfamiliar and he couldn't make out a single thing, there were no street lights and if it wasn't for the moonlight, he wouldn't have been seeing where he was going. His legs were getting tired and he was feeling light headed again but he has not seen a single soul, he wonders what time it could be that everywhere was dry, devoid of any human soul.

He got to a dumpster and his legs couldn't carry him anymore, he slumped beside the dumpster and just then he could make out a shadow of someone approaching, making up his mind to ask for help, he crawled out to the side in order to block the approaching stranger but he was so tired and his head was swaying while he fought to stay awake. The person stumbled on him "oh my!" He heard and couldn't conceal his disappointment when he realized that it was a woman, what can a woman do for him now?

He felt her hands searching his body and he chuckled in his mind, he has nothing on him okay but then he felt her hands crawl to his face and his brows creased, she would be the touchy type, he wanted to repel her or even tell her to stop but he lacks strength in him, he should be wary of her but he can't even keep his eyes open as his vision blackened and he heard her faint voice asking "are you okay?" Before he finally passed out.