Short story: The Tragic Flight - Part I
The man ran desperately through the vast desert, his face reflecting the terror that consumed him. His steps were erratic, as if he was running from something or someone. In the distance, a cloud of dust could be made out, rapidly approaching, indicating that he was being pursued.
Exhausted, he tripped over a huge boulder and fell to the ground, hurting his ankle. He looked around in panic, searching for a place to hide, but the desert offered nothing but a vastness of sand and rocks. He tried to stand up, but the pain in his leg prevented him from doing so.
Suddenly, an all-terrain vehicle appeared on the horizon, approaching at full speed. The man crawled as best he could, trying to hide behind some rocks, but it was too late. The vehicle stopped abruptly and three armed men descended, with expressions of fury on their faces.
"We know it was you!" shouted one of them, pointing a gun at the wounded man. "You can't outrun us!"
The terrified man begged for his life, but his captors showed no mercy. One of them approached and gave him a brutal beating, while the other two guarded the perimeter.
When they were done, the men got into the vehicle and drove away, leaving the man badly wounded and dying in the middle of the desert. He struggled to stay conscious, but pain and despair consumed him.
In the distance, the sound of a helicopter could be heard. Perhaps there was a chance of being rescued, but his strength was fading fast. With a last effort, he raised his hand, trying to get the attention of the aircraft, but his cries were lost in the vastness of the desert.
As his life slipped away, the man wondered what he had done to deserve such an end. Was it possible that someone would find him in time? Uncertainty and fear accompanied him until his eyes closed.
The helicopter flew over the desert, searching for signs of life. On board, the pilot and his co-pilot scanned the terrain, hoping to find any survivors.
Suddenly, one of them spotted a motionless figure in the distance. "Down there!" he shouted, pointing toward the ground. "There appears to be someone injured."
The pilot maneuvered the helicopter to land near the person lying on the sand. As they approached, they saw that it was a badly beaten man, showing signs of having been the victim of a brutal beating.
Quickly, the two men in the helicopter approached the injured man. One of them, an experienced paramedic, began to give him first aid while the other called a nearby base to request an emergency medical evacuation.
The man's eyes widened with difficulty, looking at his rescuers with a mixture of relief and confusion. "Who are you people?" he whispered in a weak voice.
"Take it easy, he'll be fine," the paramedic replied, applying pressure to a bleeding wound on his head. "We'll get him out of here and he'll get medical attention right away."
As they waited for the rescue team to arrive, the wounded man told them in broad strokes what had happened. He had been ambushed by three armed men who accused him of a crime he had not committed. After brutally beating him, they had left him to die in the desert.
"Do you know who those men were?" asked the pilot, in a serious tone.
The man shook his head. "I hadn't seen them before. But they seemed to be looking for someone."
At that moment, the sound of an ambulance was heard approaching. The paramedics quickly transferred the injured man to the vehicle, initiating emergency treatment as they drove him to the nearest hospital.
During the ride, the man struggled to stay conscious, overwhelmed by the feeling that his life had taken an unexpected turn. Who were these men and why had they attacked him? Had it been a case of mistaken identity or was there something darker behind it all?
As the ambulance sped away, the pilot and co-pilot of the helicopter exchanged a worried glance. Something was not adding up in this whole story, and they had a feeling that this incident was just the beginning of a much more complex and dangerous plot.
Source of the images.
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