Through the Killing Glass (22 page)

Fumbling with
the safety, Hu leveled his gun – but too late. Chen grabbed his pudgy hand,
snapping the wrist and taking the weapon from him. The guard holding Tso was
reaching for his gun when Tso punched him hard in the face, sending him
crashing against the bars. When he tried to get up, Chen shot him dead.

Hu was now on
his knees, begging for mercy. Chen wanted to say something, to remind him of
just how many lives men like him had ruined, but finally he realized that no
words would do justice to the rage he felt. He kicked the blubbering Commissar
down and shot him once in the head.

From outside
came the heavy sounds of the Interior Security guards’ boots, and the
continuing sounds of the firefight raging outside the prison. Even if those
outside were trying to get in and rescue the prisoners, Chen doubted they would
get so far inside in time. However, he felt no fear. Indeed, he felt a sense of
release wash over him as he contemplated his end. He looked at Tso and smiled
as the officer saluted.

‘Come, my son.
Today we finally fight together one last time, but this time for something we
believe in.’

As Chen took
aim at the first guard to come down the corridor, he realized that Hu had been
so very wrong. Tyrannies fell not when people simply began to desire freedom,
but when they had already attained one very special kind of freedom. Freedom
from fear.

***

Mainak Dhar is a cubicle dweller
by day and author by night. His first ‘published' work was a stapled collection
of Maths solutions and poems (he figured nobody would pay for his poems alone)
he sold to his classmates in Grade 7, and spent the proceeds on ice cream and
comics. He was first published in a more conventional sense at the age of 18
and has since published eleven books, including the Amazon.com bestseller,
Alice in Deadland, the science fiction bestseller Vimana and the
post-apocalyptic thriller Zombiestan. Learn more about him and contact him at
www.mainakdhar.com