A bright display of flashing red and blue lights can be seen from every direction. The cumulative sound of screeching sirens can be heard from miles away. The five of us have no chance of escaping now. Not with over $500,000 in our packs, slowing us down. But with the cops hunting us down and our getaway ride only a few kilometers away, the choice was clear: don’t stop running.
The five of us who are being chased down by the police along this dim tunnel are known as Team Rejuvenation. We’re not your average group of bank robbers who just want to get rich. The money we’re stealing has a more meaningful purpose than that. This loot is for restoration and revival, hence our team name. You’ve seen the poor endure countless days of desperate begging. You’ve seen them wish for the tiniest bit of cash so they can survive another day. But have you seen the rich do anything grueling and difficult? Didn’t think so. Our team has had enough of this injustice. Stolen or not, we’re going to use this money to change the world.
We have now left the dark and silent premises of the highway tunnel. It was refreshing to see the light of day again after a long run in the tunnel. But we’re not done running yet. There’s still an entire kilometer left until we’re free.
But Hawk, our team leader, stopped sprinting and threw his bag of money toward the end of the freeway, landing right on top of our car’s cargo lid with a loud thud. It was a heavy load to toss, yet somehow he was able to throw it over half a kilometer away. But it was at that time where instead of him catching up to us, he turned directly towards the incoming police and put his hands up, with the intent of turning himself in. Every single one of the police cars screeched to a halt.
“Hawk!” the rest of us yell as we reached our getaway ride. “What are you doing?!”
“Wolf,” he called to me as his head turned back to us. For once, instead of his usual stern look on his face, we saw a humbled expression on it, as if he knew it was going to end like this. “Wipe that sorry look off your face and get in the car. This is your only chance to escape. Starting today, you are now the new leader of Team Rejuvenation.”
“No!” I shouted back. “You’re our leader! You know Team Rejuvenation will never leave their members behind. Especially you!”
“Listen to me, Wolf!” His peaceful expression had stayed put as the police ran towards him, handcuffs ready. “Everyone has to lose something precious to them. We can’t always get what we expect. The countless missions this team has had together told us that too many times. We all just have to accept these losses. It’s a part of life.”
He paused as his arms came down and the cuffs wrapped around his wrists. None of the cops attempted to approach us. Both parties know very well that we will be long gone by the time they come here.
“Wolf,” said Falcon, another member as Hawk began to enter the police car. “Let’s go. You don’t want his sacrifice to be vain do you? We have some hobos to help.”
“Y-yea…” I replied after shedding a tear and entering the driver’s seat.
We then drove away from the cops’ sight. They didn’t try to go after us. Guess they thought the team would disband if they caught their leader. But they were wrong. Now there are only four of us: Falcon, Eagle, Fox, and I, the new leader of Team Rejuvenation. It’s a tough job for me to handle without Hawk around to help me, but our one goal is still the same: together, we will end poverty and change the world.