A video is going viral on the internet. Its a violent one, so its moving through Telegram and WhatsApp. It security footage of a street. Its not immediately clear where. The camera, with a wide field of view, shows he stranger walking past a group of young men. The group has a bunch of bags with them, and they seem to be heavy. It seems the stranger bumps into one of them, almost making both fall over. They guy he bumped into - let’s call him John Doe - turns and says something to him. The stranger turns and looks at them. John Doe says something again, this time looking pissed. He puts the bag he’s carrying down, and takes a step towards the stranger. The stranger glances at the bag John Doe has set on the ground, then glances at the bags the rest of the crew are carrying. The stranger now turns his whole body towards John Doe. John Doe looks back at his crew. One guy says something to him. Another says something. Then John Doe pulls up his shirt and pulls what seems like a gun, taking aim at the stranger.
The Embrace
The stranger, by some miracle, reacts faster than John Doe. He jumps to his left side, then lunges at John Doe. What happens next is nothing short of messy. People running in and out of frame, guns pointed haphazardly. Muzzle flashes every time a shot is taken. Guys lying in a pool of blood. But at the end of it, we see the stranger struggling to walk into frame again, exhausted and likely injured. He walks to one of the guys lying there and kneels down. They seem to be talking. They then embrace each other for a while, both seemingly crying. The stranger then picks up a gun, and points it to the heart of the crew member. We see the crew member collapse to the ground. The stranger stays fixed there for a while, looks up to the sky, then collapses.
The News Cycle
A few hours later, all the news stations in the country switch to a briefing from the state house. The CS for internal Security gives a prepared statement in which she notifies the country that there was a failed terrorist attack in the last few hours. They are unsure as to whether there are other attacks on the way, but they assure the people that they are doing everything they can to protect the people. The CS institutes restrictions on movement in and out of the attack area, and bumps security in a bunch of popular and high population venues within a certain radius. Reporters ask whether the viral video doing rounds was related to the attack. The CS confirms that it was, but refuses to give further comments.
The Hero
Over the course of the week, news emerges that the stranger singlehandedly stopped what would have been a devastating terrorist attack on a popular mall. They apparently had a large amount of artillery, including machine guns, grenades, flashbangs and other weapons. All the terrorists were killed in a fierce fight between the stranger and the terrorist. He was apparently shot, but the shot wasn’t fatal, and he was recovering swiftly. All the news stations seem keen to interview the stranger. The state house is lining up an award for his service to his country. The president gives a powerful speech on the country’s devotion to fighting the evil that comes against the country. Profiles are carried out on the stranger. Who is he? What are his motivations? Why would he risk his life like that? Why can’t more people be like him? Most religious people acknowledge the power of God. He was there for a reason. It was God’s plan that he’d stop that heinous act from happening. People from a certain religious background start getting profiled. Chastised. Blamed. They assert that it might have been THEIR God’s plan that the attack not happen. But no. Credit goes to one God, and not the other. And then the news breaks. The stranger isn’t in hospital. He has disappeared into the ether.
The Sightings
Hospital surveillance shows the stranger getting a visit from a friend. A few hours after the friend leaves, the stranger strolls out of hospital in plain clothes and a cap, and disappears. There’s backlash against the hospital staff for their laxity. There’s backlash against security for their incompetence. He was under the government’s protection. His life no longer belonged to him. It belonged to the state. But attention is always fleeting. And after about two weeks, the noise has died down somewhat. People have gone back to their lives. The mania has diminished. But there are sightings. Given how much the stranger’s face was splattered across the media, it’s hard for him to hide. People claim to have seen him in different parts of the country. And this sort of starts a wild goose chase. News stations want to be the first to interview him. Not because he’s a hero. But because he’d be big news. And big news is good for business. But the most credible sightings were also the most uncomfortable ones.
There were claims from a large number of people that he was sighted headed into the one part of the country few head into. He was headed, it seemed, into terrorist territory. There were people who claimed to have been in a bus with him. They say he was aloof. Indifferent. Even when people from the community threatened his life, his demeanor didn’t change. There were people who claimed to have given him a lift. One credible source emerged - the guide. He, on the condition of anonymity, claimed to know exactly where he was going. Exactly what he was looking for. The stranger was apparently on a journey into the abyss. Few people were allowed into where he was headed, him being among them. So he offered to be his guide. To be his grim reaper. To guide his soul into hell.
The Hero’s End
But the thing about these sightings, is that most of them aren’t reported by mainstream media. These are only seen or discussed in the far reaches of the internet. In bars while people are drunk watching games. In barbershops and salons. In homes, with hushed tones. It isn’t discussed out loud. Because he is supposed to be the hero of the story. The man who the powers that be placed him in that specific place, in that specific moment. The media is ordered to shut any unfit stories down. This is a national security matter now. His family is given the award by the state in his absence. Its a nice family. A bit tired - they seem to not be sleeping well. But a good family nonetheless. The kind of people that a story can be built around. He isn’t the man that killed a bunch of people. He’s the man that saved the country. That gave it hope for the better. A good story needs a good ending. And a hero’s story needs a hero’s end.
But the legend still continues. And as the legend goes, he was headed to the community that the terrorist he embraced belonged to. Was it because he had a message from their son? Maybe. But its said he went there for one reason and one reason only. A son for a son. It’s said they wouldn’t do it. It was the easy way out for him. He had to live with what he had done. He was welcomed. He was fed. And when the time came, he was asked to leave. He attracted too much attention. Attention they didn’t want. And so he disappeared again. Apparently looking for death.