Retrospect (Part Three)

Region: Unknown

Nathaniel Alistair

Retrospect

(Part Three)

As Nathan sat there hoping for the bustle outside to die down a discussion was going on not too far from where was.   He recognized the voice he had heard earlier that evening.  “It’s probably those darn girls I ran off earlier.”  The soldier from the alley said.  “Who” asked another voice?  “I don’t know, Erica and Julia’s kid and few others. They were smoking out back after curfew and between them and huge cat fight it made my patrol not so boring so I sent them home with a warning.”  There was a slight pause and third female voice entered the conversation.  “Well we are supposed to clear the area and check all the empty houses or HQ will pitch a fit.  Why don’t you two check the houses over there and I will look at these few.”  The conversation didn’t last very much longer and the soldiers were off to search the houses including the one Nathan was now hiding in.

Nathan’s heart sunk and his stomach knotted up.  He was unable to see which houses or areas they were indicating but if they were as thorough as they sounded they would eventually be searching the one he was hiding in right now.  He eyed the room he was in and knew he had to move, at least from here, because there was way too much light coming from outside and into the room.  He stood as quietly as he could manage, making sure to stay away from the open window, and as he was slowly walking out of the room he bent over and grabbed the stuffed teddy bear that he had found earlier on the bed.  “So much for not being sentimental” Nathan said with whisper as he slipped into the shadows of the hallway.

Nathan began walking down a familiar practiced path; one he had taken hundreds, no, possibly thousands of times before the world changed because of Hepatitis X.  Before today he would have been walking up and down this hallway for many other reasons, either he’d have been on his way to work, getting his wife or daughter something from the kitchen or even tip toeing down it on Christmas eve, being ever so quiet just so he could stuff presents under the tree from Santa and enjoy the eventual smiles from his families faces on Christmas morning.  Now he tip toed for a different reason.  His very life and freedom depended on it.

As he neared the end of the hall he heard a noise.  It was the unmistakable creek of a door.  Nathan assumed it was the very door he himself had come through earlier.  Again the familiar race of panic set in and he begin retreating backwards down the hall where he had just come from.  This time though he chose the door on the right opposite the room he was in earlier.  As he stepped in he noticed right away it was much darker and that gave him a glimmer of hope.  Squinting against the darkness trying to see what was there he noticed there was a large dresser tipped over resting against a large bed and bunch of stuff scattered around the room.  What he once knew as the closet was exposed and open, the doors having been removed long ago.  “This isn’t gonna work” he thought to himself.  The window in the room was way too small for him to attempt climbing out of.  He turned to head back out into the hall when he heard noises just outside the door.  He did the only thing he could possibly do at that time, he moved quickly over the bed and lay on the floor on the opposite side, holding his breath and praying he was not discovered.

As Nathan lay there on his stomach he heard some more noises and what he could only assume were footfalls.  He now knew there was more than one soldier in the house because the sounds were coming from two different areas.  As he lay behind the bed he watched a flashlight beam bounce down the hallway and soon enough saw a pair of boots in the hallway.  His heart raced, his mind raced, he did not know what to do now.  After all these years he would be finally caught he thought to himself.  He watched as the boots moved off into the room he was before.  He turned and eyed the window above him reevaluating the size, wondering if he maybe he could fit in there but he knew better.  Soon, the black boots where in the hall outside of the door to the room where Nathan and watched, helpless, as they eventually entered the room.

There was nothing Nathan could do at this point and he knew it.  A sort of calm passed over him as he resigned himself to his fate.  As the owner of the boots came around the bed and a beam of light shone down on him he raised himself up from the ground and slowly stood facing the soldier with his hands up.  The soldier was just a bit above five foot with long blonde hair but that’s all he could make out.  He could not really see her face because she was shining a light directly in his eyes, but he could see what really mattered, she wore all black and had a rifle pointed right at him. 

There was an awkward pause as the Nathan and the soldier eyed one another. They were both assessing the situation; both wondering what would happen next.  Soon a voice floated down the hall breaking their silent stare off.  “All clear over here, how about you?” the voice asked. The soldier in front of Nathan hesitated for a second eventually responding back.  “Nothing here either. All the back rooms are empty.”  A look of confusion washed over Nathan’s face.  “What in the hell is going on?” Nathan thought to himself as the soldier raised her other hand in a shushing motion.  She slowly lowered her weapon and took the light off of Nathan and backed out of the room.  She looked down the hallway and then back at him one last time and whispered two words “Stay here” and then she was gone.

To Be Continued...

Region: Unknown

Nathaniel "Nathan" Alistair