Free Life After: Episode 4 (A Serial Novel) by J.J. Holden Page B

“Hurry!”
    They helped Tyler
get under the door as Thomas slipped under a few feet away with little trouble.
Rebecca hoped it would be as easy for her. She laid on
her back with her head facing the door and felt the concrete pull her shirt up
slightly as she pressed her heels against the pavement. She reached her hands
under the door and felt someone grab them, pulling her slowly into the dim
room.
    Clark spoke softly. “Charles?”
    Rebecca saw the old man’s head as he worked his way to the other
side. Once they helped Charles inside, the group moved slowly away from the
door. The sunlight that shown in through the gap in the bay door was enough to
allow them to see outlines of large boxes. As she backed away from the door,
she saw a shadow move along the bottom of the door and stop near the middle.
She turned around and saw Clark waving for her
to come towards him.
    “Get down behind one of these boxes,” he whispered.
    “Are you okay, Tyler?” Thomas asked quietly.
    Tyler grimaced as he held his leg. “I…I don’t know.”
    “Quiet you two,” Rebecca said, sitting down next to Clark and the
boys. She poked her head out just enough to see the shadow at the door. As the
shadow moved, she heard the sound of boots clap against the pavement.
    They sat and waited in silence. Rebecca held her breath and
waited, each second feeling like a minute as the shadow moved almost in slow
motion across the bay door. She closed her eyes and hoped that when she opened
them, everything would go back to normal. She wished it was all one big
nightmare. When she opened her eyes she was still in the dim room and the
figure was still there. Perhaps they know we are here and want to taunt us, she
thought. Perhaps they are waiting and listening, hoping to hear any noise we
make. Any indication of life and they would pounce. So she sat completely
still, closed her eyes, and prayed.

 
 
    * * *

 
    Owen stood at the bay door. He knew they were inside,
likely waiting to attack him if he dared enter. He looked down at the blood on
the pavement and thought of the boy he shot. The boy was an easy target, and he
figured it would be a way to get the attention of the old man and the woman. He
recalled watching the Imperial soldier help the boy up and rush him to safety.
So flabbergasted by why a soldier would defect to join the rebel cause, he
delayed his last shot before they ran out of sight. Looking on the brighter
side, he thought of the opportunity he had before him. Five
unarmed terrorists to hunt down in the confines of a department store. He salivated at the thought. He got enough pleasure out of hunting them in the
wilderness, but now, here they were, caged up and ready to die. From afar, he
would have been able to kill at least one or two of them, but now he looked
forward to killing all five up close, able to see the fear in their eyes
seconds before he destroyed them. He couldn’t wait to enact retribution for all
the terror they caused his countrymen.
    He recalled the day before and how desperate he was to find a
rebel to kill. When he first started hunting down enemy combatants, it was just
another part of his job description. Now, vengeance was not just his duty, it
was his passion.
    “Stand here and guard these doors,” Owen said loudly. “I doubt
they slipped in there, but you never know.”
    He walked along the door until he reached a small flight of
steps. “I’ll check the other doors and loop around and let you know if I find
any of the doors unlocked,” he said.
    Owen gripped his rifle as he descended the steps and rushed to
the front of the building. In short order, he was at the main entrance to the
store. He stepped closer to the doors as he spoke under his breath: “Prepare to
die.”

 
 
    * * *

 
    Clark felt his heart
pounding as the man outside the door spoke to his comrade. He knew they
couldn’t leave the same way they entered, not until the men left. He figured
they might be better off going