Free The Black Seas of Infinity by Dan Henk Page B

later, I heard
a knock at the door.
    “Well, hello?”
    “Ma’am.”
    This was a similar tone to what I heard in
the woods. Maybe the same person. Definitely some form of
military.
    “You’re…police?”
    “Special unit, ma’am. Have you seen anything
unusual around here lately?”
    “Well, I… No… Just?”
    “Anything at all?”
    “Well, I thought maybe I heard a noise.”
    Instantly I could hear them brushing by her,
a surprised “But...” escaping her lips as they pushed her aside. I
had to get out of there. I crawled on hands and knees to the
opposite end of the bed and glanced up. There was a small latticed
window. Crawling up, I pressed on it. Unlocked! I pushed it up.
Gently depressing the pull-tabs on either side, I lifted the
screen. Peering trepidatiously outside the window frame, I could
see that the soldiers had already made their way into the house.
Scrambling over the sill as quickly as I could, I barely skirted
the line of bushes as I tumbled into the lawn. Jumping back up, I
gently pulled down the window and then the screen. The tabs clicked
as they fell into place, and I froze.
    I can swear I just felt chills going down my
spine, even though I know that’s impossible. Turning around, I
bolted, crossing into the neighboring lawn, darting around the
house, and dashing through the backyard. Once in the relative
safety of the next-door neighbor’s premises I glanced at the house.
Nothing. They must have still been inside. I peered over at the
wood line and could make out a cluster of figures, four in total,
dressed in black and discussing something. If they turned around
they would have seen me, but luck was still on my side. I started
running, picking up speed as I plowed through a sandbox. A kid had
left his Tonka truck nestled beside a yellow plastic shovel that
cradled a small mound. I leaped over it, in the process nearly
flying into the swing set. Landing in an almost perfect acrobatic
stance, I circled around the bars and kept going. I had no idea who
might be spying me through back windows and needed to get back into
the shelter of the trees. Following a brief level stretch of grass,
the ground fell away, sloping downwards and into the woods below.
Dropping out of view of the soldiers and peering eyes, I set foot
back into the leafy shadows. I broke into a sprint, plowing through
the forest, the coarse terrain barely slowing me down as I bounded
and skipped through the dying foliage. The woods deepened, the
noise of human activity fading away into the distance as I rejoined
the off-road trail.
    A brief jog later and the trees opened up
onto a small paved road. Just as I slowed down my foot hit a root
and I tumbled, falling into a roll. Bouncing out of the leafy
coverage, I spiraled through the small shoulder, managing to regain
my footing with a huddled crouch in the middle of the street. I
looked up to see the ballooning grille of a Chevy Blazer bearing
down on me! Just as the horn squealed, I jumped, springing into a
forward dive that ended with another tumble and me on the opposite
side. The truck bowled through, evidently ignoring my strange
appearance altogether. Dashing back into the woods, I realized
things weren’t looking good. The kids, the truck—it would be too
easy to piece together a route. I kept scampering down the rocky
trail, navigating between the trees as the course penetrated the
forest. Near the North Carolina-Virginia line was a descent-sized
body of water. I could probably cross it without resorting to a
bridge, and that was something they probably wouldn’t expect. At
the very least it might throw them off.
    The forest floor was dotted with bright
splotches of light, the earthbound rays waging an all-out assault
on the shade of the overhanging foliage. The sun burned down from a
cloudless sky. I couldn’t discern the temperature, but it felt warm
for autumn. Everything was brightly lit. I could see a mountain
biking trail snaking through; in a small clearing