Boris opened a drawer and grabbed a gun and ammunition. He raised it and said, “Here you go Lina.” I grabbed it, loaded it and placed it at my waist. He said, “Let’s go.”
We walked out of his office and down another hallway. He opened a door and walked through and I gasped when I saw Vicky. Vicky had light golden hair, blue eyes, wore a navy blue dress jacket and a long tight skirt. Her hair was pulled back in a bun and had two screens on her desk. Vicky looked up and stared at me. She struck me as an elegant and beautiful lady. She said, “Well Boris? Can you explain?”
He said, “Nothing to explain. I need some things from the closet.”
She said, “What do you need Boris? Memory alternation serums or poison?”
I gasped, Boris looked at me and said, “Uff Vicky. Stop scaring her. She had enough. I need bandages, antiseptics, syringes, needles and antibiotic.”
She got up and opened a closet behind her. It was filled with bottles, glass containers and bandages. She also grabbed a small bag and filled it up. She said, “Here you go Boris. Don’t forget us.”
He stared and furiously grabbed the bag from her.
He turned around and walked out of the room. I followed him quickly. He walked down another hallway and I said, “Umm, why are you mean to Vicky?”
He said, “I don’t like her.”
I said, “Ok?”
He said, “She is the daughter of the previous general of the Red compound. But he died a few years ago from liver failure.”
I said, “Ok, so?”
He stopped and said, “So what? She is only in that position because of him. I wanted to get rid of her, but I didn’t want to cause any problems.”
I said, “What does she do?”
He said, “She is the manager of security of all three compounds.”
I said, “Ah! That’s why.”
He said, “Why what?”
I said, “She talks to you like that.”
He stared at me and said, “We should keep moving.”
We kept walking down another hallway and then down a small flight of stairs. I saw the main entrance of the Red compound. Instead of going through it, Boris walked left to a small door. He tapped on the panel on its side and the door slowly opened. We went in, and the room had a row of lockers. He opened the first one and took out a vest from it. He opened the one next to it and took out another. He said, “These are bullet proof vests.” He handed one to me and I put it on. I said, “Can you help me secure it?”
He moved closer to me and fastened it securely on me. He said, “We should go now, but before we go…” I looked at him and he came closer and kissed my cheeks. He said, “Come on.”
We walked out of the room and through the main entrance doors. There were soldiers on each side of the door and nodded at us. I walked next to Boris towards the main gates of the compound. He keyed in the panel and said, “There is a security code to go out too.”
We walked out, and followed a semi paved road. He stopped after a minute and said, “We can’t walk to the Intelligence compound. Not with street lights on and security cameras everywhere. Where is this hidden pathway?”
I said, “We need to across the bridge through the old city buildings and around the Intelligence compound from the east. Don’t worry, they are not haunted by ghosts.” He looked at me and said, “Why do you say that?”
I said, “Not many people go into the old city because they are afraid.”
He said, “Afraid of what?”
I said, “Each building has thousands of skeletons. No one survived.”
He said, “How did we? The buildings are not very far it seems. About a forty-five minute walk.”
I said, “I don’t know. We just did. Have you ever been there?”
He said, “I never did to that side. It never interested me.”
I looked at him mystified and said, “Well, let’s go.”
We walked slowly and turned right down a rough road. The bridge was near and I said, “We should cross it, but be careful. I’ll go first.”
The bridge was rusty and very unstable. It was not very wide and had a deep river below it. I walked on it slowly and it kept creaking. I finally got to the edge and jumped to the road. I looked back and yelled to Boris, “Just walk slowly!”
He walked slowly, and the bridge was creaking louder than before. I said, “I don’t think it can handle your weight Boris.” Suddenly, I heard a large crack, and the bridge started collapsing. I yelled, “Run!”
He ran towards me and the bridge collapsed completely. It fell with him and I hurried to the edge. He was barely holding the edge with one hand. I grabbed his hand and tried pulling him. I said, “Come on Boris. Raise your other hand.” He did and grabbed the edge. I grabbed his shirt and pulled his upper body. He pulled the rest of his body up and laid on the road. I breathed heavily and said, “We can’t go back now.”
He got up and said, “Why is the bridge so bad?”
I said, “That’s what happens when you don’t maintain it for over a century. Come on.”
We walked on a small dirt path surrounded by trees. He said, “Do you come here often?”
I said, “Just when I want to escape everything.”
He looked at me and didn’t say anything. We kept walking to the end of the path. The moonlight was slowly fading, and clouds were covering it. I said, “Great. We have no light.” Boris grabbed a stick from under his vest and shook it. He said, “Now it’s lit up. It will last about thirty minutes.”
We walked faster towards the buildings. The buildings were twenty to thirty stories high. Green vines surrounded each one and creeped their way up a few stories. I looked back and Boris was mesmerised. He didn’t say anything but stared up. I walked closer to him and said, “We can go all the way up another time but we need to keep walking down this road.” He nodded and we kept walking. It was pure silence then suddenly, I felt a rain drop on my nose. I wiped it off and rain poured heavily on us. I said, “We got to run.”
We ran down the road but I slipped and fell. Boris raised me up and held my hand. I said, “I’m fine.” He said, “I don’t think you should run.” He sprinted and I followed him.
We reached the end of the road and he said, “Left or right?” I tried to catch my breath, for some reason I was breathing heavily and he said, “Are you ok?”
I pointed to the left side, but Boris kept staring at me. He turned around and kneeled on the floor. He said, “Get on my back, I will carry you.”
I grabbed his neck and shifted my body on his back. He stood up and held my legs around him tightly. He sprinted and said, “How far?” I couldn’t speak and he stopped. He said, “Lina? What’s wrong?” I finally said, “Just keep going down this path.”
He nodded and said, “I don’t think this is a good idea. You needed time to rest. This is my fault.”
I buried my face on his shoulder and whispered, “I don’t think either of us can win this war alone anymore.”
He nodded and continued sprinting. He reached the end of the road, and trees closed in. I whispered, “You need to go through the trees. There is a small path. It’s hard to see it in the rain, but you can feel it.”