Edict 42

Chapter 6 - Alina

Alina’a hazel brown eyes looked around her surroundings. She sat on an old half dead mattress. In front of her were cold rusted metal bars, the walls were plain with no paint and the ground was cracked it seemed as if it hadn’t been taken care of in years. There was a sink and a toilet nearby with no privacy, but there were no cameras. Alina had used the toothbrush which was seated on the sink and sharpened it now to resemble a razor blade.

She was brought here blindfolded so she didn’t know where it was located but based on what she heard, they had to be somewhere near the sea and a good distance out from the drive. It was not a long walk to get inside and then some steps down, not an elevator, an old building perhaps? A few cells seemed to be in the area that she had passed on her way here, about five she believed. She had gathered bits of information from her prison guards, who didn’t seem to know much either. They were three of them in total who she distinguished by their varying speech. They didn’t speak full English it was mixed with a foreign language but she couldn’t identify where it was from.

Why had she been brought here after talking to her employers about the Manere Parasitus. She had dreams, visions of how dangerous it could be and had arranged a meeting with the President and the board. Soon as she started to explain the possibility of how serious it could be. She was taken into this cell by what seemed like police? Were they actually police, though? She wondered. She hadn’t done anything wrong and why the blind folds. Sure, she almost punched the director in his face for failure to take her seriously but it all had valid facts. Why did her dream feel so real to her like she had seen the end of the world? Did she really have a relationship with Ryan? The man was insufferable, narcissitic, jealous and egotistical yet she was still intrigued by him.

She bit her lip and reminded herself that she was married and it was just a dream, but it seemed to have certain factors that carried weight. The point that the world was probably coming to an end, not that it was new to her, just a lot sooner than she would like.

Alina had this gut feeling that if she did not escape here. This is where she would meet her end too many factors did not align and went against her in that regard. The blind fold, the fact that they showed up around the time she was making the argument and her strange dream about things she couldn’t explain. She was a liability if it was true and they were probably only holding her now for any further information before getting rid of her later. She wouldn’t, however, play this game with them. One way or another Alina planned to find her way out of here.

Her food should be coming soon. She had timed it from their patterns over the last three days, but didn’t know exactly when. This would be her only moment of escape, they wouldn’t expect much from a woman that looked soft and delicate like her.

Like clock work she heard the rattle of a gate near the stairs being opened and loud steps on the ground being made towards her cell. She adjusted herself on the bed.

She would have to lure him inside, it would be her only way. He would open the gate if she was vulnerable. She wondered, she hoped then she would pounce on him when he was offguard and stab him in the neck with the toothbrush.

She gripped it in her hand tightly it would have to work for her to escape. It would have to be him or her. She took off her pink silk shirt, revealing her white lace bra as she lay on the bed in her black short skirt. Her long black curly hair slid around her neck. Her heart beat fast as she pretended to be asleep. She hoped he would take the bait. Shifting her body towards the cell to be in full high view she gripped the toothbrush in her hand and waited as the footsteps came to a halt outside her cell. Time came to a stop as every breath she took was a lot harder than the last. Everything was quiet until the cell door creaked open.

Alina gripped the brush harder in her hand. The plate rattled as it was rested not to far from where she lay. The steps drew nearer until she could feel his breath over her.

She was waiting for him to do it, but instead she heard his feet walking away.

Shit, she thought to herself, she would have to get him now.

Opening her eyes, he had his back towards her. Alina sprung into action as she tried to stab the man in his neck. At the last moment the man turned back on hearing the commotion. Alina tumbled into the man causing him to fall to the floor. Her tooth brush inches from his neck, barely being held back with his hand. Realising that she was failing from this top position, Alina started to hit him in the face with the other hand to weaken his hands.

The man in turn spat curses at her as he tried to force her off him. Alina doubled down realizing the position wasn’t working. She shifted him into a position where she would be able to control his neck from behind. The man tried to wiggle himself free as he gasped for breath. He struck at her a few times hitting her body and her face. She, however, did not let go as she squeezed his face tightly in a deadly embrace. His hands stopped hitting her and after a while his body lay slump. The man was dead, but it was not without cost.

Alina grabbed her shirt and shoes. She had been hit a few times and blood ran from her nose. There was no time to waste. Alina grabbed the gun that was braced around his leg and the Shiv she had made from the ground. She adjusted her clothes and wiped her bloody nose. Two more maybe. She was about to leave when she doubled back to search him. He had nothing else on him, no ID or anything that could validate him. She closed the gate just for good measure.

The gun was drawn as she walked down the hall, she had checked the ammo in it. There was enough to kill two persons and maybe more. She could probably get off about eight to nine shots before it was spent. She moved quickly but cautiously until she was looking up the steps.

She heard what sounded like a radio playing.

“Today marks the annual celebration of the birth of Immortality. For some it seemed like a blessing to the world with no worries about disease but this has now become a curse for many. Now forced to live on the Chemical Food Growth (CFG) due to agricultural problems. It is a far cry from what the world use to know.”

She didn’t know what to expect up there or how the men would be positioned. She walked each one like it was her last until she got to the top.

“This new CFG2 maybe the answer to all of our problems it might be the one that puts a new perspective on the world.”

She peeped from the view that she could see in the surrounding area. Was someone up there? She threw the Shiv up the stairs and it landed with a Thud but no one responded to it. She waited for a short while to see if someone would move, nothing. She took a deep breath out and slowly walked up the stairs.

Alina now found herself in what looked to be a living room of an old house. There were two cushioned wooden chairs and a mahogany table. On the table was a newspaper and a cup of coffee. The floor and walls all seemed wooden in comparison to the wall that was underneath. She was shocked to see this transition. She pulled back the blind and peered outside the window to see nothing but forest. Where were the two men? She took her time walking around the entire house using the same tactic of throwing something in the room to create noise but no one came. No one responded the house was empty except for her being here and the dead man in the basement.

Every step she took the boards tended to creak some more so than others. It was old and seemed to be here for a long time, not much was in the house either. It had the semblance of rooms, but lacked furniture. It had mostly food and water in the kitchen enough to last a few days. A few old chairs, some had even given away, but no beds.

Had the men left them here thinking she would not be able to escape? Were they coming back? Looking outside, she got her answer. There was not a single car here and she was near a cliff.

Where exactly was she?

“Okay, okay, calm down,” Alina said out loud as her feet touched the outside creating a mark in the mud. In the distance the waves crashed upon the cliff.

Alina weighed her decisions she could leave now, but how far would she get. She didn’t know exactly where she was and the next sign of civilization could be very far out. Besides that she didn’t know exactly what waited for her in the forest. She might end up dead from a mere scratch. If she waited here, the other two might come back, but what if they aren’t alone? What if they brought more people? She observed the tracks on the ground a short distance from her. She knew they would be coming back, but when? She didn’t know.

Alina went back inside the house to do a double check maybe she had missed something that was there. She started with the kitchen first, she had initially just passed it over observing the food. She opened the cupboards and looked over the counter, but nothing was there.

A screeching noise was made outside as a car came to a halt. Alina walked forward to the window, causing each board her feet touched to creak. Car doors shut as Alina witnessed the two men exiting the car and making their way to the house. They came to a stop near where she had stepped outside and was examining the footprints.

From her vantage point she could see them in her lowered stance and she was positioned next to the door for when they entered. She would be able to take them by surprise.

The knob turned and the door creaked. They entered with their backs towards her. Alina held the gun securely in her hands as she fired. One, two rounds, their bodies collapsed to the floor without being able to do anything in return. The last she had tried not to kill him, but as soon as he landed on the floor, he reached for his gun causing her to have to shoot him again.

She walked up towards them with her gun pointed forward. She was waiting and checking for movement but there was none. Both men were dead and she didn’t have any answers.

Alina began to search the two bodies and this time she found IDS for the two men. Alina was in shock by what she saw on these men, both worked for the secret police.