Chapter 13- Alina

1987 Words
“Why do I keep coming here? Stupid, Stupid!” Alina stood by the tree holding her head. She hadn’t been able to get a good sleep in days. She had dumped the truck once she got into the city and had done the best she could to keep a low profile. The limited money she had was running out and along with it her next set of options. She missed him so much that here she was stocking the man she loved. Watching him head to work and thinking about how best to approach him. None of her thoughts, however, manifested in her legs as she saw him pull out the garage and leave. She didn’t once move to chase him. Didn’t once move to say that she was alive. She had been watching him for days now from the safety of a few scattered trees. It didn’t seem like anyone was watching him or watching the house at the least she couldn’t tell. That small knowledge, however, didn’t make her feel at ease. Her stomach growled in frustration and her head had been hurting her for days. She had been hearing this loud pinging noise at night like a radio frequency. It was probably nothing she hoped as she hugged the tree for support. It was probably her mind playing tricks with her from all that she had been through. She had to eat and she planned to get something from her house. Alina looked around at the empty neighbourhood street and covered her face. She needed new clothes and a bath, she would kill for one of those. The clothes she wore and the state of her hair at the moment gave the appearance that she had spent her whole life in the gutter. At least this way she would be harder to recognize, she had dyed her hair red and cut it low. This was her house but she was still nervous to move, the first step she took was the hardest. It was almost a fear that had crept its way inside of her, fear for familiarity. Once she took that step, she continued walking forward one leg after the next in the direction of her house, her pace quickened as if expecting someone to suddenly show up and stop her. When she was before the door, she came to a halt. She didn’t have her keys but she didn’t need it. All she had to do was say the password and the door would open for her. She press the interface at the side for password allowance. A robotic voice chided, “What is the password to enter?” On the screen Alina saw that it was Larry a C 75. “The password is 6543.” “Password denied.” The words shocked Alina, “Password denied?” “Password changed four months ago.” Why would he change the password? Alina wondered. She scratched her head thinking what next to do when Larry spoke. “Voice recongised as Mrs Alina Cox, please allow scan for facial recognition and finger print analysis.” If Larry had detected any problems in her voice or stress he would immediately have called the police with his built in system. A small box popped out with a print for her to place her finger. Alina had never used this feature before, she knew that there was a fail safe. Alina complied removing the covering over her face and holding it in the angle for the screen to process. When it was accepted, she placed her finger on the fingerprint scan. “Welcome home, Mrs Cox,” Larry said, as the door to the house opened. “Larry,” Alina said, “Forget my presence here.” “Confirmed.” A smile graced Alina’s face. It was like she was given a second chance at hope. She entered her house like a kid entering a candy store. Standing by the entrance was Larry. The first thing she went towards was the kitchen, she grabbed a few of the Better Food Production (BFP) and Greater Alternative Choice (GAC). She had been on the CFGs for days it had not been recalled despite the fact that the CFG2s had make the shelf. It was probably more because they were so many of them made. The CFGs although tasteless was cheaper and safer than the newer ones but not by much and the world wasn’t aware of this knowledge. She placed the capsule to her mouth and as it melted, her mind registered the taste. She sat down and savoured it, tears came to her eyes as she looked around the room and knew she couldn’t stay here. No matter how bad she wanted to she would only drag him into trouble. In time she would let the whole world know the truth but for now she would settle for a bath as she head up the stairs to the master bedroom. She got in the shower and as she was in the middle of a bath when she heard the sound of a car pulling up in the drive way. Who was it? she wondered as she quickly scurried out of the bath in a towel. She peered through the window that showed towards the garage and seated outside in a car was a woman she had never seen before. She entered the password with familiarity to the area and proceeded to the door. Who was this woman? Alina asked herself but nothing registered. She quickly tried to get rid of the evidence in the room and head towards the bedroom. Her movements were not quiet and there was a thud towards them as she hid herself in the open closet amongst her own clothes. The woman’s steps pounding upon the stairs, each one seemed pronounced and long and left her on edge. Alina took deep breaths hoping that the woman would not enter in here. She made a stop by the masterbedroom. “Larry, had anyone enter the house recently?” “No madam, no one has entered the house today.” There was a pause for a while. “I am here by the place, Larry didn’t see anyone, it might just be a problem with the system that it sent you that. Its just me, Richard didn’t feel like coming. It’s not like I can’t handle myself. Alright whatever, I am going to head home now. Don’t panic. I looked around everything seemed fine. No force entry or anything, you have to stop being so panicky.” The footsteps headed back towards the stairs and Alina was no longer able to hear the conversation. She released a sigh of relief and then started to laugh to herself. She almost got caught in her own home, the irony she thought. # Alina exited her home now in track suit clothes, her hands were packed with clothes and loose change that she had managed to collect as well as a few packaged food stuff. She had also taken a knife, a lighter and held the gun by her side. She left a note to her husband explaining things as best as she could. She hope that he understood it well and knew it was her, at least he would know she was alive. As she opened the door, she heard a loud thundering sound as cars approached her position. One two, three, it was them but how did they find her? Alina didn’t wait to find out, she ran back to her house and hoped over the fence. “Stop!” she heard a voice shouted behind her. “It was followed by a gunshot but Alina kept on moving jumping over her next door neighbor’s fence into their yard with the dog. She knew the dog and instead it sprung upon the men that tried to jump behind her. She hopped over a few more fences as she fled. She knew if she surrendered they would kill her. She had to escape. Seeing a neighbor by his car Alina placed her gun to his head. “Get in and drive!?” she shouted. The man’s face looked startled but Alina didn’t wait but shove him in and got in the passanger’s side behind him. She ducked down flat but held her gun positioned behind him. The man shook as he froze in place. “Drive, or I will shoot !?”she said. “Where am I going?” the man asked as he fumbled with the keys. “Anywhere out of here,” Alina replied. “Honey you forgot your lunch,” a woman’s voice sounded, “Didn’t you hear that sound earlier? It sounded like gunshots.” “It’s fine, I have to, I have to get to work,” he tried to face a smile as he reversed back out of his drive way. The man complied as Alina began to ponder how they knew where she was and then it came to her, it dawned on her, it was the chip in her arm. How could she be so stupid? She had to take it out. She drew the knife she had been carrying from her pocket, she screamed in pain as she made an incision into her flesh with the knife where she believed the chip to be. “Whats going on, what are you doing?” Alina shouted,“Just drive, please just drive, when I get out of here you can go wherever you want!” She managed to get the chip out of her arm and with it, her whole identity was gone, she didn’t think about it as she threw it out of the window. Her gaze fell back on her injured arm. She pulled a shirt from the bag she was carrying and wrapped it around her arm and rested the knife back into the hoster. She watched the man who was still panicking and watching the road. Had she managed to escape them? She didn’t hear any cars in pursuit or any pulling over. They had probably expected to have taken her quickly but the spacing of her neighboured was vast and she knew the grounds better than they did. Did she put her husband at risk now? No, they probably would search the house but wouldn’t find anything of noteworthy. The words she wrote and where she placed the information wouldn’t be something that they might even consider. The words were simple, “Don’t give up or believe everything that you hear.” She rested it on the fridge and shifted around the order of the items placed on it. It wasn’t enough to get him into trouble but she would probably not be able to see him again for a long time. Her main concern was where should she go now? She would have to stop Ryan from working on the project. If he couldn’t be convinced she might even have to kill him. She wouldn’t risk the future she saw but could she do it? Then what about this man? She would probably have to tie him up somewhere until she would be able to get far away from the location. Without any ID though she was limited in how far she could actually go. She couldn’t get a bus or a taxi anywhere. She would be on foot so she needed to be near a location which she could use. It might make sense to just dump him off somewhere but the car they would be able to track. Alina’s head hurt her from overthinking that she didn’t hear the man asking her which direction to go next. Alina swallowed hard as she relayed her thoughts to him. We are going to the Mantro Projects. The man’s face harden as he gripped the steering wheel tighter. He repeated the words to her as if Alina had not said it. She could not believe that she had said it herself but that’s exactly where she needed to go to hide. A place where all refugees go and where the police hardly ever travelled, it was the perfect place to hide because of its size
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