CHAPTER FOUR
SARAH
The maze of buildings went on forever, making it hard for Sarah to find her way out. At each blind corner, she feared what might be waiting around the bend. She thought on the fly and braved the unknown, unable to rest or think with a clear mind. The armed men stalking her wouldn’t allow it.
Her chest tightened, and her lungs hurt. The muscles in her legs burned. Sarah breathed heavily and fought through the pain that racked her tired body. She wanted to stop and rest, but couldn’t. Not until she lost her tail.
The footfalls of the mysterious armed men receded, but she could still hear them. Their voices carried in the silence of the harbor, giving her markers to their position.
The discomfort trolling her lower half grew by the second. The fiery prod probing her thighs increased with every step she took, making it harder to maintain her pace.
Sarah skirted the corner of the building she ran alongside and stopped. She took a moment to catch her breath, despite knowing better. She kneaded the knotted muscles in her legs, trying to ease the bite attacking them.
Sarah deflated against the building, tilted her head back, and looked at the darkening sky. Night loomed on the horizon, like a black shroud being pulled over the city. She needed to lay low and figure out what to do.
The tromping of the armed men rang in her ears. Their footfalls grew louder.
Sarah took a deep breath, then pushed off the wall. She trudged along the buildings, her pace slow and unsteady. Footfalls stalked her from behind. The sound of their gear shifting sent a wave of fear crashing into her. She peered over her shoulder.
Two armed men rushed after her. One had his rifle shouldered. The other had a pistol clutched between both of his hands. He lifted the pistol to get a bead on Sarah.
An opening within the drab building next to Sarah presented itself. The door was missing from its hinges. Darkness lurked within the interior.
A muffled voice called out, shouting at her back.
Sarah slipped inside the dimly lit structure–tripping over the sill. She stumbled, losing her footing. The ground rushed her, but she managed to balance herself out.
She kept moving, running into the gloom that filled the cavernous building. Each footfall echoed inside the hollow space. Sarah cringed, but moved just the same.
Dark, shadowy shapes populated the ground, spanning far and wide. What little she could see looked like machines or something similar.
The tromping of boots echoed all around her as the two men entered the structure.
She stayed low and moved through the building, trying to find a way out.
A set of lights sliced through the ether, catching Sarah’s attention. The bright beams searched and scoured for their mark. The crackle of static lingered in the air, hinting at the armed men’s position. A muffled voice fought the white noise sounding from the speaker.
The hiss of distortion nestled inside her ear as she hid behind a shelving unit. Cobwebs clung to the steel frame. The sticky web stuck to portions of her hair that brushed against it. Her hand swiped over the thick layer of dust that coated the sparse shelves.
Sarah ducked, then looked through the opening. Her face contorted in disgust. She ran her fingers through the matted strands of hair the cobwebs touched.
The beams of light split up, venturing to different points within the building.
Sarah gulped, then glanced around the building, trying to plot her way out. She spotted what might be a staircase at the far end of the shelving but struggled to tell for sure in the low light.
The henchmen drew closer to her position. The gleam from their flashlights washed over the ground near the shelves. She had to move.
Sarah crouched and worked her way down the length of the shelves to the end. She stayed silent–trying to conceal her location. The closer she got, the better look she had at the steel staircase that climbed the side of the wall.
It wound around the building, leading up to a second floor.
She moved around the railing to the landing, then up the winding stairs while trying to minimize her footfalls. Her feet clanged off each step–subtle but loud enough to disturb the silence.
A beam of light shone on her like a spotlight.
“She’s heading upstairs,” a gruff voice shouted.
Sarah charged up the steps in a mad dash. She hit the landing, then sprinted up the next set.
The lights below bounced and moved as the men gave pursuit. Through each gap between the steps, she caught a glimpse of the dark figures racing toward the landing.
One of the lights tilted to the floor, then blacked out. The other continued on.
Sarah shoved the door open at the top of the staircase, pushing it against the wall. She hit the landing and paused, looking down both stretches of long, dark hallway.
The tromping of boots against the steel steps made her flinch. She feared what the armed men would do to her if they caught up.
She bolted down the hallway to her right, running hard and fast.
The blinding darkness hampered her vision, making it a challenge to see where to go and what she might be heading into.
The rooms on either side of the hallway were consumed by the dark. Those with windows offered snippets of the ramshackle interiors.
Sarah dipped inside one of the offices, searching for a place to hide. The scant bit of light from the broken window on the far wall, cast the square room in deep shadows.
A tarp laid on the floor on the far side, the contents underneath concealed by the material.
The footfalls of her pursers creaked down the hallway.
Sarah turned to the open door. She had to hide and fast. The tarp was her best bet.
She scampered across the floor, her shoes shuffling through the debris. The sound made her cringe.
The plastic crunched as she lifted the edge, blackness consumed the mass under the tarp.
Sarah dropped to her knees, then wormed her way under the crumpling material. It smelled old and stale, but still bearable. She laid on her back and allowed the tarp to rest on top of her.
The floor creaked.
Sarah placed her hand over her mouth to silence the fear that tried to escape. She missed her Glock 43. The world didn’t seem as scary when she held the plastic grip of that gun in her hand.
“Bennet, what’s your status, over?” a voice said, from the hallway near the office Sarah was hiding in. He crept closer. “Damn it. Where are you?” He sighed.
The creaking of the planks of wood under his weight signaled he was close.
Sarah pressed harder against her mouth.
The thumping of her heart pounded inside her head, making it seem louder. She couldn’t penetrate the tarp’s material to locate him.
The stench grew more stout the longer she stayed.
The man’s footfalls trailed out of the room, leaving Sarah alone. She waited a few minutes before moving out from under the tarp.
Did he move on? Sarah thought.
The creaking boards faded with every second that passed.
Sarah tempted fate, poking her head out from under the tarp. No dark figures loomed in the shadows of the room, waiting for her to reveal herself.
The tarp crunched.
Sarah froze, listening for a response.
No heavy footfalls rushed her way, and no other sounds came to indicate trouble lurked close by.
She crawled out from under the cover, grateful to be free of the stench that assaulted her nose. The palms of her hands pressed to the dirty floor as she watched the hallway.