Between Two Worlds

I jog towards the building, open the door, and slip inside. I slow down my pace to a quick walk, inside, so I don’t attract negative attention. But it doesn’t seem to be necessary, I don’t pass by anyone. After a few minutes, I finally make it to their small apartment. I knock on the door for several minutes, but no one answers. I stop knocking and put my ear to the door, trying to see if I can hear anything, but all I hear is silence.

“Are you looking for Wolfe?” a male voice asks.

I jump and turn around. I see a man wearing camouflage clothing standing in his doorway, three doors down. “You scared me,” I say, holding a hand to my chest. “But yes, I’m looking for my brother. Have you seen him?”

“I think he was part of the unit that left out, the week before last, on a training mission. They won’t be back for another couple of weeks.” The man says.

“Oh, okay. Thanks.” I say, disappointed. I guess Altair was right. Wolfe isn’t home. I just stand there a moment, waiting for the neighbor to go back inside his own apartment. Once he does, I stand on my tiptoes and reach my right hand up to the top of the doorframe and slide my hand along it, until I feel the spare key. No matter where we stay, Wolfe always leaves me a key, in case Lou ever needs something and he isn’t available to give me his key. I put the key into the lock, twist it, and then open the door, carefully removing the key and placing it in my pocket. Shutting the door, I turn around and look for something to write on and something to write with.

I walk into his living area and search the nearby stand. I find some sheets of paper, but they all have Lou’s drawings on them. I flip one over and then search until I come up with a pencil. I scratch out a quick note to him about needing to talk as soon as he returns and then leave it sitting in his chair. Lou is going to be mad I messed up her picture, but it will have to be okay.

I walk back to the door, open it, lock it, and shut it back. I pull the key from my pocket, look around to make sure no one is watching, and then put the key back on top of the doorframe. I’m just outside of the dorms when two soldiers walk up to me.

“Rayann?” one asks.

“Rayanna.” I correct.

“We need you to come with us.” The other says.

“Why what’s wrong?”

“Just come with us. Altair needs to talk to you, immediately.”

I feel icy fingers of fear wrapping themselves around my stomach and holding tight. But I manage to nod my head and follow the men. They lead me towards the barracks, through the front door, and down a few narrow hallways, to an office in the back of the building. It’s a small room, with only a wooden desk, and two wooden chairs in it. One chair sits on one side of the desk and one chair on the other side of it. The walls seem to be made of some kind of red, wood planks. These planks give the room a pleasant woodsy smell.

“Sit down and wait here. Altair should be here in a moment.” One of the soldiers instructs before they both turn and leave.

Do all of these soldiers travel in pairs? I swear I’ve never seen just one solo man by himself, except the man living in Wolfe’s dorm, and he wasn’t on duty.

Being true to himself, Altair keeps me waiting somewhere around thirty minutes before he walks in and sits down across from me. “How are you doing today? Has your day been good? What have you been up to?” he asks.

Uh-oh. This can’t be a good sign. He’s never polite like this. “Yeah, it’s been all right. I went out to Wolfe’s as I said. Haven’t really done anything else.” I find myself looking down at my hands. This man really intimidates me, no matter how brave I’m trying to be. I swear it feels like he can read my every thought.

“I have something I need to tell you. You know how I told you that Wolfe joined the city militia?” he asks.

Fear’s icy fingers grab ahold of my mind now. “Yes. I remember.”

“I’m afraid I have some bad news.”

My heart starts pounding in my chest, and I can hear it beating in my ears. Please, no. Please don’t say it.

“I’m afraid there was some kind of training accident. Wolfe is dead.”

My stomach drops and starts to churn. I feel like I’m going to be sick. I reach for the trash can, just in time, to throw up in it. Wolfe is dead? How can he be dead? What am I going to do now? How will I escape Altair’s deadly grip? I don’t think I can do this on my own. I can hear Altair something else, but my mind won’t focus on anything other than the fact that Wolfe is dead. I stand to my feet, and the room starts to spin, and the next thing I know, blessed darkness fills my mind and I know no more.