The Widow Soldier

Chapter 2

After a bit of a walk, we got to his car, which was parked about 2 blocks away. I asked him why he had parked his car so far away as we neared his car.

"I know you have enemies, and I do too. Old habits die hard." He said.

I was tempted to ask what he meant about the last part, but I didn't want to be rude, or push my luck since he was already going out of his way to give me a ride. We soon met up with his family whom I didn't even notice had been there. His wife, he introduced her as Laura, had asked if I was ok. At that moment I was confused as to why she cared, after all, I was just some random girl they met in a cafe under some uncommon circumstances.

I understood the concept of being kind, but at that moment, I realized that I had never really experienced kindness myself, I had only seen other people experience it. That thought immediately made me bitter and angry at the people who took my childhood and innocence away from me.

After she asked again, I realized I had not answered her, but had zoned out instead. I quickly told her that I was fine, even if I mentally wasn't.

We soon got into the car and I told them where to drop me off near my apartment. They drove me there in complete silence aside from the occasional question or conversation. I didn't feel as uncomfortable as I expected. They were an actual family and I felt safe with them. Then I reminded myself that I was not staying with them and probably would never see them again after this.

Once we arrived, I thanked them continuously while Clint gave me a post-it note with his phone number on it telling me to call him if I ever needed anything. He also told me that he lived in America, more specifically a farm in Iowa.

After a bit more conversation, they left, leaving me to be alone with my thoughts again. It was normal for me but I still felt the feelings of missing them, the only normal company I've ever had. Well, they weren't 'normal' per se, just more normal than anyone else I've ever actually talked to. They were some of the first people who talked to me, voluntarily, without ulterior motives.

Once I went inside my apartment, I realized I would have to leave this really nice town. Not going to lie, I actually enjoyed my stay in this beautiful town.

I do not have the time to think about this, I thought to myself, I need to grab my get-away bag.

So I did just that, grabbed my get-away bag that was stashed under one of the floorboards. I had to double-check that it was not ripped as I had done that before. What happens in California, stays in California. Not to mention that I had to buy all new items after that incident.

I took the time to look around at the place I had stayed at the longest. 3 months. It was a bad idea to look around because seconds later I heard voices, loud and deep voices. I became worried, one of those voices was one heard frequently in my nightmares.

I didn't have time to think though, since seconds later my door was broken on the floor.

Three figures came at me quickly. I had almost no time to react. I jumped over the three so that they slammed into the wall. It was slightly funny honestly. Three grown men running into a wall, headfirst.

They were dazed as I knocked two of them out from the back, while the other one had recovered just enough to fight back a bit. Eventually, he was knocked out, but that wasted my precious time. The walls around me erupted in fire. All the doors were closed and on fire, except one. How convenient. It was my bedroom door that I had forgotten to close minutes before. Good thing I didn't.

I quickly ran for it and ran to the window. This room was hot but not completely in flames yet. I tried to touch the window but got burned on my hand. Ouch. I looked for another way out, but I could not one.

Looks like I'm going through.

I ran and threw myself at the window, breaking it. I quickly tuck-and-rolled onto the roof of the building next to me. At this point, I had scratches and cuts all over me, but nothing was bleeding dangerously, so I kept on going. I ran down the stairs and into the street with almost no people, and the few who were there did not seem to notice me.

I found the nearest empty car and hotwired it. I quickly started driving in one direction and kept going. No one visibly following.

———Time Skip———

After quite a long time, I did not count the hours, I saw buildings. They seemed familiar, yet I still could not place them. I quickly made my turn off the highway and made my way towards it. Once I made it into the town, I looked for signs telling me where I was. I saw a billboard and it said "Iowa" On it in all caps. I realized I did not have a place to stay set up, so I decided to just drive around the city until I could find a place suitable.

It was a bad idea because the traffic was terrible. I mean, why would you have so many cars and people in the street at the same time?

I was snapped out of my thoughts when an all-black Jeep car hit my car so hard, that my car rolled over so it was upside-down on the curb.

The glass was broken. I had more cuts on me and one that was bleeding a lot above my right eyebrow. I needed to get up. Just move, leave.

I saw the man from the other car get up through my, now shattered, window. He had a large gun in his hand. I quickly shook off my shock from the accident and got out of my car through the window. I ran and weaved through people. Until I ran into someone. Someone I recognized. It was Laura! The thing was that I knocked the grocery bags out of her hands. I felt so bad. I leaned down and got the groceries that had fallen out of the bags, in the bags and made sure nothing was broken. I then picked up the bags and gave them to her.

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