Two figures, their forms casting dark, lean shadows on the sidewalk, hurry along a lamp-lit street. A bead of sweat drips slowly down the man’s forehead, his face crushed in a fearful grimace. His lips part, and he gasps for breath. When he speaks his voice cracks, as if it is weighed down by the night’s heavy humidity. “I’m sorry, Stella,” he gasps, searching for something that would explain the phenomenon that has just occurred.
Stella Kestler, her soft blue eyes betraying the confusion that she feels inside, whispers, “Who were they, Nick? What did they want from you?” Her voice is sharp and tinged with anger, and yet she can’t seem to hide her concern.
“I’ll explain it all when we get inside.” As they ascend the concrete steps to the 7th floor, Nick’s mind begins to race. He struggles to fit together the puzzle pieces of his perfect world, now shattered. I mean the prospect of being caught was so small… how could they have found me? Nick changed as much of himself as was possible. He had died his hair jet-black, shaved his moustache, worn colored contacts to change his eye color, and gone to the other side of the world. To begin again. Without the stereotype that seemed to follow him everywhere like a shadow, shading his true character from the public. He remembered the disappointment, his father’s disgusted booming voice, and his mother’s depression at having born an inadequate heir. The thought of returning to his old life envelops Nick, giving him an overwhelming sensation of vertigo. Nick gropes for the key in his pocket, his shaking hand losing its grip. He fits the rusty object into the keyhole, breathing hard, a silent prayer in his mind. And then, all of a sudden, Nick’s body goes rigid, every ounce of his being listening.
A soft rustling, drifting through the keyhole, is barely audible over the buzz of the city street below. The sound grows steadily, and a small voice is heard… Then a thundering crash shattered the night, breaking the petrified silence that seemed to hang in the air outside the apartment. Stella and Nick’s eyes meet, their fear turning to determination, as if their whole lives have culminated to this moment. Nick faces the door, fits the key into the lock, and turns it. The pair exchange glances, and ready themselves. Nick pushes open the door, bracing himself. The door swings in, immediately swallowed by the darkness. The space beyond the door seems to be engulfed in a sea of tar, so deep that it is impossible to tell whether the hall stops feet away or goes on forever.
It takes a few moments for Nick’s eyes to adjust to the darkness. He shuffles forward uncertainly, afraid that he will run into the source of the noise. Stella stays by the door; her short cropped blond hair the last bright thing before the sea of black before her. She stares, no longer certain of her trust in Nick. Her mind can’t seem to fit the night’s events together. The uniformed men storming through the post office mail room, Nick’s surprise and fear, his voice calling for her to run. Stella looks forward into the apartment. She pushes back the curtain of darkness and advances toward Nick, fighting back her fear.
Nick fumbles blindly toward the source of the commotion, the living room, and passes his hand along the wall, searching for the light switch. The soft creak of a floorboard behind him signals that Stella is close by. Nick’s hands reach their target and he flicks it up, breath held.
Illuminated by the cheap fluorescent light bulb above, standing in the middle of the room are three men in light blue uniforms. One is short and stocky, his red sash barely able to stretch around his midsection. The other two look young and scared, surprised to see that the apartment has another occupant.
“How did you find me?” Nick’s voice is shaking with anger and apprehension.
“Aaah Your Highness! Kings orders, sir. Kings orders. But we are so happy to see you safe and sound. You see, we were afraid that our rescue mission would fail…” The short man was pompous in attitude, and continued to gesticulate after his words were spoken.
“I’m not going back… I’m not going back to that life.”
“But sir, you were kidnapped, surely you don’t want to continue life here… “ He motioned his hands around wildly, as if this would deepen his word’s affect. “We will bring you back to Jabordia, and will be regarded as your brave and honorable rescuers.” All of the soldier’s piggish eyes seemed to light up with their own greed for wealth and prosperity.
Stella had been standing in the shadows of the doorway, not yet visible by the soldiers. She stepped out suddenly, to the astonishment of the men, “Rescue mission? What are they talking about?” Stella turned on Nick, eyes cold, “Who are you?”
“I was not kidnapped, I ran away. I left my father a letter. If he didn’t read it, that was his choice,” Nick was staring blindly at a point some five feet away, speaking to the wall. “And,” he added as an after thought “I have no intention of being rescued.”
“So you lied to everyone! You told us you were a farm boy from the county, moving to the city to make some money. But, instead you’re a… a… some sort of prince?” Stella was beginning to panic.
“Sir, if you would kindly refrain from talking to the locals, we should be on our way to the air port now.” His hands were ringing excitedly.
“No!” Shouted Nick suddenly.
He sprinted toward the door, though the dark hallway, and out onto the landing. Nick scrambled down the stairs, tripping over his legs and leaping the last six. In an alleyway next to the main entrance, he knew there was a dumpster that supplied the perfect hiding place. Nick leaped inside, among the half eaten happy meals, soda cans, and empty bottles of spray paint.
Nick only numbly heard the shouting voices, the heavy fall of boots on concrete. He felt separated from the angry swearing of the men, and their panting, strangled voices. It was only when he heard their army vehicle pull away, only when the whine of it’s engine faded into the distance, that Nick awoke from his trance.
Nick pulled himself from the dumpster, covered in banana peels, and pieces of trash. He set off into the night’s darkness, searching for Stella.
