Victernus - Chapter 3
Namara woke up to the sound of heavy
knocking. Someone was at the front door, demanding to come inside. There was a
dim light still on in the kitchen doing little to brighten things up. He
glanced over at the microwave on one of the racks - it was only four in the
morning. The curtains were drawn, keeping him from seeing who was behind the
door. He stood up and moved away from the sofa he was sleeping next to in the
case that he had to run.
Looking up, he saw Hector make his
way down the stairs carefully. Still dressed in grey and blue pajamas, he
peered through the peephole to find out who was trying to break down his door
at such an early hour.
They knocked hoarsely again while
shouting, "This is the FBI, open up or we'll enter by force!"
Hector shouted back, "What do you
want?!"
"We have reason to believe that you
are harboring a fugitive. We have a search warrant. This is the last time: open
up or we'll break down this door!"
He glanced to where Namara had been
sleeping, but a puzzled expression ensued. Namara watched him with amusement,
invisible to his eyes.
Hector cracked open the door,
"What?"
"Step aside, sir."
He opened the door wide and took a
position on the stairs while the agents entered his house. Namara saw three men
in dark uniforms enter the living room with guns, ready to shoot. They searched
the area while Namara skirted around them, making his way to the door. When he
was close enough, he walked out. Again...
A light rain was falling outside,
giving the air a fresh smell. It energized Namara as he breathed it in, but he
realized that the raindrops were falling against him instead of through him. He
looked back at Hector and sighed, hoping that the agents wouldn't look outside.
Hector was scratching his head, seemingly unaware of what actually happened.
Turning, Namara ran off and hid
behind one of the trees next to the driveway to have cover from the rain. It
was not long before one of the agents stopped beside the doorway and
interrogated Hector violently, abusing him. He lowered his ears in shame. This always happens! Everyone gets hurt
because of me... Memories of the struggles he had dealt with flooded his mind.
There were many years of debating on whether he should chase this phantom he
found or not. Some days he found it selfish. Others, like it was the most
important thing in the world. Many times, he felt like he was just a disruption
to other people's lives and that he shouldn't do it because of the trouble it
might cause. Few of his friends stayed with him long because of his focus. The
ones that did, he still felt unsure about. The phantom haunted him, and it tore
up his life. But, there was a point where he had to decide, for sure, what he
would do - and he decided to chase it.
Snapping out of his thoughts, Namara
realized that a bit of time had passed. The agents were pulling out of the
driveway in a black hovercar and Hector was sitting down on the front porch,
bewildered. When the agents were nowhere in sight, Namara stepped forward into
the yard and uncloaked himself. He approached Hector with caution, trying to
ascertain what had transpired.
Hector saw him and a smile spread
across his face. He opened his arms and beckoned for him to come. "There you
are!"
As Namara drew closer, he noticed a nasty bruise on
his cheek. Stopping, his head drooped along with his ears and his tail. No...
Before he could react, he felt Hector's bulky arms
around his body. Is he... hugging me? He
whined more.
"Don't worry about it, kid. Let's get going. We can
get a ride on one of the pressure trains." He stood up and went back into the
house. "I just need to get a couple of things and get dressed. Meet me by the
truck!"
Still sulking, regardless of his assurance, Namara
trudged down to the truck through the wet grass. The rain stopped above, but
the rain within him continued to fall. He brushed up against the truck's silver
bumper and then stopped next to the door. After shaking himself off, he reached
up and pulled on the handle with his paws. He fell backwards in an effort to
yank the door open, but it shut before he could get up again. He sighed.
Namara stepped back when Hector came
out to open the door for him. He jumped in and sat in the passenger seat when
the opening was large enough. Inside, he saw that the truck was a little bit
messy, with a few papers on the floor and the dashboard, but it wasn't bad.
The door shut behind him and he saw Hector walking
around to the other side. Looking to his right, he saw the seatbelt hanging
beside him. He bit it with his mouth and tried pulling it down to the slot, but
to no avail.
Hector entered the truck and took over so that he
wouldn't get tangled up in the band. He ruffled Namara's fur again and started
the car, saying, "You're not used to being that way yet, are you?"
He shook his head. Not exactly in the way you might think...
While they were driving down the
path, Namara felt Hector's hand rubbing his back gently. Another feeling
sparked within him, and he gazed out his window. Is some of it... here?
The truck jolted to a stop,
launching Namara forward a few inches. A caravan of military vehicles passed in
front of them on the road. They were driving towards the facility. Namara
rolled his eyes and tapped his band, rendering himself invisible.
Hector saw him disappear in the
corner of his eye. He turned his head to see him gone, but the seatbelt was
still in place. "...Namara?"
Namara looked to him and then
pressed the band twice more to show him.
Hector trained his eyes back to the
road. "Wow... I see."
When the caravan ended, he turned
the opposite direction to get onto one of the main highways. "You can stop that
now... They're gone."
Namara
sensed that Hector felt a little bit uncomfortable about his technology, so he uncloaked
and then laid himself across the interior. Resting on his belly and propping
his head up on Hector's leg, he let out a deep sigh and closed his eyes. Almost
expected, he felt one of Hector's rough hands on his back and shoulders again.
Smiling, he drifted off to sleep.