Requiem for a Soldier (Requiem #1)

Chapter 9: Protection

April 9

Tayja

I wake to hear a helicopter hovering above the cabin. Terrified that I've been found, I jump off the bed and hide in the first spot I can think of: under the bed. In retrospect, this definitely wasn't a very original hiding spot nor was it a particularly good spot to wedge myself, as it had very limited egress options. Never underestimate the idiocy of blind panic.

After a few terrifying moments, the whirring of the helicopter grows louder, then the sound becomes more distant as it flies away. I remain huddled under the bed until I hear a knock on the door.

"Ana?"

I'm still unused to hearing that name. Ever since my little sister started talking, everyone's been calling me Tayja. That's what she said when she tried to pronounce Anastasia. It sort of stuck. I'd been spelling it Tasia at first, but soon discovered I could use the more exotic letters y and j to achieve the same pronunciation with a spelling that looked way cooler on paper. Or so I thought when I was seven.

I scoot out from under the bed and race over to answer the door. If Ryan notices my exceptionally disheveled appearance, I can't see his reaction to it.

"What was that?" I ask in a voice barely above a whisper. Ryan's calm demeanor is reassuring, but I'm still suspicious of the activity that just occurred outside.

"Delivery is here," he says simply. "I'm going to bring in your clothes first."

"Oh," I say, feeling relieved. "Thanks."

I emerge from the bedroom ten minutes later wearing all new clothes. After weeks of wearing either the one outfit I brought with me or oversized men's clothing, wearing fresh, well-fitting clothes is wonderful. I smile at Ryan, who has retrieved the pair of boots he insisted upon and holding them out for me. Two boxes of clothing for me lie partially opened in the middle of the living room.

"Thank you for," I stop, trying to find the right words. My clothes? The books? These shoes? But he's done so much more than that. Rescuing me? Letting me stay here?

"Everything," I finish, hoping he understands how much that encompasses.

He nods in response and sets the boots in front of me.

"Put them on," he says.

I do, but hesitantly. Aside from my brief and unpleasant trip to the porch, I haven't left the safety of the cabin since I was first brought here unconscious.

"Come with me," he says, heading out the door.

I hang back, standing nervously by the couch. I have no desire to relive the flashbacks the last trip outside gave me. In addition to that, open spaces make me feel nervous. This began after the first attempt on my life. I feel so exposed and defenseless without the shelter of four walls and a ceiling.

"I don't know..." I trail off, stalling.

Ryan turns around to face me.

"You'll be fine. I need you to help me unload the crates. They're very close. 20 yards."

"Ok," I agree reluctantly. When I step out onto the porch, I pause, expecting to feel the panic of running terrorized through a forest. Ryan turns to look at me when he hears my footsteps stop. At first I think he's going to question me, but instead he is silent, waiting for me to follow him.

I look around at the small clearing the cabin is located in. Ryan's collection of hacked-off tree stumps trail off towards the one break in the dense woods surrounding us, a narrow dirt road that disappears into the forest. I take two more steps toward the stairs and hesitate again. I notice a small garage-like structure freestanding from the cabin with an ATV parked inside. A woodpile is stacked along the cabin wall just off the porch. The large wooden crate rests where the helicopter must have deposited it in the middle of the clearing. Ryan has already pried it open with a crowbar. My gaze shifts back to the thick, dense forest beyond Ryan, who's still standing there, waiting for me. I take another hesitant step down one stair, then another. At the last step, I grip the railing of the porch and feel a dizzying wave a panic sweep over me at the thought of taking another step closer to those trees.