In The Shadows

Chapter Twenty Two

"One...two...three..." Sam counted slowly. I left him with his head buried in his hands, blocking his eyes from watching Irine and I run off. We were six or seven years old, playing hide and go seek around the house.

"Four...five..." Irine ran into the kitchen, probably to hide inside one of the cupboards. That was her favorite spot. She would take out the cloudy tubs of flour and sugar, climb in towards the back of the tiny space, and slowly slide the tubs back inside to block her from view.

"Six...seven..." I tiptoed up the stairs, as fast as I could without being too loud. I tried to walk on my toes, almost bouncing on them, in my attempts to cushion my footsteps.

"Eight...nine..." I scooted around the railing, racing to the room I shared with Irine and over to where my bed was pushed up against the wall. With minimal time to spare, I shimmied along the bed frame on my side through the narrow space in between the mattress and the wall.

"Ten..." Sam shouted. "Ready or not, here I come!" His footsteps pounded around the house, first along the bottom floor into the sitting room. After checking to make sure my feet didn't poke out past the mattress, I flipped a couple of the sheets over to cover me.

My breathing was shallow and my heart pounded as I waited, listening as Sam rummaged through the downstairs closet and then through the kitchen. Shouts arose as he found Irine, and she yelled, complaining about how he was unfair and cheating. He ignored her as he continued his search to find me. His footsteps pounded up the stairs, first into his room. I could picture him searching under the bed, behind the dresser, in the closet, before making his way to the room that Irine and I shared.

I stopped breathing and his steps drew closer.

And closer.

And closer.

I opened one of the giant boxes and ducked inside, sinking to the bottom and folding the flaps shut. Next to me, Mason's breathing grew rapid, loud and nervous, yet it quickly hushed as she held her breath when the truck's door slid up with a bang.

At the unanticipated sound, my head jolted to the side and my heart hammered in my throat, making it hard to breathe. Hugging my knees to my chest, I waited as the heavy footsteps climbed on board, counting the sets in my head. There were one, two, three, at least three of them in the truck bed right now.

Fear thundered in my ears, but I was still able to hear the government mandated shoes wandering the truck bed. The steps were sharp and pristine, formal and direct in their movements. A couple of the boxes fell over, their contents spilling and scattering across the floor. The officers laughed and one said something to another, but their murmured and rushed words were inaudible.

One set of shoes wandered my way, walking along the back wall with purposed steps, as if searching for something. They grew closer and I couldn't breathe. It was as if invisible hands were pushing me under water, and I was drowning in a darkness of fear and anxiety. I couldn't come up for oxygen, I couldn't breathe. My eyes squeezed shut, causing the sounds around me to be heightened, roaring through my head and reverberating through my body.

His gruff voice, calling to the other officers.

My pulse, screaming.

His shoes, with their sharp and purposeful walk.

My soft breath, wailing like a tornado.

His hand, gliding smoothly across the back wall.

"Ready?" Someone yelled. My heart leapt into my throat, and I shoved my mouth into my knee to stifle my alarmed cough. "Let's go."

The footsteps moved away from me, exiting the truck. Voices called out to one another outside, and within a minute, the truck rumbled to life. Only once it began to lumber down the road again did I dare to exhale. I could hear the others begin to move around again, but my own limbs refused to move. My arms were made of lead, and my legs made of stone, weighed down by stress and anxiety. The only thing that moved was my rapidly beating heart, which was still recuperating from the checkpoint.

Outside my box, I could hear Chase chuckle, "Mason? Amber? You guys can come out now."

Slowly, I stood up, coughing out a stiff laugh, "Oh, right. Thanks." Beside me, Mason emerged from her own box, a shaky smile on her ghostly pale face.

Sam's footsteps moved around the room. Irine's sheets rustled as he looked under her bed, then my sheets rustled as he looked under mine. The dresser groaned when he checked behind it, and the closet doors squeaked when he peeked behind the clothes and shoes.

"Did you find her yet?" Irine's voice shouted up from the bottom of the steps.

"No, not yet," Sam yelled back, his voice fading as he walked down the hall. It was like I was made of stone, frozen and silent. I refused to dare to even breathe when their footsteps roamed the hallway outside our room.

I hid for almost an hour before they finally gave up, later patting me on the back and congratulating me for my amazing spot. Pride welled up inside me, joy flooded my heart and giddiness soaked my smile. It was a sense of accomplishment, of winning and remaining as the champion of hide and go seek for that week.

But as we got older, one spot wasn't good enough for me. I would hide in multiple places in one game, using the time the seeker had their back turned to make my move. I would move from cupboard to corner, from under the bed to behind the dresser in an instant.

Stealthily.

Silently.

Like I was invisible.

Soon enough, it wasn't just a sense of accomplishment I felt, but also a sense of power. It was knowing that no matter how hard they searched, finding me wouldn't be easy. I controlled when I would be seen and unseen, when I would stay hidden and when I would be caught. It was an unnoticed kind of power, because of how I remained quiet and hidden, but, nevertheless, one that I held to my advantage.

I just hoped that my hide and go seek skills could carry through to this mission. Hoped and prayed liked my life depended on it, because it did.

One wrong move, and someone could find me.

One wrong move, and I was dead.

****

Thanks for reading!!

How did you enjoy this chapter?? I decided to make it a bit unique with the integrated flashback! Did you like this idea?

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-Payton