Chapter One: Back To Life

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     It was safe to say Amanza stood out in a crowd of people; specifically to a man.  There was something about her that entranced men like the sirens at sea.  This was an accurate assumption since she was very defensive about herself and only allowed herself to get close in order to get what she wanted.  But this night was headed in a direction she very much did not want it to.  Abort mission.

     "Men," Amanza scoffed to herself, watching as the man whom she just turned down angrily walked away from her.  She was outside on the patio of a nice bar that seemed to be pretty busy and popular.  Not that she'd ever even set foot inside, but she'd been frequenting the area as of late.

     "I hear you," one of the bartenders said.  "Would you like a drink?"

     Amanza found herself nodding almost instantly.  "Several, please."

     An hour later, she was sitting comfortably inside the bar, watching people come and go.  Amanza never much worried about being on her own, she was so used to it.  Sitting alone in a crowded room was nothing.

     It wasn't long before she spotted him, and boy was she glad she saw him before he saw her.  He was obviously running late for his shift, rolling up his sleeves frantically as Amanza glared at the time on her golden wristwatch.

     Normally, when someone sees their ex in public they would get flustered, but Amanza wasn't your ordinary girl.  Instead of her face turning beat red, becoming a stuttering mess, she made a plan.  She assessed her exits, and within seconds, she was gone from the corner booth she had been sitting in... like she was never there in the first place.

     Amanza shook her head as she hurried around the corner, but she was caught off guard when she ran into the chest of a thicker man.  Sully.  Her eyebrows knitted together in disbelief.  "What are you doing here?"  She wasn't sure why she asked.  She already knew.

     She took a step back as Sully started talking.  "Thought I'd talk to him."

     "He doesn't even know who you are," Amanza shook her head.

     "Well, he doesn't know who you are either," Sully countered, tilting his head as he watched the girl's face drop.  "To be fair."

     "Leave him alone.  Hasn't he been through enough?"

     "He's got the answers," Sully shrugged.  "We've talked about this before."

     "You're messed up in the head, old man."

     Sully sucked his teeth.  "Why don't we tag team him?"

     After a moment of thought, Amanza spoke up again.  "What is this, a game to you?"

     "No, it's a game to you," Sully said with pointed eyebrows.  He was right; in all the time he'd known her, Amanza Cortez had been nothing but an adrenaline junkie who loved making games out of the most ordinary things.  But this wasn't just a game anymore, it was Nathan's life.  "Isn't it?"

Where's Your Head At?  ── Nathan DrakeWhere stories live. Discover now