Get out

The End

The car pulled onto the small open area in between the containers, and Brett squinted to see which car it was. Thankfully, it seemed to be the one he was expecting. A moment later the engine was switched off and the darkness returned once again. Only the vague shapes of the two people, one tall and one short, stepping out were visible in the faint light from the ship windows. A bit further up the dock the crew was busy loading the last pallet of food for their trip, and the faint sound of their banter echoed through the metal walls of the containers and the large ship.

“That’s Victor and Alex,” Brett concluded as a whisper to his partner, stepping out from behind the container he had kept himself and Eddy hidden with.

Eddy listened to Brett’s voice and how it seemed it meld perfectly with the lull of the waves. It was almost peaceful, but the looming threat kept him from really enjoying it. Rather the dread just grew as he silently stood in hiding.
“Do they seem okay?” Eddy asked quietly, it seemed it took them a while to get to the harbor.

“They do,” Brett nodded, still partially hidden by the shadow.

Victor grabbed his backpack from the trunk, putting it on. He was making sure to soak up the last few sights of his car, his little friend that he had fixed up and made drivable after Brett bought it for him for cheap a couple of years back. It was sad to see all this stuff go, something he really had never thought himself to be sad about.

A movement caught the corner of his eye, though, making him turn to look at the vague shape in the shadows. His heart jumped for a moment, but he soon realized he had nothing to fear. It was his boss. He gave a nod to acknowledge he had seen him.

Alex watched Victor’s movements and listened to his breathing. He caught the quick passing tension, so his eyes followed Victor’s gaze to see what startled him. Ahh, it was Brett. Interesting that he was also concealing himself. Must be concerned with real danger. That didn’t seem very soothing at all.

“Wanna say goodbye?” Brett asked Eddy as a whisper. He figured he’d want to, and he’d shake Victor’s hand and that would be it until they hopefully got word of their safe arrival in Japan. “Now’s your chance.”

“I do,” Eddy said gently, it was saddening to know he’d be starting a life without Alex. Even if they weren’t dating anymore, Alex was still by his side for five years! It was going to be a big change but it was one that needed to happen.
Carefully he took a step away from Brett, he’d miss his friend.

Brett followed right behind, keeping an eye out for any potential danger. Surprisingly to him, Victor took the initiative to come closer alongside Alex. He half expected a distant nod. A moment later the four men stood together in the dim light.

Eddy looked at Victor, almost as if asking if it was okay to give Alex a hug. He didn’t want to overstep the boundaries of the new couple. Even if he just wanted to hug Alex because they had been so close to one another. The closeness along with past intimacies could be an issue though to new partners. So better safe than sorry.

Victor gave a small nod to Eddy, standing back so they could say goodbye properly. Alex deserved that. Eddy was a man who meant a lot to him. And of course Eddy deserved that too. At least Victor thought so.

Eddy was thankful, so without another thought he stepped towards Alex, wrapping his arms around the shorter man and lowered his head to rest on Alex’s shoulder. Alex hugged him back, taking a deep breath.

“It’s gonna be weird without you,” Alex admitted, Eddy had been his life for a long time and the reason he even dared leave the organization.

“Yeah,” Eddy agreed softly, “May be a good weird though. You have someone else you love and you’re gonna get to experience a lot of new things with him. Experience a normal life.”
He kept his tone quiet, sometimes people were only in one’s life for a short amount of time. It was sad to see them go but Eddy could be happy with the time they had together along with the new opportunities Alex would get. It would be a lot better.

“I think it will be, I’ll just miss not knowing that you’re around,” Feelings were often complex and hard to understand for Alex but he knew he’d miss the younger man.

Eddy nodded, that summed up a lot of his thoughts. “Well, there’s always the internet.”
He tried to lighten up the mood with some light teasing.

Alex snorted, “Well I guess that’s true. Can never be too far with the internet.”
He shook his head a little then smiled, “Thanks for everything, Eddy.”

“You’re welcome and thank you too,” Slowly, Eddy pulled away from him. Alex and Victor needed to be leaving, plus Eddy didn’t want to make Brett and Victor uncomfortable with the prolonged hug along with whispers amongst each other.

A moment later the sound of the ship’s horn reverberated through the harbor for a few seconds and a man appeared on the side of the ship, quietly letting down a rope ladder on the side.

“That’s your call. It’s been nice working with you, Victor,” Brett said softly, offering his hand to shake. He felt quite emotional letting his friend go like this, having to fight a lip quiver to not give it away.

Victor glanced at the hand, then at the rope ladder, and then back at the man who had been his boss for almost eight years. A moment later he had pulled the smaller man into a tight bear hug.
“Thank you for the opportunity, sir,” he said, clearly fighting his emotions just as much as Brett was. A moment later, though, he had let go to instead take Alex’s hand. “See you around.”

“I’ll make sure Victor is alright for you,” Alex gave Victor’s hand a gentle squeeze, as he gave a small nod to Brett, “and you take care of Eddy for me.”
He slowly turned to look at the rope ladder, it was time to climb!

“Will do,” Brett hummed softly, looking up at Eddy for a moment with a small smile. He carefully took his hand, giving it a squeeze before turning back to watch the couple head off. “Safe travels.”

“After you,” Victor hummed a bit jokingly to Alex, doing a little gesture towards the rope ladder.

“Why thank you,” Alex snorted, he let go of Victor’s hand to climb the ladder.

Eddy leaned against Brett as he watched Alex ascend up the rope ladder. Off he was going to a new life.

The two men were helped on board just as the ship’s propellers pushed it gently away from the dock. Brett carefully took a step back with Eddy to make sure they were once again hidden in the shadow. They would be taking Victor’s car away from there, though, so they couldn’t stay forever. Just long enough to see the ship off.

Eddy glanced around the boat yard, almost not bearing to see them both leave. That was when he saw something out of place amongst the boat yard. Mist pooled around the dock giving a rather eerie feeling. It made chills go up his spine when he saw the silhouette of a man across the yard.
For a second the man stood in the light, revealing who he was as he locked eyes with Eddy. A wide cheshire grin on his lips. He had found them, he had known, he had been here under their noses. Watching them, observing. Yet doing nothing. All he did was smile before disappearing back into the shadows. The terror was delicious.

Eddy’s heart sunk into the pit of his stomach.