When A Nightmare Becomes Reality

Chapter 1

Five years later

Everything had been quiet except for the first couple of months. There were nowhere to hide and I almost got caught four times. They were everywhere, but who was I kidding? They were the military after all. I still could not remember what happened from the 20th to the 23rd September five years ago, but today I tend to forget about it. It is only when I sometimes get nightmares of what could have happened and I wake up screaming and covered in sweat.

These five years I have not contacted my family which I now know are alive. My friends are another story; they all died in the blast. I found out by looking at a TV five years ago where they were talking about the explosion and the ones that lost their lives. Also realizing your own name on the list; I hope my parents are okay. I thought about seeing them, but soon let go of the idea.

I have been moving every 6th month as to not get caught even though I have not seen or heard from them for over three years. I am just being careful. The first year was hard; I had no place to stay, no workplace, no money, no first love that could help me and make me feel alive which I have not felt for years. Yes, I was still in love with Hugh. My love for 'the enemy' has only grown and become stronger during these years and I have not done anything to put a stop to them. He is the only thing in my life that keeps me going; the thought of meeting again both scares and excites me - even though he is there to catch me.

I have gotten multiple offers during the years from both male and female, but they never turn on a fire inside me which Hugh does by just being in the same room. I know, I am a complete idiot, but who can throw away such feelings? I tend not to think about Hugh, because the pain in my chest makes it known; knowing that he does not love me only hates me is hard. I can get hard by thinking about his intents glare, but I can also cry myself to sleep when a think about all the hate he showed me that month many years ago.

I was currently packing for my next move; I had stolen a car the morning after I escaped, but soon got rid of it to erase all trails of my existents. I am now under the grid; only get paid cash, never buys a house, car or anything that could get me exposed, using fake id and moving from place to place. This is my 11th move after that night. I already got sick of it, but it is not like I can change my circumstances. Moving is always a pain, but when you only have a bag full of clothes it really cannot get easier.

I only buy what is absolute important like cloths and stuff to avoid me being caught on camera. People tend to keep my at a distance because I always wear my hoodie to hide my face - only when working and during job interviews is it off. I have learned a lot during these years and that is thanks to my new life style.

I am now waiting for the bus to ride it to the next town 'River Side'. I do not go to big cities, only towns close to the forest which is also a great escape route. Every place, I move to, I check for escape routes just to make sure. Even though I am tired of this life it is all I have.

The bus finally came and I boarded it - sighing and 'looking forward' to the whole three hours I had to sit here.

******

After getting off the bus, I went to get the newspaper of the town to check out apartments or hotel rooms and job offers. The small towns always had a newspaper which was just about the town and then you could get the worldwide newspaper every week. Glancing down the pace with is for available apartments, I found three possible choices. The first one was only a few blocks away which were great - I hated walking.

When arriving at the apartment, I knocked on the door of the householder. After three knocks an older lady came out with a smile on her face.

"Yes? What can I do for you young man?"

"Hello. My name is Adam. Do you still have an available room?"

"Oh yes. Come with me. Such a handsome man you are."

I chuckled at her comment; I had of course taken my hoodie off so I would not scare the householder away - not like I would get a room like that. The older woman known as Marie, showed me the place and said I could moved in right away. The apartment was not big, but just right. There was a middle sized bedroom, a little bathroom and a well sized kitchen. I was lucky that there already was furniture, so that did not prove to be a problem.

I happily thanked Marie for the hospitality and the opportunity. I followed her out and went looking for a job after saying goodbye. I walked into the center of town where there were a dinner, a host club, which was weird for such a small town, a supermarket and other small stores. First I walked to the supermarket, but they did not need any extra help. I entered the dinner and saw a girl around 20 or younger waiting on a couple.

I walked to the counter which was free of customers and smiled at a girl around my age.

"Welcome to Mark's dinner. How can I help you?"

"Hello. I am Adam - do you have a job opening?"

"Well yes, actually we do. Come with me. Marcy! Take over please."

When a woman in her forties came and took over. The girl led me into the back. After talking for a bit, learning her name and me talking about my background - without talking about the blast five years ago - she gave me the job. I could start Monday which was perfect, because I could relax a couple of days. I had not really had a day off at my other job, so a little free time was nice.

I went grocery shopping and went back to the apartment to unpack. Afterwards I checked out the woods and the possible escape routes which I marked so only I could see. It was getting late and I went back to the apartment to sleep hoping nothing would go wrong in this town. 

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