Nicolas had arrived at his house in Peristeri within twenty minutes. All the time he spent in the car, he was searching the news for any articles about himself or the accident that killed his girlfriend.
It turned out that there was an article referring to him. Apparently, the bald man he had killed was found soon after his death. Due to the corpse's terrible state it's presumed to be a serial killer that has been ruthlessly killing civilians. There was nothing else unusual on the news.
But there was something else that was bothering him... Something was wrong...
By the time he got in the apartment, the time was already eleven pm. He was in a coma for only 7 hours.
His home was on the second floor so he had to take the stairs. Inside, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The only exception was that the lights were turned off.
Nicolas immediately held the syringe like a knife. While slowly moving in he opened the lights. There was no one inside.
He then spoke with a cold voice.
"Is anyone here?"
There was no reply. Taking the silence as an answer he said to himself.
"Even better for me."
Nicolas went to his room with quick steps and got dressed with completely black clothes. Right after that, he put everything he needed inside a black backpack.
The lone mirror facing him reflected an unrecognizable version of himself. His hair, disheveled, along with a pale complexion showed how exhausted he was. His face had scars from his fall in the square, but luckily for him they had been treated by the doctors. Recalling what had happened over the past few hours, it felt like ages had passed since his girlfriend died.
If what the doctors said is true, then... Is this truly an unknown miracle?... Is this truly something extraordinary?... I have to learn more about it...in case it can-
The next moment a deafening explosion pierced through the air, his thoughts were cut short. The windows broke and a few shards scratched his face. Nicolas fell to the ground slowly.
"Ugh...!"
His ears were ringing as he clutched them with his hands. He clenched his teeth from the pain and inadvertently bit his tongue. The pain eventually disappeared but he still felt dizzy. The whole world was spinning around for him.
Even though he was disoriented he could still think about what was happening before him through sheer willpower.
It must be the police... There's no way it's a coincidence... But the explosion...didn't happen here?...
He got up and headed down the stairs. His dizziness was gone, yet he still proceeded slowly but silently. When he got on the ground floor, he saw through the large windows the silhouette of a burning mass of metal.
The heat coming from the presumed car was so hot that he was sweating. The car was in such a bad condition that if it's driver had been inside not even a single piece of him would have remained...
No way that's...my mom's car...
After a few seconds of thought, he remembered that when he got here the car wasn't there. This means that...
... They killed her...
Nicolas' face didn't show a hint of emotion. It wasn't that he was emotionless, it was just that they weren't that close as a mother and son for him to feel sad or angry.
Suddenly, he heard numerous voices beyond the flaming car.
"... Move... Target...get clo-..."
What are they talking about?... Wait a minute. I am considered to be a criminal... Fuck...
When he tried to commit suicide, he had checked the square and discovered many cameras. It's very likely that they were also watching him when he escaped from the hospital.
But...why would the police blow up a car and kill an innocent person?... It's not like them to get so violent within hours... It takes usually days to-
After a brief pause, he stopped in his tracks. His eyes had widened in shock.
... Except if they're not the police... This is dangerous, I have to leave. Right now...
Nicolas had already thought of an escape plan, in case of an emergency, many months ago. His idea was to escape through the fence at the garden. It wasn't something difficult but he never thought he'd use it at night.
I can't see anything. Where's the ladder?
In the darkness, nothing was visible. His only choice left was to climb the wall. He started climbing without a second thought.
Afterwards, he jumped down to his neighbor's yard. But there was a problem. He had forgotten that his neighbor had a dog, a pitbull at that. The voices got louder and louder. Nicolas didn't have the time to avoid waking up the dog named Fido.
He ran with all his strength to pass over the opposite fence before Fido could catch up to him.
"Woof!!! Woof!!! Woof!!! Woof!!!"
After he got to the fence Nicolas saw the enormous pitbull rushing towards him through the faint illumination of the moon.
Fuck. Faster. Even more.
He jumped up the fence and pulled himself up. Fido, right behind him, jumped up too but he barely touched Nicolas' shoe. The giant dog crashed on the stone fence. The impact made even the wall vibrate, although slightly.
With a sigh of relief, Nicolas jumped down to the adjacent garden. His heart was still racing faster than a car's engine, ready to tear his chest with every beat, but the beautiful scenery calmed his mind. The countless flowers flowed in the wind like a colorful sea. The wonderful scents made Nicolas momentarily forget about everything, before he was brought back to reality by the smell of his own blood.
The shouts that hadn't grown faint at all were now accompanied by the barks of numerous dogs. The unidentified men were hot on his tail. Without waiting any longer he continued passing the fences until he reached the other side of the block. He was now all alone on the empty road. His pale face was covered in silver light under the beautiful moon. The loud voices had faded into oblivion and were replaced by the sirens of the firefighting trucks.
He had deliberately avoided the streets until now, but in doing so he overexerted his own body. He was utterly exhausted. He could hardly move his legs. His arms were in no better condition, but he couldn't stop now. The guys chasing him couldn't be so stupid as to get tricked by something like this.
I have to hide somewhere... But where? They know who I am, so my friends are out of the question... Do I have to break into a random house and...kill the owner?... Shit.
He continued running to the opposite direction of his home without looking back. Out of both breath and willpower, he stopped in front of an old, derelict house. He weakly hit the doorbell hoping for no one to respond.
"Diiiiiing"
But to his dismay, an old lady answered him.
"Who's there?!"
"I..."
A tense silence filled the air. Nicolas wanted to avoid killing innocent people unless his life was in danger. But now that he had to prove it in action he still hesitated. Even though he had a knife inside his backpack, his hands inadvertently trembled. Not out of fear but due to his own moral code.
"... I...need your help... Can I sleep here for a night..."
"Why do you want to sleep here? Don't you have a house?... Are you here to rob me?"
The woman replied to Nicolas in a suspicious voice. Gulping down, Nicolas felt lightheaded. While supporting himself on the wall he said in a voice that seemed more like a whisper.
"My house...caught on fire...I don't...have anywhere...to go..."
Nicolas started speaking with pauses. He was about to faint.
"...Please..."
"Look, it's already very late. Why don't you come tomorrow and-"
Thud!!!!
Before she could finish, a loud bang on the door cut her words short. With reluctant moves the old lady opened the door only to find a young man lying unconscious on top of the wooden deck.