The Fall of Earth
Chapter 7: Escape
Twenty-four hours later, Apartment Block 23, Unit 56, District 217, UNXCA European Branch
The hard rap of knuckles on the door attracted Leonid's gaze from the mass of pictures he had taken the city walls that were scattered across his small dining table. The sun had largely set and the room was bathed in utter darkness with the exception of the small desk lamp that Leonid had brought with him. He stood up and slowly approached the door, he opened the door quietly and Evgeni entered the apartment.
"So what do you have for me?" asked Leonid as he closed the door.
"Well I managed to get one of the convoy schedules from one of the soldiers," said Evgeni and he handed Leonid a file with all the schedules in it.
"How did you manage that?" he asked Evgeni with curiosity.
"Well I found the soldier who had them passed out with his head in one of the toilets at the bar and I felt he wouldn't need them anymore," he answered slyly.
"Excellent, let's get to work" said Leonid.
District 217 Civil Monitoring Bureau Head Office, District 217, UNXCA European Branch
"How do you plan on escaping Leonid?" asked Evgeni. Communications officer Vasiliy Andreyev perked up at those words. He quickly summoned his immediate superior to his desk.
"Yes, Vasiliy what is it" he demanded.
"Sir you're going to want to hear this," he replied and handed over the earphones to the man. A few moments later he put down the headphones and cracked his knuckles.
"Shall I dispatch a team to apprehend them sir?" asked Vasiliy.
"Do it," responded the officer.
Five minutes later, Apartment Block 23, Unit 56, District 217, UNXCA European Branch
"I think that if you can successfully disguise yourself as one of the soldiers and get onto one of the convoy vehicles you should make it," said Evgeni.
"Right, the next convoy leaves tomorrow at 7:00 pm, I will be ready by then," informed Leonid.
"Well, good luck" wished Evgeni as he closed the door and left the apartment. Leonid got up from the table and took the picture of Valentina out of his pocket; he kissed it softly and began to put it back when a flash grenade shattered the glass of one of his windows. He heard a ringing in his ears and a sharp pain in his eyes as his retinas were overloaded with light. As he stumbled aimlessly around the room several soldiers rappelled through the other windows and into the apartment.
"UNXCA get on the ground now sir!" yelled one of the soldiers. Leonid had regained enough of his senses to grab one of Evgeni's empty Vodka bottles and smashed it over the head of one of the soldiers who momentarily stepped back. With the bottle gone Leonid managed to grab his kitchen knife and began swinging it at the soldiers. One of them pulled out his taser and managed to hit Leonid with two electrified darts. Leonid dropped to his knees just long enough for another soldier to knock him out with a blow to the back of the head with the butt end of his AK-47.
Four hours later, District 217 Detention Centre, UNXCA European Branch
"Wake…up…Leonid," said an unknown voice through the ringing in his ears. Leonid's vision soon came back into focus and he came face to face with a fat man who reeked of sweat.
"So, Leonid Sevchenko you though you could escape this city. Well my friend you are sadly mistaken. You see once you enter District 217 you don't leave, it's merely a safety precaution."
"A safety precaution, A safety precaution?!" bellowed Leonid as he struggled in the chair he was tied to.
"You can't keep everyone in here and coop them up, eventually they will want out," he said.
"Well our orders are to keep everyone in and to detain those who try to escape" informed the man.
"You can't do that it's against the Geneva Convention!" screamed Leonid.
"Have a good night Mr. Sevchenko," wished the man before turning around and leaving Leonid alone in his cell with nothing but his thoughts to keep him company. He looked up and stared at the guard who was on duty, the man started to become nervous and tried to look away. When his replacement arrived he hurriedly got up and left the room. The new guard walked up to the cell and unlocked it; he stepped into the cell and produced a switchblade. He swiftly cut Leonid's bonds, grabbed him firmly by the collar and marched him out of the room. The soldier who was seated at the front desk stood up when they passed by.
"Hold it right there soldier, where are you taking this prisoner?" he asked, suspiciously.
"I have orders from the boss to take him down for questioning and it's on you if he is kept waiting," replied the other soldier gruffly. The guard at the front desk sat back down and continued to read his book. The soldier marched Leonid outside and down a back road before stopping abruptly and releasing him.
"The boss? I can't believe that actually worked," said the solider with a hint of humour. He took off his helmet and Leonid saw that it was none other than Evgeni.
"How did you find me?" Leonid asked him.
"There's no time for that, it's now 6:56, the convoy out is leaving in four minutes. Quickly take my uniform to disguise yourself" suggested Evgeni and the two of them switched clothes.
"Thank you Evgeni for all that you have done for me," thanked Leonid.
"No problem, best of luck and I hope you find her Leonid," Evgeni said before waving and disappearing into the darkness. Leonid hurried down the depot where the convoys were assembled; he entered the armoury and grabbed an AK-74 off of the rifle rack before climbing into the back of one of the idling BTR 80s. The convoy soon rumbled out of the city and into the countryside before stopping in a small town which was being evacuated. Leonid exited in the APC and slowly melted away into the trees, not one soldier ever realized that one of their comrades was missing.
