Chapter 4
Rose lay awake on the bed, tired yet not ready to fall asleep. It was one of those nights where you could try with all your might and still not fall asleep. She could feel Jack's chest rising as he inhaled and exhaled. How did he manage it? She looked at him lying there, bathed in the moonlight that fell from the sky. He looked so peaceful; so quiet lying there. It was hard to imagine that a person could be put through the trauma and the horrors that Jack had become so accustomed to. She felt sorry for him, the boy inside of him who never had the chance to ride a bike, read a book, or have fun with friends. And in reality, he still was a boy, uncertain of his future and his past, living only in his present.
She got up to get a drink. Maybe some water would help her get to sleep. She walked into their small kitchenette and turned on the faucet. How she longed for her own home! They had been only living there for two days but the plainness of the hotel room was driving her crazy! The wedding was an entire week away, and she felt as if it would never come. And after that, they would buy a house; somewhere peaceful, where they could just sit back and let their problems just drift away . . .The water was cold and sweet, as water from a hotel always is.
Then she felt it: the cold fingers of death, pain, sorrow, and anguish touched her. The world became dimmer and darker - she was no longer in the hotel room with Jack.
She stood at the bottom of a stairwell. The walls were old and the paint was peeling; yet something about the old building did not feel right. There was a slight noise behind her and she noticed a tiny furry creature run into the shadows. She began to climb the stairs, one step at a time, unsure of what else to do. She reached the second floor. There were doors to her right and he left; she must have been in an old abandoned apartment building. She looked behind her and saw nothing. A tingle went down her spine as she thought of what may lie in an old building like this one.
She continued down the hallway and tried not to think about monsters and ghosts and all the other nameless horrors that dwelled in deep dark places in one's mind. A door ahead of her was ajar. Faint light was coming from the room. She took a deep breath and peeked into the room. Inside was a skinny fellow, sitting in front of computer screen after computer screen. He was saying something into a microphone but Rose couldn't make out the words. Suddenly Rose was gone from the room and back at the entrance. There was the sound a door creaking and the soft echo of footsteps. Rose turned around in surprise. She saw the group of men entering the building. Each carried a M-4 and wore heavy black body armor. She screamed out as they rushed towards her but her cry was unheard. She tried to get out of the way but she could not. She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth as the lead soldier came at her . . . and passed right through her . . . She looked up in surprise. Then she realized: the skinny man was in danger! She yelled out to warn him!
"GET OUT OF HERE!!! THEY'VE COME TO GET YOU!!! RUN WHILE YOU STILL HAVE A CHANCE!!!!"
"ROSE!!! Are you alright!?"
Rose awakened on the kitchen floor with Jack bent over her. She stood up and brushed the hair out her eyes. The glass she was drinking out of lay shattered on the ground.
"Are you okay, Rose? You were screaming! What happened?"
"Jack, something's wrong! Otacon is in trouble!"
"What?"
"Otacon is in trouble! I don't know how, but I just felt this cold gust of wind and - and I was just there and I saw Otacon - and these men came with guns - and oh god! What am I saying?"
"Calm down, Rose! I'm sure Otacon is fine! I'll call him by Codec okay?"
Jack reached for his Codec on the nightstand. He set the frequency to 141.12 and called.
"Otacon? Are you there? Otacon?"
"Jack, do something! Otacon's not there! He could b-"
"Don't worry Rose! He's probably just asleep. Be sensible Rose!"
"I know what I saw and I believe it. Otacon is in trouble and needs our help."
"What can we do? Snake and Otacon are still in New York!"
"Philanthropy has a branch in New York right? Let's go over there and check. They did provide us with that private jet, after all."
"That jet is for emergency use! And what if we get over there and nothing has happened?"
"Well what if something has happened and we weren't there? I'm going. If you don't like that, you can stay here!"
Jack was silent for a moment.
"Fine. Let's get going!"
"Snake! Snake! Are you there? Snake! Stop joking around, Snake!" Otacon yelled into the Codec.
Suddenly, rid lights started flashing on his display. Security breach!!! Otacon switched to the hidden cameras on the first floor hallway. Sure enough, the door was open and men were rushing in. Men with guns.
"Damn it!"
Otacon grabbed his laptop and his brief case. He put on the overcoat and rushed out the door.
He reached into his pocket for the detonator for the C4 booby traps on his office. All he had to do was press a single button and the 45-second timer would begin. But for some reason, he couldn't do it. He couldn't press the button. Those men had families. They had children. None of them deserved to die.
He put the detonator back in his pocket. He found the secret tile on in the hallway that opened up into a secret underground passage. He opened the trapdoor and jumped in just before the intruders came up the stairs. Otacon followed the passage until it opened up into an alleyway. Then he hailed a cab and disappeared into the New York City nightlife . . .
Rose lay awake on the bed, tired yet not ready to fall asleep. It was one of those nights where you could try with all your might and still not fall asleep. She could feel Jack's chest rising as he inhaled and exhaled. How did he manage it? She looked at him lying there, bathed in the moonlight that fell from the sky. He looked so peaceful; so quiet lying there. It was hard to imagine that a person could be put through the trauma and the horrors that Jack had become so accustomed to. She felt sorry for him, the boy inside of him who never had the chance to ride a bike, read a book, or have fun with friends. And in reality, he still was a boy, uncertain of his future and his past, living only in his present.
She got up to get a drink. Maybe some water would help her get to sleep. She walked into their small kitchenette and turned on the faucet. How she longed for her own home! They had been only living there for two days but the plainness of the hotel room was driving her crazy! The wedding was an entire week away, and she felt as if it would never come. And after that, they would buy a house; somewhere peaceful, where they could just sit back and let their problems just drift away . . .The water was cold and sweet, as water from a hotel always is.
Then she felt it: the cold fingers of death, pain, sorrow, and anguish touched her. The world became dimmer and darker - she was no longer in the hotel room with Jack.
She stood at the bottom of a stairwell. The walls were old and the paint was peeling; yet something about the old building did not feel right. There was a slight noise behind her and she noticed a tiny furry creature run into the shadows. She began to climb the stairs, one step at a time, unsure of what else to do. She reached the second floor. There were doors to her right and he left; she must have been in an old abandoned apartment building. She looked behind her and saw nothing. A tingle went down her spine as she thought of what may lie in an old building like this one.
She continued down the hallway and tried not to think about monsters and ghosts and all the other nameless horrors that dwelled in deep dark places in one's mind. A door ahead of her was ajar. Faint light was coming from the room. She took a deep breath and peeked into the room. Inside was a skinny fellow, sitting in front of computer screen after computer screen. He was saying something into a microphone but Rose couldn't make out the words. Suddenly Rose was gone from the room and back at the entrance. There was the sound a door creaking and the soft echo of footsteps. Rose turned around in surprise. She saw the group of men entering the building. Each carried a M-4 and wore heavy black body armor. She screamed out as they rushed towards her but her cry was unheard. She tried to get out of the way but she could not. She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth as the lead soldier came at her . . . and passed right through her . . . She looked up in surprise. Then she realized: the skinny man was in danger! She yelled out to warn him!
"GET OUT OF HERE!!! THEY'VE COME TO GET YOU!!! RUN WHILE YOU STILL HAVE A CHANCE!!!!"
"ROSE!!! Are you alright!?"
Rose awakened on the kitchen floor with Jack bent over her. She stood up and brushed the hair out her eyes. The glass she was drinking out of lay shattered on the ground.
"Are you okay, Rose? You were screaming! What happened?"
"Jack, something's wrong! Otacon is in trouble!"
"What?"
"Otacon is in trouble! I don't know how, but I just felt this cold gust of wind and - and I was just there and I saw Otacon - and these men came with guns - and oh god! What am I saying?"
"Calm down, Rose! I'm sure Otacon is fine! I'll call him by Codec okay?"
Jack reached for his Codec on the nightstand. He set the frequency to 141.12 and called.
"Otacon? Are you there? Otacon?"
"Jack, do something! Otacon's not there! He could b-"
"Don't worry Rose! He's probably just asleep. Be sensible Rose!"
"I know what I saw and I believe it. Otacon is in trouble and needs our help."
"What can we do? Snake and Otacon are still in New York!"
"Philanthropy has a branch in New York right? Let's go over there and check. They did provide us with that private jet, after all."
"That jet is for emergency use! And what if we get over there and nothing has happened?"
"Well what if something has happened and we weren't there? I'm going. If you don't like that, you can stay here!"
Jack was silent for a moment.
"Fine. Let's get going!"
"Snake! Snake! Are you there? Snake! Stop joking around, Snake!" Otacon yelled into the Codec.
Suddenly, rid lights started flashing on his display. Security breach!!! Otacon switched to the hidden cameras on the first floor hallway. Sure enough, the door was open and men were rushing in. Men with guns.
"Damn it!"
Otacon grabbed his laptop and his brief case. He put on the overcoat and rushed out the door.
He reached into his pocket for the detonator for the C4 booby traps on his office. All he had to do was press a single button and the 45-second timer would begin. But for some reason, he couldn't do it. He couldn't press the button. Those men had families. They had children. None of them deserved to die.
He put the detonator back in his pocket. He found the secret tile on in the hallway that opened up into a secret underground passage. He opened the trapdoor and jumped in just before the intruders came up the stairs. Otacon followed the passage until it opened up into an alleyway. Then he hailed a cab and disappeared into the New York City nightlife . . .
