HolLow. Part 3: On the run.

I rose, careful not to make any noise. I needed to get out of the area, more soldiers would probably be sent. I walked slowly along the narrow hallway, wincing at every creak of the ancient floor boards. Suddenly my foot hit something in the dark and I lost balance.

I went down with a crash, dust billowing around me, choking me. I fumbled to get up, I knew there was no chance they hadn't heard anything. I made my way to the back door.

Behind me the door suddenly seemed to explode, shattering under the force of the soldiers kick. A flashlight circle danced across the walls around me, casting a flickering shadow of me on the door ahead.

I lunged as a shout arose. I managed to grasp the handle of the door and twisted it. I pushed hard but nothing happened. I tried pulling it towards me but still, it didn't open. I rattled it violently, casting a look over my shoulder at the blinding light that was approaching through the dust. I stepped back a bit, and prepared to knock the door down.

At the exact moment that my foot connected, a hand landed on my shoulder. A reflex more than anything, I lurched forwards, twisting slightly sideways. I ended up on my back, the flashlight blinding me, the door on the ground just by my head.

I kicked out, vaguely where I thought the soldier was. My boot connected and a heavy grunt emanated from the cloud of dust. I scrabbled to my feet as fast as I could, turned and run out of the door. Shouting came from behind me but I didn't look back. Behind the house was a small courtyard, with a wall as tall as me all around it. I pushed an old crate up to the brick wall and toppled over it, crouching as I landed on the other side.

I could hear boots and hushed voices from what sounded like all around me. I crept along the wall, staying low. I was in a tiny alley, between a row of courtyards and gardens and a row of houses. None of those had windows low enough for me to climb through, so I continued on my way towards what looked like a larger street.

I stole a look around the corner of the wall when I reached it, the street seemed clear. I was preparing to sprint across it when something in one of the windows of a building just opposite me caught my attention. I was sure I had seen a face.

I shook the idea out of my head and checked the street again. All was clear. I was halfway across the road when suddenly a shout came from the building I had thought I had seen the person in:
_"Get down, GET DOWN!"

I plunged for thee ground, a split second before a bullet whizzed through the air. All of a sudden it was raining bullets. I rolled away from the light, aiming for the safety of the side-alleys.

Once I was there I noticed two things: One was the sharp crack of an old rifle sounding over the muffled sound of the Complex Soldiers, the second was the gradual thinning out of the number of Complex rifles I could hear. Someone was killing them off, probably from the very building I was sitting against. I started down the alley, searching for a door, which I found, wide open. I entered. The building was some sort of old office. I was about to walk across the room towards the staircase in the corner when suddenly a shout came from above, and down those very stairs someone rolled.

The figure immediately rose, in a cat like movement, and threw itself at me. Despite it's small size, I was knocked down. I was about to fight back when something exploded above us, covering us both in dirt and pieces of staircase. A hand-grenade, I realised.

After a few seconds the person got up, and offered me a hand, which I grabbed. The thin fingers were warm. I let go immediately, falling back to the ground. I shook my head and pushed myself up by myself. I faced the person who had most likely saved my life twice in less than three minutes. I managed to utter a question through the dust that clogged my throat,
_"Who are you?"