War of Fate (Book 2 Completed)

Chapter 24 - '216'

After half an hour of following Hunter's instructions, he finally tells me to pull into a parking lot. I look out through the windshield and see that it's a three storey building, which looks to hold apartments. I put the car in park, before I turn the ignition off. I open the door and exit the car. The sound of traffic is present and loud. I look around and see that across the street are a couple of independent shops. The source of the traffic noise is from the road that runs alongside the shops and apartment building. Situated next to the apartments is a small park. Palm trees run down the sidewalk on either side of the main road.

I look over the car and see Hunter is looking around like me, but with a look of reminiscence. I rest my arms on the top of the car, waiting for his nostalgia trip to end. When it does, he looks over to me. I raise my eyebrow at him, questioning if he's ready. He's still not told me who the woman is, and I'm starting to think he's wasting my time.

"Let's go." He tells me. I move back from the car and follow after him towards the entrance. As we walk he pulls out a ring of keys, and selects one. We enter the building and he unlocks the second door so we can enter. I look around as he goes to collect his mail. It's a small entrance, and holds two arm chairs, with patches of tape, surrounding a small table. On the opposite wall are the many mail boxes for every apartment in the building. Leading from the entrance are two corridors, and a stair case going up to the other levels. I turn back to Hunter and watch as he brings out a big bundle of mail. When was the last time he came here? As he flicks through the mail, he motions to the stairs and for me to follow him, with his head. Now he's gone from just saying short sentences, to not talking to me at all. I follow him up the stairs until we get to the second landing. We walk a way down it, before we stop at number 216. As Hunter is unlocking the door, a door a couple down from his, opens and an old man walks out. His white hair is messy and contrasts with his wrinkled, tan skin. His green eyes are narrowed, in a judging look, which looks to be permanent.

"Hey, Mr. Perkins, how are you?" Hunter asks kindly, in a different tone of voice to which I'm used to.

"Old." He grumbles, before walking slowly down the hall towards us. "I haven't seen you around here for a while. What happened to that other girl? I thought you two were serious." He comments. I look to Hunter for the answer; realising Mr Perkins must be talking about the girl in the photograph.

"Um, we were." He replies putting emphasis on the last word. Hunter leans into the door, giving some extra force to try and get it open. It stays where it is, causing Hunter to grunt and step back. Mr Perkins looks between the two of us, his eyes widening at me. In reply I give him a grin, moving back so he can walk past. As he passes, a cold feeling runs down my spine. My grin slowly falls off my face.

My dad has told me about this, and he says it's his least favourite part of his job. I've never experienced it myself, until now.

I gasp, stumbling backwards, and try to return a smile to my face. It ends up turning into a grimace. Mr Perkins gives me a concerned look, before walking off whilst shaking his head. Hunter gives me a confused look. I ignore it and push past him to get to his door. I grip the handle and turn it, before pushing and putting my extra strength to good use. The door opens easily. Hunter gives me a look of admiration. I step back and wave my hand for him to enter. He moves past me and into the small entrance. I follow after him, moving past a small table to the right where Hunter threw his keys. As we continue we walk into a small living room. A couch, covered in clothes and paper, is resting against one wall, with a television opposite. To the right is a small kitchen cluttered with dishes, takeaway boxes, and beer bottles. I take a sniff and smell Hunter's scent mainly, but it's stale as if the apartment hasn't been lived in. Next to the couch is an archway leading to, presumably, a bathroom and bedroom. Hunter starts to clear some of the mess off of the couch.