The Escape [Part - 4]

The Escape [Part - 4]

"Let's go," he said.

Leon smiled—slow and sure—and nodded to Nova once, a small but resolute movement. It wasn't merely acceptance. It was a vow.

They slid out from behind the pillar like ghosts in the darkness, their steps silent and smooth. The guards were oblivious, softly talking. One of them returned a ring of keys to the cart driver, who was too busy with a ledger to glance anywhere but downwards.

In that brief moment of opportunity, Leon and Nova moved.

They crouched low and crept quietly into the rear of the cart. Vegetables in crates, cloth bundles, and coarse burlap sacks crowded the area. The scent of earth and old wood hung about.

Nova curled up near a mound of turnips, Leon by her side. His arm wrapped about her naturally, protecting her as they pulled a dull, frayed blanket over them.

No sooner had the blanket dropped than night engulfed them completely.