A Pair of Shorts — Bill Stenlake

A Pair of Shorts by Bill Stenlake The 1st Leg: I am woken by a noise in the middle of the night. I listen for a few seconds before I definitely hear there is a noise coming from downstairs. There shouldn't be any noise coming from there! I live alone. I get out of bed and stand by the door to hear what is going on. The noise comes towards me and I hear the intruder start to climb the stairs. I hide behind the door and am glad I do so, as when the intruder comes into my bedroom, the first thing I see is the gun he is holding. I leap on him and wrestle him to the floor. As he falls beneath me he hits his head on the frame of the bed. Just as I think I am out of the woods I hear another intruder downstairs. This one also starts to climb the stairs. I expect he has a gun too! Why are these armed men breaking into my house? Why have they broken into the apartment of my employer? Why have they broken into our offices and why have they raided the warehouse and taken away two boxes of stock? The story moves quickly along as it becomes apparent that one of my employers is conducting business other than what we are in business for. Matters aren't helped when we can't get the answers we need to resolve the situation. There is only one thing for it. Anna and I take it upon ourselves to try to find out what is going on and what we can do to get some determined people off our backs. The 2nd Leg I arrive at the airport ready to take the plane back home from Spain, to rejoin my family. Just at the wrong time, before the flight, I get the recurrence of severe stomach pains. I try to ride it out while waiting for the flight to be called, but this time I am not going to get away with that. The pain becomes more severe than it has done ever before. I make my way into the bathrooms and lock myself into one of the cubicles. I sit down and draw my legs up to me as I try to ride out the pains in my stomach. At some point I lose consciousness. I wake up, still in the cubicle. It is 1 o'clock in the morning and I am in pitch black. Do they shut down the lights overnight in the airport? I make my way into the departure lounge. That is in darkness too. There are no people around either, not one! I search the airport but it is all in darkness and totally devoid of people. When I make my way outside there are no lights in the surrounding area. There are no cars moving anywhere. It is obvious to me that something has happened while I have been unconscious. I have been out of it for several days. I locate my car and retrieve it, before making for my villa. I don't come across a single soul while I do so. It is only when I venture to the shops that I hear the first signs of life. 2 helicopters fly to where I am. I get the feeling I have been spotted on CCTV cameras. Rather than wait out in the open, I feel I have to hide. The helicopters land and men come searching for me. I am fortunate to have found the hiding place I did. I realize the need to do something to try to get out of the area, but I need a better vehicle than my small car if I am to evade capture. It is while I am procuring this that I come across another survivor, rather than people who are tidying up after the contamination.