Odd Prompts: The Dark Room

A snippet of a work in progress, since I've had trouble finding time for writing around con prep. I'll be at FenCon this weekend. Here's my Schedule if you will be as well! 

***

The cat stopped, his tail switching angrily. Nella stopped, too, doing her best to become one with the shadows. Luka crouched, slinking forward slowly, his tail the only thing visibly moving. Nella looked around, and saw what he was looking at. Two men, in ill-fitting suits and heavy shoes. Not men of Malta, at a glance. 

They were not looking at her, but they were moving in her direction. She had very little time. 

The gecko on the wall next to her head sneezed. A tiny sound only she could hear, but her twitch at the sound betrayed her tension. In that glance towards the noise, she saw it. A door, slightly ajar, only a step away. 

Nella slid into it, and pulled it carefully closed after her, until she felt the latch catch. She couldn’t count on not having been seen, she could only hope that she’d bought some time to get away. The dark room felt still and empty. Very empty. Her eyes adjusted slowly to the lack of light, more slowly than she was used to, and she realized that there were no windows in the room, unusual even for the stone homes of Mdina. With one hand on the wall, she started to make her way around the room looking for another door. If there was furniture, she wouldn’t be able to see it, so she moved very carefully, her fingertips crossing stone, then the softer touch of plaster at the turn of the corner. There were no rugs underfoot, and a slight grittiness when she stepped told her that the room was unswept. The only smell was of the sea, herbs, and dust. Malta, her home. It was a familiar scent, and one Nella had not realized she missed so badly until her return. Greece had smelled similarly, but different. Inland... She stopped. Her touch had found a door jamb. 

She waited, listening, for a long moment before fumbling for a door handle. If there was anyone on the other side of the door, they didn’t have the light on. Should she just stay in the dark room? The Stasi men hadn’t followed her. Perhaps it was wisest to simply wait in the darkness long enough for them to have passed in futility. Her fingers found the metal of the handle. It was cool to her touch, and there was a tiny clink from the latch as she wrapped her hand around it.

***

I was prompted this week by 'Nother Mike with "The gecko on the wall sneezed..." 

I prompted AC young with "The Citadel's towers were visible for miles around."

You can read all of the prompt responses, and join in on the weekly prompt challenge yourself, over at More Odds Than Ends.