Intimate Stranger (Editing)

Chapter 22: Lilah

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Part Twenty-Two

Saturday, February 13, 2010
Lilah

"What the-" Lilah heard the man say as her body crashed against the stranger, knocking the wind out of her, the momentum causing her to fall backwards. "Where the fuck did you come from?" The man questioned, as Lilah lay immobile on the ground. He was a small man – not much taller than her, but he was still large enough to send her flailing. "Did you get away from Steve or something?"

He knows Steve? Lilah asked herself. He must have been working with him or something. Still on the ground, she glanced back at the van that she saw previously and she decided that it must have belonged to him.

Lilah caught her breath and tried to get onto her feet, but stumbled. She then began scampering away, but he grabbed onto her ankle. Now why does this seem so familiar? she thought. "Now wait a minute!" He exclaimed, his hand gripping onto her tightly. "You can't get away that easy."

She whirled her head to gaze at him with a convincing glare. Then Lilah gasped, and the man's eyes widened when they suddenly heard sirens in the distance. He let go her ankle in one swift motion, "Or maybe you can..." His head jerked in all directions, trying to hear where the sirens were coming from.

But that's not possible...Lilah thought, I haven't even called the cops yet!

The sounds grew closer and the man panicked, sprinting to his van. Lilah stayed on the ground in shock as she listened while he tried to start it. As luck would have it, it wasn't. She could hear him swearing loudly. "GODDAMNIT!" He cursed, swinging the drivers side door open and tumbling out in a rush. He stumbled in the process, hitting the cement with a grunt. He picked himself back up and started to run. With shaky legs, Lilah stood, brushing herself off.

She stared wide eyed at what seemed like hundreds of police vehicle's and SWAT men pulling up to the house, when in reality, it couldn't have been more than 5. As the cars skidded to stops, the man sprinted towards Lilah, but instead of directly approaching her, he turned and ran between the two houses. He bounded over the fence and into the forest beyond. It all happened so quickly. Lilah stood starstruck with her mouth agape. It was then that a wave of police officers escaped from the vehicles. Some came towards her, and some ran between the houses, chasing after the bad guy. A man who she vaguely recognized was the first to speak to her. He was medium height and rounded with wild, greying hair and dark sullen eyes.

"Whats your name?" He asked her, staring right into her eyes. For a moment she was spellbound and couldn't find the words. "Can you speak?" He looked at her questioningly, "Just take a deep breath." In the distance, Lilah could hear the police in the forest shouting after the man. She couldn't tell what they were saying but it sounded like he wasn't stopping.

She took his advice and consumed a large intake of breath and then gulped. "L-l-lilah," she stuttered. "Lilah Hayw-w-ward." Her eyes widened, "My brother is inside! You have to help him!" She exclaimed.

"Please try to be calm, Miss Hayward. We will do everything we can," he said. Tears began to flow down her cheeks. "I'm Chief Malick from the Dallas Police Department," he told her. "Are you hurt?" Lilah shook her head. "We'll have someone look over you just in case. Afterwards, we need to ask you some questions."