Chapter 10
I strolled easily out of the building, whistling cheerily as I thought about the only thing that always kept me happy now. It was Monday evening, and I had just finished a slightly longer shift than usual. There was still no change in the relationship between me and the rest of the guards apart from Janet, but I wasn't going to make anyone like me. Unlocking the car and tossing my bag in the back seat, I turned on the engine and was about to reverse out of my parking spot when I suddenly spotted some movement in the bushes by the Y...
CRACK! I jumped at the sound, which was immediately followed by a small sound of metal hitting metal. My eyes widened as I saw two figures emerge from the shrubbery. As they moved into the light I felt a slight flutter of panic in my stomach. It was Logan and Mark, and each was holding something in his hand. I squinted to make out what it was and saw with horror that they were pellet guns. They were going to either try to really damage my car or hit me if possible. I remembered Anthony's warning last week and realized this was probably what they had planned since I fought with Logan.
They approached the car, and I was grateful that it was dark and they couldn't get close enough to make out my licence plate; I would never be free of them if they figured that out. As they got closer and closer, I got an idea. They were walking directly in front of the car towards me, and had momentarily become mere silhouettes again in the darkness. I waited for them to get just a little bit closer, just within range; I had one shot at this, if it didn't work, surely they were going to get me this time.
I made out Mark's face a little more clearly as he continued to walk, and flicked the switch which turned on my headlights to high beams. Instantly their forms were lit up as the fierce glare of the lights hit them. Caught off guard and unable to take the abrupt change from blackness to brightness, both of them turned their heads away slightly and raised one hand to shield their eyes. That was all I needed, and within a few seconds I had reversed and was heading out of the parking lot before they could recover and aim for me again.
By the time I had reached home, I was more worried about what had just happened a few minutes previously. It was only at the start of my shift today that I had agreed to work a couple of hours extra. There was no way they could have known that! Had they just been waiting there all that time, just sitting there with those guns until they saw me coming out? I shivered at the thought, they really meant business.
As I stepped out of the car, I remembered suddenly that they had fired one shot which had hit something. I turned on my phone and used it as a temporary flashlight, scanning the front of the vehicle. My heart beat slightly faster as I saw it: right beside one of the headlights was a clean hole taken out by the pellet. Switching off the phone and locking the car before I headed inside, I tried to think of how I could explain that hole to my father when he noticed it. I was a careful driver so he would know that the damage wasn't due to carelessness on my part.
While changing into my nightclothes and grabbing some leftovers from the fridge, I wracked my brains trying to think of some way to put off the damage as if it hadn't been an intentional attack. Nobody knew how strongly Logan despised me, except for me, him, and Mark; we were all fully aware that he hated me, and was willing to go to almost any lengths to get me out of the picture for good. However, this was something only between us, and I planned to keep it that way. Finally, while getting into bed an hour later, I recalled something from last summer. One of the staff at work had come in complaining that their car had a couple of dents and cracks in the windshield from a group of kids who had been at the adjacent baseball field, practicing their hitting using small rocks. I clutched at this small ray of hope; this could avoid an awkward confrontation with my parents if they ever noticed that hole in the front of the car.
