Chasing Shadows

Part One ~ Chapter Seventeen

“Either I was getting paranoid or that call was a forewarning of what was to come.”

-Ethan

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            Something wasn’t sitting right with me. The whole time we went from motel to motel, there was a little nagging voice in the back of my mind that just wouldn’t leave me alone. Yet I couldn’t for the life of me figure out what it was trying to tell me.

            I could sense the whole car ride that my brother was thinking about me. He felt hurt, and probably even guilty. My attempt at trying to hide something for his benefit only turned into Matt feeling guiltier and his ex-girlfriend being kidnapped.

            The movie, I should have known. If only I had realized that the truck driver wasn’t the end of it; that the kidnapping of the girlfriend would somehow play into all of this. I coughed as the smoke from Tim’s cigarette wafted into the back of the car, and I gestured for Johnny to roll down a window.

            “Shut the damn window,” Tim demanded from the front.

            “The smoke’s killing me,” Amy muttered. “Literally.”

            “Well it’s cold out.” Tim pressed the automatic window roller on his car to shut it. Johnny again pressed the button to open, but Tim locked the feature so he couldn’t. I sighed and sat back in my seat. Tim. Words couldn’t even describe my hatred for that guy.

            “Here we are,” Matt sighed, and I could sense the fear in his voice. I knew exactly was his thoughts were. This was the last motel, this was our last chance. And what if we didn’t make it in time?

            “Again, he’s putting everyone’s fate into our hands,” I swore to myself as Mr. Grey’s face popped into my mind.

            “What?” Johnny asked.

            “Nothing.” I shook my head and got out of the car along with the others. At last, all of us stood outside of the car except for Tim.

            “You coming?” Matt poked his head back into the car with a reluctant sigh.

            Tim swore to himself and stepped out of the car. Standing in the parking lot, I took in my surroundings. The motel had the typical run down, haunted motel that one would see in the movies. The ‘E’ in ‘motel’ was flickering on and off and the disappearing daylight sent a shiver up my spine. It was a one floor motel, all lined with tinted windows that were rusty and covered in grime.

            “Let’s hurry,” I whispered to my brother.

            Matt started heading towards where the lobby would be, but Amy caught his arm. “Matt.” She gave him a look I couldn’t read. “Are you sure you’re ready for this?”

            “What do you mean?” my brother hissed. “She’s going to be fine. Kelly will be fine. Everybody will be alright.” But I could tell he was trying to convince himself more than he was the rest of us.

            “That’s not what I’m saying,” Amy replied. I saw her hand subconsciously slip to her phone in her pocket as she let go of his arm. “Nevermind.”

            There was something in the way she said it that made the nagging sensation come back. There was something… something I was forgetting. If only Johnny and I had watched Joyride all the way through… Well, there were a lot of “if’s” these days. Letting them get to me wasn’t going to help.