How I ran away

How I fled

I have no more fight in me. I won’t be able to escape again, I am sure of that. But I am not scared. I’ll never tell the secret anyway. And I shouldn’t be afraid of death. Not that they would kill me anyway.

                I do the only thing I can at this point. Fake amnesia.

                “W-who are you?” I ask.

                “You don’t recognize me?” he says that incredulously. He doesn’t believe me.

                “What do you mean? Why are you in my room?” My eyes widen in fear and I take a step back.

                “Tell me what you know and I’ll leave you alone.” He says evenly.

                “What are you talking about?” I make my words come out in a tremble and take another step back. Towards the door.

                By now Monster is mad. Red is flooding his face and he stands up. The sheets under him are rumpled where he laid. He looks more like a monster than ever. Like something from under the bed or in the closet. Not that he would fit under the bed or in a closet. I take another step back and grope behind me with my hand. The handle. I get a grip on it.

                Monster takes a step forward.

                I twist the handle. Push open the door. It swings open wide. I slip out and run. Again I am running. Running down the carpeted hall. Maroon carpet with dark walls to match. There is no elevator. not that I would take one if there was. I feel too trapped. And I have had bad experiences with that.

Down the flight of steps. I am relieved it’s only one. I fly down taking the whole set it two jumps. I emerge into the lobby. The old lady behind the desk smiles. I barely notice because Monster is at the top of that staircase. And I have to run.

Out the lobby. Onto the street. The street is silent at this hour. Whatever hour it is. I forgot already. I run into the street, crossing it from Monster. He is just a few steps behind me. He is bolting from the lobby now onto the sidewalk where I just was. Too close.

                I can't fight him. I’m going to lose. Even now I am weakening. I can barely run. My legs hurt too much for this. But I must run.

                Or not. A car comes up the block. An old Toyota Corolla. It is going fast. Maybe the man is in a hurry. The car is white and dirty. It’s my only chance.

                I jump in front of the vehicle. It’s going so fast. Screeeech! It stops inches before it hitting my skin.  I dash over to the other side and pull on the handle at the driver’s seat. It’s locked. I bang on the window. Monster is on the other side of the street. Eyes narrow in determination.

                The driver opens the door.

                Confusion is etched on his young face. He is no older than twenty-five with brown hair and dark eyes.

“Hey!” he says as I push it open all the way. I stick my head in, and push the red button unlatching his seatbelt. I pull it off from around him. Ignoring the, “What the hell are you doing?”  And I push him out. Leaving him stranded in the street.  I take his seat. The driver’s seat. Monster is at the passenger side. His hands are on the locked door handle. He raises one as if to break the glass.

And I speed off. Leaving him in the dust.

I lean back in my seat and sigh even though I know my victory will be short lived. My foot is down hard on the gas pedal. The seats in the car are grey. The steering wheel cover is patched up. Two red dice hand from the mirror. There is an old coffee cup in the cup holder. I leave the windows shut.

I press the gas pedal down more. The roads not busy but the speed limit in the small town can't be passed 30 but I’m driving at 60 and speeding up. The rearview mirror says no one is behind me. I keep an eye on that mirror.

I pass onto 3rd Street according to the sign.

And then a black car speeds into view. Monster is at the wheel. He leans forward as if that’ll help him go faster.

I push the pedal to the floor and urge the car to go faster. It starts groaning but I ignore that.

The highway is just off this road. I veer off and onto it. I speed up but barely. This car doesn’t go much faster.

I barely heard it. But I hear it hit. One of Monster’s hands is on the wheel. The other, out the window. Clutching a gun. A small handgun. I’ve had enough of guns. He shoots again. His accuracy is scarily good when he drives. That does nothing to calm my nerves. The bullet hits the side mirror closest to me. The glass shatters from a hole in the center. Scarily good. That was scarily close.

Monster is closing the distance between us. I can't speed up any more. The car is wheezing as it is. The hand on the speedometer inches past 130.

“AH!” I scream before I can stop myself. I scream. Monster touches the back of my car with his. My hands clutch the wheel tightly. I know how to drive. I knew since I was seven. That doesn’t mean it’s not scary. Especially when you’re being chased by a man with a gun who has no limits when it comes to kidnapping you. Yeah. I’m pretty scared.

The highway is not that full. Thank god for that.

That’s when the sirens start to blare. We passed a police and now he flicks his lights on.

Monster is still on my tale and we are still speeding to I don’t know where. And now the police has joined the fun—the police. The police!

We left the police car behind us but now I need it to come back.

My gasping eases slightly and I turn to the next lane so I can slow down without Monster crashing into me. He turns too and the side of his car scratches into mine. Bumps it to the wall. The noise hurts my ears. see his face in the window beside me. His is wide open. Mine is shut closed. His grinning mouth is like a shark. Scraaatch! The car scrapes into mine again.

 I brake. Stop the car. It screeches so loudly and then skids to a stop.

The siren is close. It seems only now Monster digests what that means. His face pales and he backs away from me. Backs away so fast. He has to get away before the police comes. Before they arrest him.

Before they save me.

The sirens grow louder. I see the flashing lights. The red and blue are just a few cars down.

Coming closer.

Right next to us.

Monster turns to speed away.

But not before aiming his gun out the window.

And pulls the trigger.