Tares City

83. The Hunt Is On Pt. 2

Yara looks at Clay with a raised brow, Clayton shrugging in return.

"Just our luck!" Yara says when they exit the small space into the empty house. "Wonder which house is their next stop."

"I'll call J, you call the girl, Avery. Let's get out of here." Clayton says to her.

~

NAOMI REID

Naomi stared harshly at the man before her, holding the gun steady in her hand as she pointed it at him. "I'm not going to tell you again. Take out your phone. Slowly!" She demands.

She'd made it onto one of Clearmeadow's more main roads, randomly choosing to go left as she had no idea where she was. Naomi told herself all she had to do was find someone with a phone. She'd call Jensen and everything would be solved. Her plan was simple enough. And for a moment, she thought she would be saved when a motorcycle began approaching her.

But the events didn't play out the way she thought. The man's mannerisms gave him away; his not-so-subtle attempts to get her on his bike right away and not wanting to let her use his phone. That, along with his calm demeanor to find a young woman walking alone on a deserted road, raised the alarm bells for Naomi.

She knew he was one of Josh's men, and so she pulled the gun she'd taken from Axel and pointed it at the man. She worried for a split second if she misjudged the situation, but the man remained calm and cocky; confirming her suspicion.

"How far do you think you'll get lady?" He asks instead. "Josh called me in because Axel wasn't answering. What do you think will happen when I don't answer when he calls for an update, huh? He's already on his way back. You're not getting far."

"Don't make me shoot you! I will if I have to! Just give me your phone." Naomi repeats.

"Who will you call the police?" The man mocks.

"You're going to make me pull the trigger, aren't you?" Naomi sighs, taking off the safety.

"Enough of this, you're not going-"

Naomi cuts off his sentence with a bullet in his thigh, the man screaming out in pain. Shock covered his features as he yelled, looking at Naomi. Naomi pressed her lips together as she tried to keep her breathing even. Her hands felt the aftershock of the shot, but she couldn't show the man her discomfort. She had to play it cool. "Take out your phone, unlock it, and slide it to me." She tells him.

"You bitch!" He shouts at her, holding his leg.

Naomi sighs in frustration looking at the man. She couldn't just go grab his phone off his person. His arms were free, and he probably had a code on the device as well.

Looking from him to his bike, she contemplates the choice before her. Kai had once shown her the basics of riding a motorcycle years back. She remembered the fundamentals for staying on and moving, though she wondered if she could pull something like that off right now.

She would need time to catch her bearings on it, but she couldn't do that with the man there. He'd surely grab and subdue her before she could even sit on the seat fully.

Weighing her options, an idea comes to mind. The best solution to her problem. Moving swiftly to not give the man time to understand what was happening–Naomi rushes up to Jim, turning the gun in her hand as she approaches. Raising her arm, she brings it down with a grunt, using the butt of the gun to hit the side of his head.

The man crumples into an unconscious heap at her feet. Not wasting any time, she turns quickly and begins searching through his pockets for his phone.

She found it quickly enough, but just as she suspected, it was locked with a passcode. Tossing into the nearby trees, she turns her attention to the bike. Placing the safety on the gun back on, she tucks it into the waistband of her pants as she walks to the motorcycle. "Come on, muscle memory, don't fail me now." She murmurs, grabbing the right handle of the bike. Placing her left hand on the left handle, she leans toward the front of the bike, bringing her leg over. She stumbles slightly, regaining her balance quickly before she and the bike fall over. As she sits on the seat eyeing the handgrip; she remembers Kai's warning about the breaks and the risk of it sending her rolling on the street.

Starting up the bike and hoping she didn't forget any crucial steps, Naomi retracts the kickstand with some difficulty and readies herself to ride.

Pulling the clutch lever, she presses into first gear, releasing the clutch and giving a gentle twist to the throttle. A scream leaves her as she launches towards roughly, the bike swerving as she tries to regain control. "Shit!" She screams out, believing she is about to fall over, steadying herself in the knick of time.

Once she got a steady, albeit slow, ride going, she carefully made a U-turn in the street. She figured the best chance of her finding civilization was to head in the direction that the man had been coming from.

~

Although her ride itself was horrible, her attempt to stop the bike left her on the floor with her foot slightly pinned underneath. Lucky for her, she'd made it to a gas station, the lady who had been filling her car running to her aid, a foundation exiting her car and joining as well.

Together the two help Naomi slide her foot from under the bike, a pain radiating from her ankle as she tries to put pressure on it. "Are you okay?!" The boy speaks first, taking in her appearance.

"Can I borrow your phone? PLEASE!"