Authors: J. A. Saare
"You know what?” I motioned her over, lifting my hand and flashing a fake smile, allowing a sigh to ease past my lips. “I can't. I have a ton of stuff to do today."
Amanda stomped over and pulled the green receipt book from her apron, ripping the top piece of paper free and handing it over. She pivoted her head around, chomping loudly on her gum while gawking at Mike. I watched her nose flare and considered offering her sense of smell my deepest sympathy.
"Here,” I said quickly, thrusting a ten dollar bill into her hand along with the stub, “Keep the change."
I grabbed the napkin and swiped it roughly across my lips before tossing the thin paper over the neglected and now wasted donuts. I gave the best smile I could manage; equal parts annoyed, confused, and freaked out.
"It was good to see you, Mike. Take care."
The artificial smile on his face broadened and his eyes followed along as I ambled past the table.
I hustled to the door, grasping the long metal rail and tugging it open. The large round bells dangling from the handle rang inside my ears, signaling my departure as the chilly air enveloped my body. I hastened my pace, stepping down the walkway and walking onto the street, heading in the direction of the main road past the alley. The insane but intense desire to run coursed through my body, but I resisted the compulsion.
Mike is still inside—don't freak yourself out, Emma.
The sound of the bells clamoring caused me to close my eyes and draw a ragged breath. I didn't turn around, well aware of who had left the building. I squelched the fear that threatened to take over, forcing myself to continue onward at a normal pace.
You should have stayed home
, I reprimanded myself angrily, increasing the movement of my feet. It wasn't a long walk home, ten minutes at most, but those minutes seemed like an eternity—especially when the person following me was high on something that made him creepy as all hell.
I changed trajectory, saying a hasty prayer that Mike was simply traveling the same path on his way home. I crossed the street and walked toward the alley, footsteps pounding the pavement in perfect rhythm with the painful throbbing of my heart. Adrenaline was pumping inside my veins, bringing the world into a triple focus. My senses widened—eyes, ears, and nose taking in everything.
I stilled my breathing, exhaling quietly to better distinguish the sounds coming from behind. Blood pounded in my ears, the dull throb of each thump like the beating of a drum. The footsteps behind me amplified with my fear, picking up speed. My heart slammed into my throat in realization.
The sound wasn't on the opposite side of the street anymore.
Then the world shifted.
A solid arm wrapped around my waist, lifting my body effortlessly from the ground, and the large palm that flopped over my mouth muffled the scream I attempted to let fly. I began to struggle and thrash wildly, arms flailing like a mad person.
This isn't happening. This cannot be happening!
Terrified, my eyes widened and I doubled my efforts, watching in a suffocating despair as my assailant turned with me in his arms, walking deeper into the alley. I thrashed harder, shoving my head from side to side and screaming wildly against the hand blocking the sound.
A heavily accented southern voice spoke softly, vowels slurred together and extended, “Is he alone?"
"We'll find out soon enough,” the person carrying me answered in a corresponding southern dialect, ducking into a nearby doorway. His body pressed mine into the wall, covering from shoulder to foot, making it impossible to move.
"Shh,” the deep voice rasped quietly against my ear and I closed my eyes, “It's going to be okay. Don't make a sound."
"What have we here?” Mike asked, his flat voice echoing off the brick walls. His footsteps were distorted thwacks inside my ear, coming closer from the road.
My breathing became ragged, my heart threatening to burst free from the confines of my sternum. A strange languid fear settled over me, detaching my brain from what I was experiencing. My body started to tremble violently and the hand clamped around my mouth gentled.
"I'm just takin’ a walk,” the southern voice answered.
My stomach clenched as Mike's voice changed, the flat tenor lifting an octave. “Trust me. You want to leave,
right now."
"I'm afraid I can't do that."
"Don't be stupid. You didn't think I came alone—did you?” Mike's voice burned in my ears, the high pitched tenor painful, piercing my eardrums.
The southern voice thickened into a throaty growl; the tone menacing, angry, and distorted. “I know I didn't."
Several things happened in one chaotic and terrifying instant.
I was hoisted up and over the shoulder of the man who held me in his arms. The air left my lungs when the softness of my stomach met solid muscle, and I sucked in a painful gasp. He took off in a dead run, hooking a right down an adjacent alley and heading in the direction of the main road. I heard a terrible sound, as if a person punched something and broke through bone, followed by a wet gurgle and dull thud. Then more voices appeared behind us, yelling in garbled and high pitched screeches that hammered back and forth between the walls.
The world smeared and blurred, becoming dizzying. Brick buildings made strange red patterns; the square blocks a continuous blur. The wind swooshed loudly in my ears and my eyes began to tear. The body underneath me swiveled and turned.
I could hear rather than see stairs he climbed, rubber soles clanking firmly against metal. The violent sounds behind us began to wane and I heard strange ear splitting clacking sounds.
Gunshots.
I was about to scream when I was unexpectedly air bound, body floating in midair, hovering above the shoulder I had been carried on. My eyes searched frantically for the ground as my mouth dangled open. The air left my lungs when I landed on his unrelenting shoulder, blood pounding in my ears.
"Stop,” I managed to croak. If he kept this pace up, I wouldn't be the only one suffering. I'd spew the coffee I'd just drank down his back. He didn't respond immediately and I held my breath, forcing back a tidal wave of nausea.
"We can stop up here, hold on."
I didn't argue, allowing my head to dangle limply on my shoulders. I gave up trying to get my bearings. Attempting to see everything around me was too disorienting. He ran for several more blocks, ducking between random buildings. His speed decreased and he stepped into a deserted alley.
I groaned as gentle hands eased me free of the torturous shoulder, one wrapping firmly around my waist, the other coming up and around my head to cover my mouth. I swallowed back panic, breathing shallowly through my nose.
"Listen to me. I'm not here to hurt you, and I don't mean you any harm. Don't try to scream and don't try to run. I don't have time to explain right now but it's important that you stay very quiet. Do you understand?"
I bobbed my head up and down, breathing in short frantic pants. He removed his hands slowly, hesitating before releasing me and stepping back. I sucked in an uneven breath, hands going around my aching middle. I stumbled away from him on legs that felt as solid as water and just as useless.
My eyes fluttered nervously, resting on his broad chest before rising to his face.
He was older than me, well into his twenties, and huge, standing several inches over six feet. If running with one-hundred and seventeen pounds on his shoulder wasn't indication enough of his fitness regimen, his chiseled chest and arms attested to it. Long dark hair hung in soft waves around his temples, complimenting smooth tanned skin.
He turned to glance down the alley, giving me a glimpse of his profile. His jaw was smooth, strong, and slightly squared. His nose was straight and in perfect proportion to his face. When he rotated his head to look at me, I saw his eyes. They were the most beautiful shade of blue I had ever seen—deep indigo—framed by long dark lashes.
He's beautiful
, I thought immediately, scowling at myself and lowering my eyes in the same instant, trying not to stare. It was difficult. I had never seen anyone or anything like him before in my life.
I quickly averted my gaze, soothing anguished stomach muscles with my palms and clearing my throat.
"What is going on? Who are you?” The words wheezed from my lips, sore sides heaving, and each breath I took was unfiltered agony. The muscles in my abdomen ached, and I knew without a doubt they were going to be bruised.
I peered from left to right, searching for any identifiable road signs. I knew we were on the north end of town, in an area most townsfolk didn't frequent. The buildings were abandoned, a haven for the few homeless that passed through.
My eyes squinted, becoming thin slits. The green street sign in the distance wasn't clear and I tried to focus. After several seconds my brow smoothed, mouth going slack in shock.
Penny Street? That would mean we had traveled over two miles.
That's impossible.
"I don't have time to explain,” he answered softly, leaning around the side of the building, eyes in the direction we'd traveled from. “That man, the one from the cafe, do you know him?"
I shrugged. “To say I know him is pushing it, but we did go to school together...” My voice trailed off and I frowned. I still had no clue what was going on and better still, who in the hell he was. “Wait a minute.” I narrowed my eyes and crossed my arms over my chest. “You didn't answer my question. Who are you? And what hell is going on?"
"Caleb."
His deep voice bristled along my skin like silken fur and I was grateful he was still staring down the alley, oblivious to my response. I grumbled under my breath, infuriated by my reaction to him—a total stranger.
He rose to full height, stepping over and gazing down. Our eyes met and the deep pools of blue blocked out the world around us.
"We have to go,” he said abrasively, suddenly angry and tense, “They've found us."
I clutched my midsection and stepped back, lifting a hand as if it could ward him off.
"Not the shoulder again, I won't survive it. And I need to know what the hell is going on. I don't know you, what your intentions are, or what you expect, but I'm not going anywhere with you. And who are they—"
"I'm sorry."
My words were cut short as he bent and pressed his shoulder into my stomach, hoisting me up and over. A pained gasp accompanied the breath that left my lungs, and he took off in a dead run. This time everything blurred. Passing shapes became random reds, blacks, browns, and tans that bled by.
I closed my eyes, feeling as if I were going to vomit at any moment. His body came to a staggering halt and I groaned, lifting my head weakly. A flash of silver in the sky got my attention. The metal lightning rod affixed to the roof of Gibson's hardware shone in the distance.
My heart hammered inside my chest in alarm.
We were nearly out of town now.
"Put me down!” I demanded in an angry panic.
I started to struggle, thrashing wildly. Caleb cursed, throwing a hand up to grasp my thigh and keep me in place. A loud pop was followed by a roaring buzz that whizzed past my ear. I reacted instinctively, shoving my weight to the opposite side. Another pop sounded and a sharp sting scorched my arm. My pain filled cry came out gurgled.
Caleb produced a new burst of speed, launching into a dead run. My stomach lodged into my chest and the nausea returned with it. I didn't know which was worse—the throbbing in my abused abdomen, the sharp white hot sting radiating down my arm and through my hand, or the waves of nausea that threatened to spill over.
A loud shriek of rubber peeling against asphalt echoed in my ears and Caleb rotated, coming to an abrupt stop. I lifted my head and my eyes bulged, mouth hanging open and forming a perfect circle.
Oh my god...
Approaching fast from behind was a pissed off horde of people—at least they
were
people at some point. Each of them had arms, legs, heads and faces—but all other similarities ended there.
Molten red eyes, glowing bright and reflecting the sun, were slanted in a freakish ninety degree angle. Large and misshapen foreheads bulged out and around the sockets, swollen and distorted. Displayed clearly inside their snarling clown like mouths were lines of razor edged triangular teeth. My eyes remained riveted to each pointed tip and I couldn't look away.
"What the fu—” My words were cut short for the second time as my body was lifted and tossed inside the shadowed cover of a van. The back of my head thumped the floor and I struggled to regain my balance, thrusting my feet underneath my wiggling body.
Caleb jumped in, his massive frame engulfing the space as the frantic mob behind us gained ground. His hand grappled at the silver handles, pulling the doors behind him and yanking them shut.
"Get us out of here, Derek. Go! Go!"
Angry roars and yells resonated behind us. The mob reached the accelerating van, vicious arms and hands beating against the metal exterior and back window.
I lifted myself onto shaky knees, scrambling across the carpeted floor to stare through the clear glass.
The faces were more disturbing and terrifying up close—deranged eyes completely devoid of human emotion—entirely animalistic. The van gradually increased speed, gaining ground, and they clamored to keep up. Little by little they fell back, faces snarling like starved wild animals, glistening snow white teeth shining in the sun.
My horrified eyes remained locked onto the mob that progressively appeared smaller and smaller, watching them falter as the vehicle pulled head and they eventually disappeared from view.
"Why do I smell blood, Caleb?"
The driver's voice penetrated my ears but not my train of thought or line of sight. I was too distracted to care who he was or why he smelled blood. My eyes remained glued to the window. I wondered if one of those things somehow managed to keep pace.
Were they still back there and I just couldn't see them?