Run With Me (35 page)

“
My name is Sarah Hunter,” I
repeat in the mirror. The name still sounds odd to me. I guess it
will take some time to get used to it.

I've been Sarah Hunter for about
a week now. That's what it says on all of my documentation. My
passport, my driver's license. I even have a birth certificate with
that name too, and a brand new social security number. In fact, I've
been set up with a whole new life and back story, and I've been told
to memorize it all until it sinks in.

The man Colt sent me to was just
like Dale. Suspicious, gruff, a bit rude on the outside but meaning
well. I stayed in a hotel under his name for 3 days while he sorted
everything out for me. I was amazed at how quickly he could do it
all. During that time I thought of nothing but Colt. He haunted every
single one of my thoughts, invaded my dreams if ever I fell asleep. I
know it will take a long time for me to feel secure without him, even
though I'd only known him for a few weeks. I also know I'll never
forget him. Never be able to truly thank him for everything he did
for me.

I did what he told me though. I
drove away. I took his car and went straight out of LA, heading
south. I didn't care exactly where at the time. I just drove for as
long as I could before stopping and passing out in the back of the
car. When I woke up I checked the trunk, found the address and the
money, and made my way straight to Texas.

For several days I kept the
phone he gave me, willing for it to ring. Against all logic I prayed
that maybe he was OK, that maybe I'd got it wrong, that he'd call me
and everything would be fine. After 4 days of staring at it, though,
I knew it was never going to come alive. So I dumped it, thinking
that maybe Carmine could trace me with it or something. I threw it
into a river and said a silent goodbye to Colt. Then I left to start
my new life.

It's been about 10 days since
then and now I'm in Florida in a small coastal town. It's quiet,
warm, and always sunny, and I've managed to find a permanent place to
live already. For the past few days I've spent my time on the beach,
just as Colt promised. Somewhere warm, he'd said. Somewhere with a
beach and the sea. It's not the same without him though. How could it
be.

I'll look for work soon, or
maybe go back to school. With the money Colt left in the trunk, I
could do almost anything. I was shocked when I opened up the bag. It
was more than I could ever have imagined. I guess the fees payed for
by people like Carmine are pretty high.

But not today. Today I'll return
to the beach and watch the surf spill up the sand until it reaches my
toes. I'll sit and wait for my heart to begin to mend, for my life to
feel like it carries some meaning again. I still don't know how long
that will take.

Days pass, and my ritual
continues. I don't sleep well, but mainly lie awake each night with
the lamp on, just waiting until I'm too exhausted to keep my eyes
open. When they shut, my brain fills will darkness and I wake again.
Sometimes only ten minutes will have passed. Sometimes 3 or 4 hours.
When dawn comes, however, I go back down to the sand and suck in the
sea air.

It's been 3 weeks now, and still
the nightmares come. Still I visit the beach each day, although I
spend less time there. I know I need to move on soon or I'll grow
stagnant and listless and my life will devolve into nothing. I can't
do that to Colt, who sacrificed everything to keep my alive. I can't
insult him like that. I have to live on and do something good in his
memory. Something that would make him proud.

I decide to go back to school,
go back and study medicine. I don't know if I'm smart enough, but I
have to try. Follow in my mom's footsteps and help people. Help those
who are injured and in pain and suffering. It's something I really
think I could do if I put my mind to it. Something that will help
repair me and others at the same time.

I buy books and visit schools,
hoping my new identity is watertight enough to help me get in, that
everything checks out. I know that even my fabricated past won't be
enough to help me study as a doctor, and I don't think I'm smart
enough for that anyway. Nursing is what interests me anyway, and I
find medical facilities that are willing to train me.

Months pass and I study hard
before starting my new journey. Soon I'm so invested in it all that I
have days where Colt doesn't enter my mind, although he still appears
in my dreams night after night. I still visit the beach each day,
though, just to feel the sand between my toes and the sun on the back
of my neck. To smell the sea air and watch the ocean rise and fall.
To get reassurance that the tides change everyday, and that
everything will be OK for me eventually.

It's been 4 months now since I
left LA, and I've just started my new course. I enjoy it, but it's
challenging. The people are great, and I've even managed to make a
few new friends already. There's also a young trainee doctor who
seems keen on asking me on a date. He's cute and persistent, so
eventually I relent. He takes me for dinner and we talk about him
mainly. When he asks about me I still find it hard lying, and almost
slip up once or twice. I guess I'm going to have to return to my
notes and build a more convincing back story for myself.

When we're done he kisses me on
the cheek, but nothing more. He's a real gentleman and offers to
drive me home, but it's only a short walk to I say goodbye outside
the restaurant. I go straight to the beach and return to the sand
which has become such a comfort for me. I slip my toes beneath the
grains and gaze out over the moonlit ocean.

Then I hear a voice behind me.

“
Kitty,” the man says, and I
freeze. I haven't heard anyone use that name in months, not since I
turned my back on my old life. I expect to hear the click of a gun
and the feel of a warm bullet inside me, but nothing happens.

The man speaks again, and his
voice is slightly louder this time, slightly clearer against the
rolling sound of the waves. “I suppose I should learn to call you
Sarah.”

Now I'm turning around and
staring at a silhouette against the night sky. I see the contours of
his body, the broad shoulders and neat hair, the shining blue of his
eyes. Then his mouth begins to glow white as a smile spreads across
his face and he moves forward towards me.

I stand as he approaches,
thinking I'm seeing a ghost. Then I see him, all of him, burst into
light as he gets close. The man who was sent to hunt me. The man who
saved me. The man I love. Colt.