the bike, I responded, “You can call the cops if you want. Oh wait, the phones don’t work. Haven’t you noticed that no phones are working, not even cells? Something is happening right now that even I can’t explain, but I can tell you something for sure,” I motioned my hand to all the broken shops in the lot, “all this was not caused by a tornado.” I found the kick start on the bike and bit down hard with my heel. The bike roared at first, humming as it went into idle. I raised my voice over the sound of the motor. “There is something bad, all around. They’ll kill you if you confront them. I have seen it happen. You need to get your little girl home now and hide!”
She shook her head in disagreement. “You’re crazy,” she shouted over the engine. “I don’t believe you. Criminals will say anything to get away.” She was right. It did sound crazy, especially when I said it aloud.
I pulled the bike forward at a crawling pace until I had gotten it out to the lot, the woman following. “I don’t have time to sit here and convince you, and I don’t know much about it myself, but I can tell you this. It isn’t safe at night.” And with that I sped off, weaving and wobbling as I took the exit back to the interstate. I was relieved to find that there was at least a half tank of gas in the bike. These bikes had been known to get lots of miles to the gallon, and it would be enough to get me to Blaine’s for sure. It was getting dark, and I needed to find a place to sit for the night.
Chapter 19
Making the decision to get off of the interstate and take the back roads was the best idea I’d had yet. There were houses, stores, and shelters of all sorts, along the side of the road. On the horizon, the sun threatened to touch the earth, so I pulled over to evaluate my surroundings. There was a gas station about a half mile up the road, a diner directly to its right, and an abandoned shack about halfway between me and them. I opted for the shack. Remembering the night at the diner, how the intruders took supplies from the freezer, I figured an empty place would be the safest at night. Luckily, it was just big enough for me to bring the bike inside with me. Sitting on the weed overgrown, dirt, floor of the hand built shed, I pulled my bag onto my lap. Slipping the letter, that Blaine had written me, out of the side pocket, I let my eyes adjust to the dim light of the sun setting and read it again.
Kara, I love you...I can only wait...three days...do whatever it takes...Blaine .
His words bounced around in my head like a psychotic pinball machine. Blaine loved me. He wanted to protect me. We had kissed, and I had no memory of it. The idea of what I didn’t understand, what kept me in the dark all this time, was mentally draining. I laid my head back against the rotting plank wall of the shed-like shack and fell into a dreamless sleep.
Chapter 20
I awoke, later, to the sound of tires screeching. No, not tires. It was far off in the distance. The wind carried the sound to me in bursts. It wasn’t tires, sirens maybe? No, that’s not it. And then, with sudden realization, it hit me. Oh God, that’s somebody screaming . Almost as quickly as it took me to discover the sound, it stopped. There was a huge crashing sound, glass shattering, and what sounded like tin cans being thrown out into a driveway. I pulled my knees to my chest and buried my head in them. There was nothing in my little shed that should attract anyone, but I wasn’t sure who these people were or what they wanted. All I knew was I didn’t want to end up like the diner guy.
In my head, I counted to a hundred. I heard footsteps in the grass outside; they surrounded me. I held my breath and felt a tear run down my cheek. There was muffled conversation, but they didn’t come close enough. I couldn’t make out their words. Terrified, I prayed they would leave. They shuffled around some more, said something I couldn’t
She shook her head in disagreement. “You’re crazy,” she shouted over the engine. “I don’t believe you. Criminals will say anything to get away.” She was right. It did sound crazy, especially when I said it aloud.
I pulled the bike forward at a crawling pace until I had gotten it out to the lot, the woman following. “I don’t have time to sit here and convince you, and I don’t know much about it myself, but I can tell you this. It isn’t safe at night.” And with that I sped off, weaving and wobbling as I took the exit back to the interstate. I was relieved to find that there was at least a half tank of gas in the bike. These bikes had been known to get lots of miles to the gallon, and it would be enough to get me to Blaine’s for sure. It was getting dark, and I needed to find a place to sit for the night.
Chapter 19
Making the decision to get off of the interstate and take the back roads was the best idea I’d had yet. There were houses, stores, and shelters of all sorts, along the side of the road. On the horizon, the sun threatened to touch the earth, so I pulled over to evaluate my surroundings. There was a gas station about a half mile up the road, a diner directly to its right, and an abandoned shack about halfway between me and them. I opted for the shack. Remembering the night at the diner, how the intruders took supplies from the freezer, I figured an empty place would be the safest at night. Luckily, it was just big enough for me to bring the bike inside with me. Sitting on the weed overgrown, dirt, floor of the hand built shed, I pulled my bag onto my lap. Slipping the letter, that Blaine had written me, out of the side pocket, I let my eyes adjust to the dim light of the sun setting and read it again.
Kara, I love you...I can only wait...three days...do whatever it takes...Blaine .
His words bounced around in my head like a psychotic pinball machine. Blaine loved me. He wanted to protect me. We had kissed, and I had no memory of it. The idea of what I didn’t understand, what kept me in the dark all this time, was mentally draining. I laid my head back against the rotting plank wall of the shed-like shack and fell into a dreamless sleep.
Chapter 20
I awoke, later, to the sound of tires screeching. No, not tires. It was far off in the distance. The wind carried the sound to me in bursts. It wasn’t tires, sirens maybe? No, that’s not it. And then, with sudden realization, it hit me. Oh God, that’s somebody screaming . Almost as quickly as it took me to discover the sound, it stopped. There was a huge crashing sound, glass shattering, and what sounded like tin cans being thrown out into a driveway. I pulled my knees to my chest and buried my head in them. There was nothing in my little shed that should attract anyone, but I wasn’t sure who these people were or what they wanted. All I knew was I didn’t want to end up like the diner guy.
In my head, I counted to a hundred. I heard footsteps in the grass outside; they surrounded me. I held my breath and felt a tear run down my cheek. There was muffled conversation, but they didn’t come close enough. I couldn’t make out their words. Terrified, I prayed they would leave. They shuffled around some more, said something I couldn’t
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