Sucking in a determined breath, you run back to the front desk and
grab the cushioned wooden stool. Your hands are steady, but adrenaline
is pulsing wildly through your whole body. In one blinding streak of
movement, you hurl the stool through the glass of the front door with
a strength you never knew you possessed and shatter it into a million
pieces!
Sorry, Ms. Pruitt, you think to yourself, but the door can be
replaced, whereas I cannot be.
You duck through the frame, dodging pointed shards of glass and hopping
onto the sidewalk. Breathing heavily, you take a very swift glance at
your surroundings.
A beauteous, mystical twilight is descending on the town of Red Hollow.
Slight, faint hints of stars twinkle at you irreverently. To your left
and straight ahead are dusky, empty streets. To the right, as you look
down the block, you see lights and Ash. Relief floods you momentarily,
and you start towards her in a run.
She sees you and, for scant seconds, smiles. Then the sight of your ashen
face and running body registers, as well as the sprinkled shards of
glass behind you. An expression of horror and fright covers her face. She
drops her bag, rushing anxiously to meet you.
"Rachel! Oh, no! What's happened to you?!--and what happened to the front
door, oh my goodness!"
Ignoring her questions for the moment, you grab her hand, then her bag from
the ground. "Run," you say simply and begin to follow your own advice.
Ash seems to know instinctively that you must have a reason for this
abnormal behavior, and she moves with your lead, not resistant.
Ash does, however, speak her confusion after a while, not raising her
voice above a whisper as you start to slow down, nervous that you might
both be heard. You stealthily dart from one store window to the next,
looking for some place that's (a) open, (b) lit, and (c) populated.
"Rachel, Rachel, what on earth...?" Ash is saying.
You stop in front of the laundromat, glancing over your shoulder. You place
a hand on Ash's shoulder to steady yourself. No one is behind you.
Everything's as deserted as a wasteland.
"Ash, someone was trying to get in," you say hoarsely, still upset.
"They broke down the side door... with an axe."
Your best friend's eyes go wide, and her face becomes ashen. She's obviously
agitated, and you can see her mind reeling at the thought of what might
have happened. She swallows hard before managing, "We've... we've got to
get to the police."
The only place that seems open is the convenience store Ash just came from.
You make it inside and tell the owner what happened, albeit somewhat
breathlessly. He at first thinks it's a joke. Then when he realizes you're
dead serious, he freaks out and calls the law in quickly.
Everything from then on goes by in a blur. The cops come and basically
say they can't do much, except put everybody on their guard and post a
man to watch your house. You refuse the surveillance; this was apparently
a random attack anyway. Ash insists you stay with her tonight instead of
staying home alone, and you eventually agree. Your parents had to be out tonight.
When it's all over, you find yourself sitting in the passenger seat of
Ash's car again, trying to relax. You mull over your narrow escape,
feeling almost... gutsy for what you did. Instead of panicking or trying
to avoid damaging public property, you acted solely on your instinct
for survival. Maybe you could have handled things better, you will
probably never know... but you're alive, and that's a darn good sign.
You turn to Ash, a mild dullness to your gaze. You're dismayed and surprised
at the flat tone in your voice as you mutter, "Let's go get ready." Your
friend glances at you, then nods slowly. You make your mind up right now
to forget the cops, the axe, the door and this entire incident. There are
better things you can be doing than worrying about what you cannot change.
So, now what's your destination? You've still got time before the party.
Let's go pick up our outfits--I haven't
visited the costume shop yet.