“Run!” Bridget’s screams pierced through the sounds of mangled plastic bouncing around Eva’s feet.
Eva didn’t hesitate. Adrenaline burst through her body, and her arms felt powerful as she pulled them out of the cop’s grip. She charged down the street and took the first turnoff. Her lungs burned as she raced past dilapidated buildings. Weathered siding hung from the houses and cracks separated the pale concrete sidewalk. Sirens whined in the distance, and Eva pushed her aching legs to run faster. She launched herself through unfenced backyards, and into the thick woods. Thin branches whipped her face and clawed at her hoodie. Dead twigs snapped as her feet pounded the uneven terrain. She pumped her arms and raced toward a patch of sunlight. Her body shook, and she slowed her pace to keep from tripping over twisted tree roots marring the earth. She reached the clearing and sank to her knees in the sun’s warm glow.
“I can’t keep running,” she gasped, trying to slow her thumping heart. Her face stung, and she used her sleeve to wipe away thin lines of blood. Sprinkles of rain dotted the grass, and she lifted her hood to cover her windswept hair. Her breathing calmed, unveiling the intense throbbing between her temples. She rubbed her forehead and rested her face in her palms. “I don’t know how to do this by myself.” Her tears joined the steady pattering of rain as the sun dipped behind the clouds.
Faint laughter reached her, and she braced herself for the pain she knew would follow.
“You sure there ain’t no mountain lions out here, Troy?” The girl’s thick Okie accent and intermittent laughter stretched each word.
Eva sat still, her muscles tightening in preparation.
“Shouldn’t be,” Troy answered. “Not on these trails, but my momma always told me you can’t be too sure ’bout nothin’. That’s why I’m always carryin’.”
The girl’s flirty laughter sounded again. “First the zoo, now this walk. Day was almost perfect if not for the rain.”
“The day’s not over yet. By tonight you’ll be back to thinkin’ everything’s perfect.”
The laughter faded as the pair passed.
“The zoo?” Eva’s head pounded harder as she stood and examined the trees. “I know where I am.”
The pulsing in her head dizzied her vision, and she stumbled onto the trail. The rain beat down more ferociously and soaked her hoodie, making it heavy and cold against her back. The dirt path quickly turned to slick mud, and Eva grabbed on to tree trunks as she hiked up a small incline. Her shoes slipped in the mud, and she dug her toes deep in the slop and kept climbing.
“Almost there. Just a few more yards.”
Pain bulleted through her head and wrapped itself around her spine. She lost her hold on the tree and fell face down in the mud. The pain intensified as she dug her hands into the dirt and pulled herself up the slope. “Just a few more yards.” She ripped at the rough ferns to get to the top of the hill and crawled a few feet until she no longer felt the rain pelting her back. She put her back against the craggy wall and let her head rest against the rock. She panted and stared up through her tears at the chalky white limestone overhang. Fear rattled inside of her stomach, and she hugged her legs against her chest. “Where are you, Alek?”
? ? ?
Bridget drummed her well-manicured fingers against the metal desk as she waited impatiently. They’d removed her cuffs once she arrived at the station, and she studied the raised pink welts circling her wrists.
“Miss Falling,” Detective Schilling entered the room first. His thick middle made the buttons on his shirt look like they would pop off at any moment. “I didn’t think you would lie to us about seeing your friend.”
“And I didn’t think I’d be put in handcuffs over a small fender bender.” She narrowed her gaze as he sat down across from her.
James scoffed, closing the door behind him. “You rammed your car into a police vehicle, Bridget.”
“How was I supposed to know it was a police vehicle? It was just blue. It wasn’t even marked.”
“I think the officer standing in front of the car attempting to arrest your friend tipped you off to that fact,” Schilling grumbled.
“It was an honest mistake. I dropped my mascara, and my foot slipped. I didn’t mean to run into anything,” she said innocently.
James dropped a handful of papers on the table and took a seat next to his partner. “Why were you yelling at Eva?”
“I was in shock. I don’t remember yelling at anyone.”
“You were.”
“You’re going to have to help me out, Detective. I don’t recall.”
Schilling sighed, rifled through the papers and held one out at arm’s length. “Says here that you repeatedly shouted at the suspect to run.” Schilling dropped the paper and stared at Bridget. “And we don’t teach our boys to lie.”