by J. Dursky
Chapter 10
The group of military has gone. They have taken the bodies with them. I don't think I can get into the base I heard them mention. I am sure they would have an insane security measure. It is a military base after all. The main reason is because I have no idea where it is located. I wait until a few minutes after I cannot hear footsteps or voices before I move from my position. I climb out from under the bridge and run back to Ayla's car.
I know where she hides the key to her car while we run. It is in a little magnetic box up under her front bumper. I reach under the car and grab the box. I pull the key out and place the box back under the bumper. I sit in her car and put the key in the ignition. Where do I go? What do I tell the first person I see? Should I drive to the police station? I feel wetness on my cheek, I start to cry. I have spent my whole life protecting her from the world, and now I've failed her when she needed me most. Why did I have to go there today? Why did I ask her to split up? I start to blame myself, and cry harder.
I can’t stay here. If they happened to see me earlier they may be searching for me. I start the car and start moving. I need to find Lila. I need to tell her what happened. Together we can figure out what to do. I drive in the direction of her house. To get there I have to go past the high school. It is not far from the depot, less than two miles as the crow flies. I wish I had my cell phone on me so I could call Lila. I hope she is home. The clock in Ayla's car does not work. I don't know what time it is. It feels like it has been hours, I am sure Lila and her mom are done grocery shopping by now.
I try to think about Lila to get my mind off of Ayla. It isn't enough. I need a distraction so I turn on the radio. I don't know the stations programmed onto the presets of her stereo. I press number one. I don't hear anything coming from the speakers. I raise the volume. Still nothing. Does the stereo in the piece of crap even work? I press number two. Nothing. I press three, four, and five. I hear static. The speakers work. Why don't the first four have static? I would think there should be some sort of sound.
I look up from the stereo as I am approaching the school and when I focus my eyes on the road, I see a quick flash of something rolling up the hood into the windshield. I feel the jolt of the impact, hear the crunch of the metal on the front of the car and crack of the windshield, and see blood. I hit something.
I stop the car, I can't see through the cracks and the red smears on the windshield. I get out of the car to see what it was. Was it a deer? A dog is too small to come over the front of the car. First of all, which way did it go? Did it slide back off the front or did it roll all the way over the back of the car? I check the back first. Suddenly I get a flash of Ayla in my mind. What started as a nonchalant inspection has quickly turned to a high alert search. I don't have anything to defend myself if it is something unexpected.
There is not much in the car I could use. I see a backpack. It looks like it has some weight in it. I can tell it’s a couple books by the corners poking into the fabric. I grab it off of the seat through the rear driver’s side window that is down. I hold it by the little loop at the top up by my chin and clip the radio inside a mesh pocket on the side of the backpack. I face my knuckles towards my face, letting the weight of the bag rest on my forearm, this way if something is there I can use it as a shield. I can also swing it as a weapon if I need to create some distance. I get to the rear of the car. Walking very quietly and slowly, I make it all the way to the trunk. I don't see anything. I look at the car. There is no blood or marks on the trunk lid. It must be at the front of the car.
I continue around the car in a circle. As I am on the passenger's side, still back by the trunk, I hear a girl scream from by the school. I turn to look and I see a pretty looking athletic girl running from a muscular red headed boy in gym shorts and a sleeveless t-shirt. I look closer. That looks like Milledge. What is he doing? He is not that fast, he is a lineman. The girl is slender and tall, with long red hair, and should be able to out run him. He seems way faster than normal.
I have played sports with him my whole life. He is not big by lineman standards, he is actually quite slim compared to most, but he is very muscular and strong as an ox. Has he become whatever Ayla became? The girl runs into a clearing and I get a better look, Lila!