You Better Run

by Rowan Hanlon

  “Where the hell is he going?” Sloan muttered.

  “I think I have a feeling,” Clara said and stared at her.

  “Nooooo….” Sloan replied, her mouth dropping.

  “What if he is?” Clara asked.

  “He can’t be,” Sloan said. “I’ve been on his tail for a month and he’s not even been on the interstate. I’ve kept a very, very close eye on him.”

  “Has there been any news of someone being abducted?” Hadley asked.

  “Well… I don’t know,” Sloan said. “I’ve been a little preoccupied and haven’t been watching the news.”

  “Ditto,” Hadley said.

  “Me either,” Clara said, looking very concerned, then she seemed to shake it off. “I’m sure it’s nothing. I’m sure.” She paused, then added, “But, if he has someone, we need to be prepared.”

  “Fuck!” Hadley said. “Are you serious? We should call the cops!”

  “We don’t even know that’s what he’s doing,” Sloan said. “And why does everyone want to call the cops all the time? If they could have found him, they would have already done so.”

  “Listen,” Hadley said. “This may be out of our depth. We need to call someone. We know it’s him. We need to get him while we can.”

  “Let’s just see where he’s going,” Sloan said.

  He kept driving, then got on the interstate, heading south. Sloan followed, keeping her distance until they were out of the city and headed out towards the country.

  “I hope you got plenty of gas,” Clara said.

  “I got a full tank,” Sloan replied and glanced sideways at her. “You need to change.”

  “I know,” she said, staring down at her dress and heels.

  “Hey, Hadley,” she said, staring at her in the rearview mirror. “I have some clothes in the hatch back there. Pull them out and give them to Clara, would you?”

  “Sure,” Hadley said and unbuckled her seat belt, then leaned over the seat and pulled out an overnight bag. “Is this it?”

  “That’s it,” Sloan replied.

  Hadley handed the bag to Clara, then buckled in again.

  Sloan glanced sideways as Clara pulled out the clothes—a pair of black leggings and a sweatshirt. She held them up. “Will these fit me? You’re a lot smaller than I am.”

  “I’m a lot shorter,” Sloan said. “Not smaller. They should fit.”

  Clara shrugged and managed to pull off her dress and slip the clothes on, though it was difficult as she was in the confined area of the front passenger seat.

  “Oh, there’s a pair of running shoes in there, too,” Sloan said.

  “Why do you have all this stuff?” she asked and pulled out the shoes, checking the size.

  “I don’t know,” she said. “Those are my gym clothes. I just keep them in here in case I need to change.”

  “Well, good for me,” Clara said and slipped the shoes on.

  “How are they?” Sloan asked.

  “A little tight, but they’ll do,” she said and smiled at her. “Are we really fucking doing this?”

  “We really fucking are,” Sloan muttered.

  “What are we going to do?” Hadley said.

  “We’re just following him,” Sloan said. “Let’s just do that and see where he leads us.”

  “What if he sees us?” Hadley asked.

  Clara patted her purse. “That’s why I got a concealed weapon permit.”

  “You have a gun?” she asked her, a look of slight astonishment in her eyes.

  “I do,” she said. “And I know how to use it.”

  “I got a few in the back, too,” Sloan said.

  “Holy shit, you’re kidding!” Hadley exclaimed.

  “You don’t have one?” Sloan asked, shaking her head in dismay.

  “I don’t,” she said. “Should I have got one?”

  “That’s the first thing I did,” Clara said. “I mean, Ray always had guns; he collected them. But I didn’t start shooting—or carrying—until after. And now I won’t go anywhere without Pretty.”

  “Pretty?” Hadley asked.

  “That’s what I named her, Pretty,” Clara said and turned in her seat to stare at her. “That’s her name.”

  “A gun named Pretty,” Sloan said, shaking her head.

  “You didn’t name your gun?” Clara asked, as if she’d been insulted.

  “Uh, yeah,” Sloan said. “I call her the Shitkicker.”

  Clara stared at her for a long second, then burst out laughing. “Oh, my God, you are too funny!”

  “I am a riot,” Sloan said dryly.

  “You are,” Clara said.

  “I want a gun to name,” Hadley said.

  “What would you call it?” Sloan asked.

  “My Little Friend,” Hadley said and laughed at her own joke. “Get it? Get it?”

  “Oh, yes, the oft quoted Scarface,” Sloan said but didn’t laugh.

  “I thought that was very clever,” Hadley said and shook her head, as if her feelings were slightly hurt that no one thought her joke was funny.

  “Oh, it is,” Sloan replied, staring at Hadley from the rearview mirror again. “How did you get away from your boyfriend?”

  “Well, after y’all came to my house, well… I didn’t tell him,” she said. “I wanted to tell him, but I got this idea that I could, you know, check into things for myself. I mean, I didn’t even know for sure that he was the one, you know?”

  “Oh, he’s the one,” Clara said.

  “Even so, I told him I wanted to go home,” she continued. “And I wanted to spend some time with my mother and father. So, he stayed in Florida and I… Well, I came here.”

  “So, you’ve been here a few weeks?” Sloan asked.

  “About a week,” Hadley replied. “Huck is going back home next week.”

  “Sneaky,” Sloan said. “There’s hope for you after all.”

  “I wouldn’t call that sneaky,” Clara said. “I’d call it thinking on your feet.”

  Hadley shrugged. “It’s just he’s been so upset over everything and it’s almost torn us apart and I just didn’t want to lay anything else on him. I knew if I told him, he’d make me take that information to the cops. And… Well, I didn’t want that. Not just yet.”

  “I get you,” Sloan said, staring ahead at Jeremy’s car. She squinted in the darkness and said, “He’s turning off at that next exit!”

  Clara and Hadley glanced at each other, then back at Sloan. Clara asked, “What’s the plan, Sloan?”

  “We’re just following him,” she said. “And then we’ll see.”

  Clara nodded. “Okay.” She glanced at Hadley again. “Can you use a gun if you had to?”

  “Are we going to shoot him?!” Hadley exclaimed.

  “If it comes to that, we are,” Clara said. “Want a quick lesson?”

  “Fuck, I don’t know,” she said, shaking her head frantically.

  Clara took the small handgun out of her purse and showed it to Hadley, turning it over. “That’s the safety,” she said. “You push it in to release.” She pushed it. “And then, well, you pull back the slide to put a bullet in the chamber, aim it and then pull the trigger. Basically, you aim and you shoot.” She held the gun up and pointed at the tiny sight. “See that? That’s the sight. Try to line that up with your target and you should… Well, you should be able to get it. It’s not that hard.” She reset the safety and showed Hadley the gun.

  “Just like they do in the movies?” Hadley asked, staring at the gun.

  “Just like they do in the movies,” she said, then repeated. “It’s not that hard.”

  “Where is this fucker going?” Sloan muttered, keeping her distance from the car.

  Clara stared ahead then turned to Sloan. “You don’t think…”

  “I hope not,” she said. “I hope to God not. I mean, it doesn’t make any sense.”

  “Even so, we need
to be prepared,” Clara said.

  “What is it?” Hadley asked.

  “You know what it is, Hadley,” Sloan said. “So, get prepared.”

  “Shouldn’t we call the police?” Hadley asked, a look of panic crossing her face.

  “We can’t!” Sloan snapped. “First of all, they’re going to ask all these questions like why we were following him in the first place. And then they’ll want to know why we didn’t call them to begin with. That will be a huge mess, Hadley. You have to think ahead and anticipate problems or this whole thing could blow up in our faces. Until they know what he’s doing, they’ll treat us like we’re the bad guys.”

  “This is making me extremely nervous,” Hadley said.

  “Just take a breath,” Clara told her. “It’ll be fine. Hey, Sloan, back up. He’s slowing down.”

  Sloan slowed the SUV, then pulled it to the side of the road and parked, cutting the lights. Jeremy’s car went on, the taillights bright red in the darkness. Then they, all of a sudden, disappeared.

  “Where the fuck did he go?” Sloan asked, getting exasperated.

  Clara leaned in towards the windshield and peered into the darkness. “I have no idea.”

  Sloan glanced at her, then at Hadley. “I think he pulled off onto a side road.”

  “I think you’re right,” Clara said.

  “I’m going to go on foot up a little and just look,” Sloan said, turning the engine off. “You two stay here.”

  “Like hell I will,” Clara said.

  “I’m going, too,” Hadley said.

  “But you said you were nervous,” Sloan said. “Nerves could fuck you in a situation like this. Why don’t you hang back and we’ll go ahead and have a look?”

  “No way,” Hadley said. “We’re either in this together or we all go back to Atlanta.”

  “Can you shoot him if it comes to it?” Sloan asked.

  “I can try,” Hadley said. “Clara said it wasn’t that hard. Are we ready?” She put her hand on the door handle, ready to open the door.

  Sloan stared at Clara, who nodded and got her gun ready. “I have some flashlights and extra guns in the back,” Sloan said and got out, opening the hatch and pulling out two mag lights and two small handguns. Hadley got out of the SUV, then came around to her, then took a flashlight and then a gun. Then she pointed to something.

  “Why do you have a blanket?” she asked Sloan.

  “It’s just something my dad always told me to do,” Sloan said. “I guess in the old days they didn’t have roadside assistance or something. Honestly, I don’t know why I still do it.”

  “Huh,” Hadley muttered.

  Clara came around the side of the vehicle. “Now I’m a good shot,” Clara told Hadley. “You stick behind me in case anything goes down. I don’t think it will, but if it does, if need be, fall flat on the ground and cover your head with your arms.” She demonstrated by putting her arms behind her head.

  “Or I could take a shot,” Hadley said.

  “Listen, no offense, but you don’t need to shoot unless it’s absolutely necessary,” Clara said. “You’ve never done it before and you could end up shooting yourself or one of us.”

  “I wouldn’t do that!” Hadley exclaimed.

  “Not on purpose you wouldn’t,” Clara replied. “Just don’t take a shot unless it’s necessary, okay? Promise me.”

  “I promise,” Hadley said, then groaned.

  “Okay, let’s just go,” Sloan said and pushed a button on the hatch and stepped back as it closed slowly. She looked at Clara then at Hadley. “Ready?”

  “Ready,” they replied in unison.

  And so, they took off. They walked about a quarter of a mile up the road, then saw the dirt road to the right, the one Jeremy had pulled onto. They got on it, keeping the flashlights low and their guns drawn.

  “My heart feels like it’d going to explode in my chest,” Hadley whispered.

  “Shh,” Sloan said, keeping her voice low. “Just walk and don’t think. Got it?”

  “Got it,” Hadley said.

  They kept walking, none of them saying a word and kept their focus on what was ahead. All of a sudden, they heard a loud, terrified scream. They froze and slowly turned to one another. Sloan put a finger to her mouth, indicating no one should talk. Another scream came again, this one even more intense.

  Sloan nodded and they started to move again, keeping their concentration on the sound of the scream to guide them where to go. Another scream came and soon they realized that the voice was coming from the woods. They stopped and each looked around, wondering where the terrified voice was coming from. A small light about ten yards off the road shone bright for a moment then disappeared. Sloan jerked her head towards the light and they went into the woods, stepping as lightly as they could. Soon enough, they came to a small abandoned A-frame house. It was almost completely covered in ivy and the roof was just about caved in. As they neared it, another scream erupted again, sending chills down Sloan’s spine. That’s when she stopped and turned to Clara and Hadley, kneeling down. She waved her hand to indicate they should get down, too, and, once they did, she whispered, “We have to get out of here.”

  “What?” Clara asked, shaking her head in confusion.

  “This could be a trap,” Sloan hissed. “I think maybe that it is a trap. It has to be a trap. We need to leave.”

  “Wait,” Hadley whispered. “He’s got someone in there! We have to save her!”

  “We can’t,” Sloan whispered back. “If he’s waiting on us, we could get in there and not get back out. We can’t risk it.”

  “We have to,” Hadley said, her voice rising a little in frustration. “And this might not be a trap. You could just be paranoid.”

  Sloan shook her head, having made her mind up. “We have to abort this. We have to leave. Then we’ll figure out what to do about her—if he has someone in there. That could be a recording for all I know.”

  Another scream ripped through the silence and each of them shuddered with it.

  “That’s a person,” Clara said quietly. “I think it is, Sloan.”

  “I just don’t know if we’re up to this,” Sloan replied. “I don’t know how to proceed. We need to leave and we need to leave now.”

  Without another word, she stood and made her way back to the road. After a few moments, she heard Hadley and Clara behind her. Once they got back on the road and near the SUV, Hadley hurried up to Sloan and took her arm, halting her.

  “If you don’t want to go back there, I will,” she said. “I have to do something.”

  “No, you don’t,” Sloan said. “Now get in the car.”

  “Sloan,” Clara said. “Listen—”

  “Get in the car!” she snapped. “I mean it! If anything happens to either of you, I will not be able to live with myself. Got it? Now get in the fucking car!”

  She took Hadley’s gun and flashlight and threw them into the hatch, along with hers. Then she got in the SUV and shut the door and waited until Clara and Hadley had gotten in before she started it and then made a big U-turn and headed back towards the interstate.

  Nobody talked for the longest time. The interior of the SUV was so quiet, it was unnerving. This irritated Sloan, who found herself devolving into a mass of nerves. She felt like she could have a major meltdown. She didn’t know what she was thinking. She kept hearing that person scream. She told herself it wasn’t real, that it was a trap and that he didn’t have anyone.

  But what if I’m wrong? she thought.

  She shook her head and turned on the iPod she kept in the vehicle. A song she really loved came on and she immediately felt her mind clear at the beautiful music. The lyrics started and she glanced in the rearview mirror at Hadley who was quietly singing along, tears streaming down her cheeks. This caught her attention for a moment, as if she’d never thought she’d see anything like that in her life. She turned to Clara, who was doing the same, e
ach of them trying as hard as they could to deal with what was going on and the only way they could was by immersing themselves into the music.

  It was as though something shifted inside of her. Sloan found herself singing along with the song, too. She and Clara sang the same lyric, glancing at each other, crying as they did so.

  Without thinking, and without a word, Sloan did a quick U-turn, taking the massive SUV up onto the bank. She got it back on the road and gunned the gas as hard as she could, causing the vehicle to roar and the front two wheels nearly lifted up off the ground as she did so.

  Clara and Hadley broke out into happy grins as tears streamed down their cheeks. Sloan drove like a maniac back up the road and once she saw the dirt road, she made a sharp right. The SUV didn’t hesitate and held its ground as Sloan kept pushing it as hard as she could up the road and to the spot where they’d gone into the woods.

  She threw the SUV into park, cut the engine and everyone got out at the same time. She raced around the back of the vehicle and opened the hatch. She grabbed a gun and a flashlight, handing them to Hadley who, for some reason, also grabbed the blanket. Clara jerked her head, indicating she was ready and once she retrieved her gun and flashlight, they literally ran through the woods and to the house. Without hesitation, without thought, without words, neither of the three stopped to consider what they were getting into or how it might turn out. It was as if something had taken each of them over and they were simply the medium to get to the job done.

  Once they got to the front door, Clara went right up to it like she owned it and opened it. And then she went in, gun raised and ready to shoot. Hadley followed her, then Sloan. They looked around the rotting living room and then they saw her. She was in the corner, in an old nightgown with lace at the neck. She was whimpering and she was shocked at seeing all three of them burst into the room all of a sudden. She was in bad, bad shape. She was dirty and she was pitiful and she’d been beaten black and blue.

  Sloan stared at her and wondered if she, herself, had looked that bad the day she escaped. She couldn’t look away from the young woman and watched as Hadley, who had begun to sob as soon as she saw her, walked over, fell to her knees and wrapped the young woman in the blanket, covering her. She then took the woman’s head into her arms, cradling her like a baby. She whispered something into her ear and the young woman sobbed and began to cling onto Hadley.