You Better Run

by Rowan Hanlon

  Hadley shook her head slightly, the anger still flowing freely though her body. She quite liked it, too. It made her feel in control, though, she knew on many levels, she was not. But she liked to think she was. The anger helped.

  “I’m not on any of those sites,” he said. “Can’t really risk it. I like the idea, though.” He nodded to himself and took another long sip of his milkshake. “Want some?”

  Hadley shook her head a little and glanced at Clara. She moved slightly, indicating that while she was awake, she was pretending to be asleep.

  “Didn’t think so,” he said and took another sip. “But, yeah, you and that asshole? I can’t believe you married that bastard! Why? Why do that? And, come on, your romance sounds like something someone made up for a dumb movie. You ever think that? Like, this is too perfect. Why am I so lucky? You should. You should think things like that. You should.”

  “Why?” Hadley asked.

  “It’s not good to get too attached to anything or anyone,” he said. “You should be more like your friend, Sloan. She’s got two ex-husbands and both of them are still groveling at her feet, even at her age. They call and try to drop by unannounced and she sends them away. I’ve watched it all. Just the other day, one of them was waiting on her outside her building. I saw it all. She got really pissed, too, as she should. I mean, they’re both pathetic bastards. They beg, that’s what they do. And they should know better. They should know that she could care less, that one. Why? Because of me.”

  Hadley narrowed her eyes at him.

  “All because of me,” he said, as if this pleased him very, very much. “She spent the best years of her life looking for me. I became her number one. She’s obsessed with me, always was. It makes me feel good to know how she dedicated herself to me like that.”

  Hadley sighed, wishing he’d just shut up.

  “Yeah, I could never get me a woman like Sloan or you or her,” he jerked his head towards Clara. “I don’t know how to play guitar that makes those panties drop. What’s a guy like me supposed to do? Well, I do what I have to do.”

  Hadley watched him take another bite of his hamburger, holding the steering wheel with his free hand. He did it so easily, she knew he must drive and eat like this often.

  “But I want to know this,” he said and turned in the seat a little to stare at her. “What does it feel like to always be the prettiest woman in the room?”

  Hadley didn’t answer. She didn’t know. She didn’t consider herself to be the prettiest woman in the room, ever. Her mind never worked like that. Her ego was in check to reality. Unlike his, obviously.

  “Well,” he said and turned back around. “That’s what got you in trouble. Beauty is a bitch.”

  Moronic. He was almost moronic. How could someone like him have done the things he did and gotten away with it? How? Hadley had a hard time comprehending it.

  “Yeah, I got no money,” he said, leaning over to the passenger seat and holding up her purse, then Clara’s. “But I don’t need much. I took both of your purses and some money from her house. Oh, yeah, I took the gun, too, just so you’ll know not to try any funny stuff.” He paused to sigh loudly, then held up the gun before tossing it carelessly into the seat. Then he said, “That bitch is loaded, by the way. Anyway, that’ll get me through this trip.” He nodded, like he’d decided something. “You know, this doesn’t really pay that well, but as you can tell, I’m not doing it for the money.”

  At this, he threw his head back and laughed loudly, as if he amused himself oh, so much.

  Hadley didn’t respond but was glad to know that her purse was in the front seat.

  “But anyway, we never talked about how we got here, did we?” he asked. “I know you’re wondering this and that and I’ll tell you. I don’t give a shit. Anyway, you know how they say everybody’s got a twin on the planet? Like, everybody? I never bought into that, but Jeremy Clemmons is my twin. Or, rather, he was my twin. Not twin-twin. We look alike. People could mistake us for the same person, am I right?”

  He was right, Hadley had to agree. That had been her downfall, mistaking poor Jeremy Clemmons for this sick bastard. She felt so bad about it, too. But they looked so much alike it was uncanny. How was she supposed to know? How?

  “Regardless, that sad sack Jeremy Clemmons… Let’s just say we met once. He wasn’t a distant relative of mine or anything like that,” he continued. “Only saw him once, about twenty years ago. As you know, I’ve always had a propensity for… Shall we say, darker things, and, well, I didn’t really know how I was going to live that kind of life, you know? How could I do it and get away with it? And, if I ever got caught, how could set some asshole up to take the blame?”

  Hadley eyed him, thinking that he must have thought he was some sort of genius for coming up with this “plan.”

  “Jeremy Clemmons, that’s how,” he said, very pleased with himself. “We looked enough alike that we could have been twins, that’s the genius part of all of this. But he’s an idiot. I mean, stupid. And that’s a bonus in some ways, a curse in others.”

  Hadley stared out the window.

  “That shit he said at that wedding? That got posted on the internet?” he asked, shaking his head emphatically. “Idiot! No serial killer in their right mind would ever do something like that! That’s Serial Killing 101 shit! He said if their marriage didn’t work out, he knew how to hide bodies. You never tell people you know how to hide bodies! Why would you do that?” He sighed loudly in frustration.

  Hadley took a breath, wondering when he was going to shut the hell up. She just didn’t care, not anymore. Something inside of her had decided that not so long ago, not to care, not to give one shit. It was probably the drug he’d given her. Even so, she didn’t want to hear his reasoning. She just wanted him to shut up.

  “But, then again, he’s not really serial killer material,” he said. “It was really easy to frame that dense bastard. It was also really easy to align myself with him, too, though he never suspected a thing. It was nice of him to keep that storage unit, as well.” He gave another wink.

  Hadley sunk down lower in her seat, glaring at him. He was evil, so vile, she wondered how he’d made it this far without getting himself killed. How? How could an evil person like this survive this long undetected? But the answer was evident—he hid behind a very unsuspecting person. A person who was probably a little dumb and definitely a lot unassuming.

  “Yeah,” he continued. “I’d just follow him wherever he roamed and I’d just stop and find someone I liked. Like I saw Clara at that catering warehouse. She was there about some charity dinner she was helping to host, talking to the people who ran it. I was outside, just watching, and she walked out looking like a dream. I had to have her.”

  Hadley shuddered and glanced at Clara, who still pretended to be asleep.

  “And you?” he said, smiling as if lost in a beautiful memory. “Everyone seemed to like you. I almost didn’t take you because of that. But, damn girl, you are a hot piece of ass.”

  “You’re not rattling me, just so you’ll know,” Hadley told him.

  He snickered. “Am I not?” He glanced in the rearview mirror at Clara. “You can tell her I know she’s been awake for about fifteen minutes now.”

  Clara turned in her seat and gave him a hellacious look. But she didn’t speak.

  “She won’t speak to me,” he said. “She never would. Not one word. But she’d sit and talk to herself, telling herself all these stupid, boring details about her life. And she’d keep up with the days, too.” He stared at her through the rearview mirror. “Wouldn’t you?”

  Clara glared at him and then said, “I wish you had been Jeremy Clemmons’ twin.”

  “What did you say to me?” he asked and shook his head.

  “I wish you had been his twin,” she said. “So, he could have absorbed you in the womb.”

  He threw his head back and laughed loudly. “Now, of course, you would k
now something like that. You get points for that. Not only pretty, but smart, too. Just the way I like ’em!”

  Clara continued to glare at him, then she turned to Hadley and they locked eyes. Hadley nodded slightly and Clara nodded back, then they turned back to him.

  “Well, good for you,” he said. “But it’s me that should have absorbed him. I mean, if we were twins, which we aren’t—I mean, weren’t! I keep forgetting he got his skull cracked.” He paused and sighed loudly as if Jeremy’s death annoyed him. “I really hate that, too. Where am I going to find another Jeremy Clemmons? I’ll have to be smarter now, won’t I?” He glanced in the rearview mirror at them to see if they were paying attention. Then he snapped, “Won’t I?” as if he had expected a prompt response.

  Neither Hadley nor Clara answered. He glared at them then shrugged and stared ahead once again, glowering slightly.

  “That piece of shit was worthless,” he spat, shaking his head. “He wasted his life! He was married once; did you know that? He was married in his early twenties, then got divorced because it was too hard. He had a future and he pissed it away.”

  Hadley glanced at Clara again and she glanced back. Then they turned back to him.

  “He’s almost forty now,” he said. “Or was. Was! I keep forgetting! No decent woman would have had him now. He was past his prime. Damn, he was so stupid. Just plain stupid. I shadowed him for years. Never once did he detect me. Not once! I’d stay in his apartment while he was away, he didn’t notice. Of course, it is a dump, but even so. I’d take money out of his bank account; he didn’t sense that either, very trusting, he was. But weird, an oddball. I mean, did you see the way he chewed at his nails? It’s hideous!”

  Hadley looked out the window, trying to stay focused on what she was going to do, trying to keep calm, though the adrenaline was starting to teem in her body. You got one shot, she told herself, make it count. She waited for the inevitable self-doubt to start, but it didn’t. She was pleased that it didn’t. She had to stay focused on what she was going to do.

  “You know, he’d go to a club, get shit-faced then ‘lose’ his car,” he continued on. “He’d get a cab home and the next day, it’d be there, exactly where he parked it. Clever, huh?” he asked and stared at them in the rearview mirror. “You didn’t know that I knew you were following me, did you?”

  They stared at him, not speaking.

  “For weeks, you three were hot on my tail,” he said in a very condescending tone. “It was so cute. And I thought, why not? Let them think they’re in control. It was so sweet how you three thought you were doing something.” He paused to laugh. “But, as you know, I had work to do. I had to go out into the country. But following me out there? That I didn’t expect, to be honest. I’ll give it to you. I don’t really know how in the hell I didn’t see that big SUV Sloan drives behind me the entire way. But it allowed me to see your heroic rescue. Very heart-warming. It did catch me off guard, but, hey, that’s what you get when a ragtag band of vigilantes are after your ass.”

  Hadley glared at him, wishing she could kill the evil fucker right then and there. But how? How could she do it? If she attacked right then, he could wreck the car, killing them all. No. She had to wait. She had to play it just right. And she had to pretend to go along. Let him think he’s in control, she told herself. Let him believe he has the upper hand.

  “But I had to skedaddle before the cops got there,” he said. “And you were all waving those guns around like you knew what you were doing. I figured you might actually shoot me in the nuts or something. I didn’t want to risk it. Besides, Aubrey bored me. She was a crier. She cried and cried and cried until I just wanted to end her. And I was going to. I had planned on it. But then… Well, you three.”

  He stopped talking for a long, few minutes. Hadley kept one eye on him and one eye on the road. She didn’t know how far away they were from Nashville but she knew it was a quite a distance. They were headed up into the mountains and her sense of direction told her they were headed into the Cumberland Mountains. No one would ever find them there. She shuddered but maintained her calm. She had to. She couldn’t give into fear and she couldn’t lose her cool. Everything had to play out just so.

  Soon enough, he took an exit and they continued to drive and drive and drive. Soon enough, he turned left onto an old dirt road and he drove more and more. For some reason, he rolled down the window and stuck his head out like a dog. Hadley stared at him for a long moment, wondering why the hell he was doing that. He turned to see her staring and chuckled.

  “I get real hot before anything goes down,” he told her. “You can’t understand it ’cause you’re not like me. But my blood just pumps and pumps like a motherfucker.”

  Hadley knew exactly what he was talking about and for a split second, she almost succumbed to the panic again. But she stopped it once again and replaced it with the anger. He thinks he has it all figured out, doesn’t he? she thought to herself, then added smugly, We’ll see about that.

  After a few more minutes of driving, he pulled the car to the side of the road and stopped it, put it in park and cut the engine. He opened the door slightly, then paused, turning in his seat to stare at them. He smiled at them like they were old friends. The smile was so odd it was unnerving. Hadley shuddered with it, then forced herself to not let the panic overtake her. She could tell the drugs were wearing off now and those old feelings of helplessness wanted to reenter and wreak havoc. But, no, now was not the time. She could not for one second show weakness. Weakness would be her downfall. She had to stay strong and get through this.

  “I just want one more run, ladies,” he said, almost in a gentle manner, almost like it was something great they’d all shared once. “Just one more.”

  “You haven’t even told us your name,” Hadley said.

  “Well, that’s none of your business, now, is it?” he asked.

  Hadley didn’t answer. But she gave Clara a small, barely detectable nudge and then they both jumped into action. As Clara jumped out of the car, she slid up behind him, lunging at him and stabbing him in the side of his neck with her little knife as deeply as the tiny blade would go. Clara was already at the passenger side and she had the gun, which he’d carelessly tossed onto the seat earlier. She leveled it at him as Hadley got out of the car and came to stand behind her. He looked up at them with surprise and, Hadley liked to think, a little awe.

  “Guess what?” Hadley said. “It’s your turn. You better run.”

  “And you better run hard, fucker,” Clara continued.

  “Get going now.” Hadley finished, then yelled, “Run!”

  And, with that, Clara fired the first shot, which went right by his head and out the open window but didn’t leave a single mark. Nevertheless, the loud shot from the gun rang in his ears and he screamed with pain and held his head, then held his neck, which was shooting out blood.

  “You fucking bitches, you got me,” he said, smiling, almost like he was pleased that they had. He pulled the knife out of his neck and shook his head as blood squirted everywhere.

  “I’m not counting to ten,” Clara said and leveled the gun at his head. “I want to see you run! Now!”

  His eyes nearly popped out of his head and he scrambled out of the car and took off into the woods. And they took off after him, deep into the woods, chasing him just as he’d chased them, chasing him under the full moon that gave as much light as a florescent. They didn’t speak as they hunted him and they didn’t question why they’d allowed him to run. They just did it. But then he was gone. Just like that, he disappeared.

  As she ran, Hadley glanced up at the sky to see a cloud pass over the moon, overshadowing it. It became really dark for a full few seconds until the cloud passed and the moon shone bright again. She was grateful for that but then realized she was about to fall into a deep hole.

  Hadley came to an abrupt stop, seeing the deep hole in front of her just in time. She skidded to the edge of
it and loose debris fell into the hole from the force of her stopping. She came right to the edge of it, her arms flailing and trying to hold herself back from falling. She nearly fell in but gained her balance just quickly enough to save herself. Unfortunately, Clara was right behind her and she stumbled and fell forcefully against her back and the two of them went tumbling into the hole, falling hard and falling fast and losing conscious as they hit the dirt with such force it busted both of their noses.

  Normal

  Clara awoke woke in an old house. She noticed the smell of rotting wood before she noticed that her captor was standing in front of her. She chastised herself for not putting a hole in his head when she had the shot. She hated that she’d missed.

  And because she had missed, he had them again. However, they were not tied up but they didn’t have the gun and they didn’t have the knife. He had both. And there wasn’t much either could do but sit and wait and see how it was all going to go down.

  Clara felt Hadley shifting in the ramshackle chair beside her and he shot her a look of pure spite and yelled at the top of his lungs as he pointed the gun at her, “Don’t you move even one inch!”

  Hadley stopped moving. Clara felt her heartbeat go into overdrive. But she knew she had to remain calm. She could tell that he was very angry at being outsmarted and she could tell it was only a matter of time before he began to unleash that anger. She shuddered with the thought of the pain it would cause, but, then again, she already was in a lot of pain just then with a busted nose and, maybe, even a concussion. But she made herself focus on something else, so she turned her attention to the battery-powered lantern he had near the front door. It gave just enough light off to make the room, and him, seem even more sinister. She shuddered.

  “Dumb bitches, dumb bitches,” he muttered like an old man who was on the verge of losing his mind. “I can’t believe you two! I had plans for us! Plans! And here you’ve broken my trust, what with shooting at me and stabbing me. Where did you get this damned thing?”