Dark Ride

by P. G. Kassel

  "Yeah, sure, Marty," Stevie said meekly.

  "Get going."

  Stevie dropped behind him and Marty glanced back to see him heading in the right direction. But Marty immediately felt a wave of doubt cascade over him. He'd let this blonde get inside his head again and he didn't even realize it was happening. What was he thinking? He'd never trust anybody with any of his money and he just sent that little pill popper to get more money than he'd scored in months.

  There was a break in the crowd ahead of him and he had a clear, but brief view of the blonde, Carrie. Her long, tanned legs carried her gracefully along, that sweet little ass swaying side to side in a perfect, irresistible rhythm. He had a final, fleeting thought about the money, but then it was gone. He couldn't take his eyes off the girl.

  She weaved her way through the tired parkgoers, heading for the exit with everyone else. He stayed with her, doing his best to keep a few bodies between him and the girl in case she had some reason to look back towards him. But she didn't. She reached the exit, pushed through the turnstile and headed out towards the big parking lot at the north side of the park.

  Marty passed through the turnstile and the few security people still hanging around didn't look twice at him. It looked like they'd given up searching purses and bags, too. Good, Stevie wouldn't have any trouble getting the money out.

  Marty reached the edge of the parking lot and stopped in his tracks. There were still quite a few cars in the lot and he somehow had lost sight of her. A swell of panic overtook him but it was short-lived. There she was emerging from the shadows about sixty feet in front of him, making her way through the parked cars.

  She kept walking deeper into the lot. She must have gotten to the park late, Marty reasoned, and the entrance side of the lot was already full. Nearby a tired looking guy and his tired looking wife jammed their kids into a minivan. The engine turned over and they backed out of their space.

  Fewer cars occupied this section of the lot. He noticed Carrie move the purse hanging against her side around to her front. The faint sound of jingling keys reached him. She must be drawing closer to her car. On either side of him couples climbed into their cars and started the engines. The moving headlights rippled across the cars pushing shadows ahead of them.

  He scanned the area and saw no one else in the shadows. It looked like it was just him and the girl now. He began walking faster, closing the distance between them. If he didn't catch up to her by the time she reached the car all this effort would be for nothing.

  He heard his own footsteps against the blacktop of the parking lot, and so did she. He noticed her glance casually back over her shoulder. He was certain she had seen him because now she was moving faster. She was afraid. Good, he thought, she deserves to be afraid after the way she dissed him. He increased his speed and saw that he was moving closer to her.

  The girl glanced back again and then broke into a full run. He began running, never taking his eyes off her as she weaved between the few cars left in this end of the lot. She suddenly stopped beside the driver's side of an older model, beat up Chevy Malibu, almost slamming into it.

  He could see her chest heaving as he approached, drawing deep, panicked breaths. She was fumbling with the keys, rushing to get the car key into the lock. She must have seen him out of the corner of her eye as he rushed up to the rear of the car because her head jerked upward for a split second. In her panic she dropped the keys.

  He paused at the rear of the car, looking at her. She was quivering slightly, her eyes wide with apprehension and recognition. Her body bent forward very slightly and her fingers opened but she was torn between bending over to pick up the keys or keeping her eyes on him. She decided on the keys and began to kneel down.

  "No," he said sharply.

  She froze and then straightened up again, her eyes wider and her lips pressed tightly together. He closed the distance between them.

  "I'll get them," he said.

  He bent down and grabbed the keys. As he straightened up he had a vague sense of the girl pulling her hand from inside the purse. She raised her arm and he caught a glimpse of the little can in her hand. He realized it was pepper spray just as she jammed her thumb down on the nozzle button.

  He jerked his head away and threw his arm over his face, but he wasn't quite fast enough. He felt the cool spray cover the left side of his face, and then the coolness was immediately gone, replaced by a painful burning on his skin and in his left eye. He roared in pain and blindly reached out for her.

  The girl tried to retreat but she wasn't fast enough. He grabbed hold of her arm wielding the pepper spray and wrenched at it. She tried to twist away but he tightened his grip and yanked her up against him. The girl fought hard, and as he pushed her up against the car she screamed at the top of her lungs. He heard the can of spray clatter against the ground and then he felt the girl's fist smash hard into his cheek.

  He bellowed with pain, and as he brought his free hand up to his face he felt the girl twist hard out of his grasp and push away from him. Her running footsteps echoed around him and with his good eye he caught a glimpse of her sprinting towards the far end of the parking lot.

  He looked quickly around to see if anyone was coming in answer to the scream but saw no one. The noise still coming from the park probably covered the sound. He caught sight of her again, moving fast, a sliver of light reflecting off her blonde hair. Furious, he followed her into the shadows.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Pursuit

  She was heading towards the corner of the lot and that was fine by him. It was darker there and the chainlink fence that surrounded the lot was ten feet high. She'd have nowhere to go and he'd make sure the bitch didn't get far.

  He saw her reach the fence. She paused only a moment and then began to move again. His left eye was burning like crazy, he felt the tears running down his face, and he was having trouble seeing with just one eye. Through the darkness, for a moment it looked like she was on the opposite side of the fence. He tried to focus harder as he ran towards her and then suddenly realized that she really was on the opposite side of the chainlink. She had gotten out of the parking lot and disappeared into the shadows as he watched.

  He reached the area of fence where he last saw her and moved along down the fence. Near the very corner of the lot he saw it, a tear in the chainlink. Hurrying to the spot he thought it looked as if someone had taken cutters to the heavy wire in order to create a movable flap. Maybe somebody had been looking at breaking into the parked cars. On the opposite side of the fence he could see a row of loading docks and several semitrailers parked in the dock spaces.

  As he pushed the fencing aside and ducked through the opening he heard something clatter on the pavement somewhere in the darkness ahead of him, and then running footsteps. Following the sound he began running.

  Up ahead he saw a dim glow on the ground. Reaching the spot he saw it was a cell phone. The girl had tried getting it out of her purse while she ran, fumbled and dropped it. The screen was cracked but the phone looked functional.

  Marty stuffed the phone in his pocket and continued forward, breaking into a full run. He rounded a corner at the end of the dock row. Up ahead were more warehouses and more loading platforms. He peered into the darkness and saw her running hard. It surprised him that he was closer to her than he thought he was. He put on more speed.

  She heard his approaching footsteps and looked back over her shoulder, almost stumbling as she did so. Seeing him she began to sob and he could hear little cries coming from her mouth.

  He was within twenty feet of her now and when she sensed his nearness she let out a wailing scream. He closed the distance in seconds and grabbed hold of her, wrapping his arms tightly around her from behind.

  "Nooooo," she screamed.

  He clamped a hand roughly over her mouth as she struggled and twisted, trying to get away. Not this time, he thought. This time little Carrie would get what she deserved.

  A trailer was pa
rked at the end of the dock next to them, its back door open to the shadows within. It was perfect, Marty thought as he dragged her up the nearby steps to the loading platform. He practically had to carry her, and her constant twisting and turning didn't make it easy. He dragged her along the platform to the back of the trailer and dragged her inside. Now she'd learn that it wasn't a smart idea to mess with him.

  Chapter Seventeen

  A Faint Scream

  It didn’t take Baumgarten long to put the finger on Wedlow,” Romero said, guiding the cruiser into Oceanside Park’s parking lot entrance.

  “He was certain, that’s for sure,” Larkin responded. He was riding shotgun and already scanning the people on the sidewalk and looking hard at the cars leaving the parking lot for any sign of Martin Wedlow.

  "Pull in over there," Larkin pointed. "The restricted zone next to the entrance."

  "Got it," Romero responded.

  Romero pulled to the curb and cut the engine. Larkin grabbed several copies of the six-pack page with Wedlow’s photo on it and climbed out of the car. Romero was right behind him.

  "What's the plan?" Romero asked.

  "We show his photo to the security guys at the gate and tell them to keep an eye out," Larkin said. "Then we'll make our way into the park and see if we can spot him."

  Romero nodded and they began walking towards the main entrance. They hadn't gone far when Larkin thought he heard something. It was faint and distant, but he thought it sounded like a scream, a woman's scream. He stopped and listened.

  "What?" Romero asked, tired.

  "I thought I heard a scream."

  "People on the rides in the park," Romero theorized.

  "It wasn't like that," Larkin said, looking back towards the parking lot. "It came from out there."

  He hurried back to the cruiser, pulled open the driver side door, and stepped up on the frame. He looked out over the parking lot, moving his eyes from section to section. And then he saw the two figures, barely shadows moving through the night. He could just make them out, small glimmers of light reflecting off skin and hair as they cut through the shadows. Somebody was running like hell towards the far corner of the lot and there was another somebody running after them.

  "Move it!" Larkin called out.

  Romero ran back to the car and around to the passenger side. He jumped in as Larkin dropped down behind the wheel and turned over the engine.

  "What'd you see?" Romero asked, leaning forward and switching on the flashing emergency lights.

  "Somebody's being chased down out there, in the corner of the lot," Larkin asked.

  Romero got on the radio and called it in as Larkin hit the gas.

  Larkin tapped the cruiser horn to stop a pickup truck in the process of backing out of its parking space. He swerved around the rear of the truck and pushed down on the accelerator. Reaching the far side of the lot he turned into the far lane and followed the chainlink fence towards the beach.

  Romero switched on the car mount floodlight and swept it back and forth between the interior of the parking lot to the fence.

  "You see anything?" Larkin asked. "Damn it! Where are they?"

  "Nothing yet," Romero reported.

  "I'd swear they were over here somewhere," Larkin said, frustrated.

  They were almost at the end of the lot when Romero moved the floodlight back to the fence.

  "There," he called out.

  Larkin stopped the cruiser. Romero focused the light on a flap cut in the chainlink. They got out of the car and hurried to the fence.

  Larkin knelt down next to the opening and moved the beam of his flashlight over the fence. He moved the beam into the property on the other side of the chainlink, sweeping it through the darkness. And then he heard it, the sound of running footsteps reflecting off the concrete and warehouse buildings.

  "That I heard," Romero said.

  Larkin pushed at the torn section of fencing and eased through the opening. Romero followed him through while he held up the flap. Switching on their flashlights they hurried towards the row of loading docks.

  Larkin listened intently as they made their way through the shadows but heard nothing. The facility was big, it was dark, and there were too damn many places somebody could hide. He didn't like the situation nor the fact that he'd already lost the trail.

  A metallic, hollow clatter suddenly reached them through the darkness.

  “Best guess, that way,” Larkin pointed.

  Following their flashlight beams, they hurried forward into the shadows.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Attack

  Martin tried to get his hand on the knife he’d lifted in the alley as he dragged the girl towards the rear of the empty trailer, but she wouldn’t stop struggling. Now she began twisting and kicking with a renewed, fright-fueled energy. She landed a couple of solid kicks to his shins but the pain was nowhere near enough to stop him.

  She twisted violently and managed to slip out of his grasp, but only for a moment. He grabbed hold of her arm before she travelled five feet and yanked her back. He spun her against the wall of the trailer and when her back connected with the metal it stunned her badly.

  He was on her instantly, pushing his body against hers, pinning her against the wall. He tried to kiss her but she jerked her head to the side. Her desperate struggling excited him even more. Without warning he dropped his hand downward, grabbing her between her legs.

  Marty pulled her away from the wall and tried to force her to the floor.

  "No," she groaned.

  She fought harder now, harder than she had before, and somehow pulled away from him again. She rushed blindly forward but he jumped at her, and taking hold of her began pushing her downward again. She kept up the fight but when his fist slammed into her cheek it slowed her down good.

  The girl dropped to the floor of the trailer. He was on her again, straddling her, his weight pinning her under him. She flailed at him but he effortlessly pushed her arms aside and ripped open her blouse. He moved his hands between her legs again, fumbling with the buttons of her shorts. She screamed at the top of her lungs.

  He instantly clamped a hand down over her mouth, staring down at her, furious. He was pushing hard and he could see she couldn't breathe. And then he heard the voices.

  "Did you hear it?" a man's voice filtered into the back of the trailer, very faint.

  "That way!" another voice responded.

  Marty froze and looked back towards the door. Turning back to the girl he lowered his mouth to her ear.

  "You make a sound when I let go of you I swear I'll turn around and kick your brains out right here," he promised her.

  She stared up at him, paralyzed with fear.

  "Understand?" he hissed, cuffing her on the side of her head.

  She nodded.

  In an instant he was on his feet, and with a final look down at her he walked to the trailer door. Hugging the wall beside the door he cautiously looked outside and then slipped into the darkness.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Beginning of the End

  The scream bounced off the warehouse walls making the source difficult to locate. Knowing they were close, Larkin and Romero pulled their guns, swept their flashlight beams ahead of them and increased their pace.

  About a hundred feet ahead was another semitrailer backed up against the end of the loading dock, its doors hanging open. Their flashlight beams revealed nothing in the opening but disappearing over the far side of the loading dock was a man.

  "Oscar!" Larkin shouted.

  "Saw him," Romero confirmed as they both broke into a run.

  As they approached the truck they saw a pale figure emerging from the darkness of the trailer. They spread out and leveled their guns on the figure.

  "Police," Larkin called out.

  A blond girl, her clothing torn, stumbled out of the trailer onto the dock. Seeing them she began sobbing and collapsed on the platform.

  "I've got the girl," Rom
ero yelled.

  Romero called in their status on his vest radio as Larkin ran for the semitrailer. He ducked underneath, rushing to the opposite side. Hearing running footsteps ahead of him, he took off after them.

  Rounding the corner at the edge of the loading dock he found himself in a narrow alley between two buildings. Gooseneck lamps that had to be at least forty years old were mounted on the side of the building about every thirty feet. They cast a line of inadequately dim, circular pools of light along the passage. The figure of a man suddenly appeared in one of the pools at the end of the building, and then was gone again.

  Larkin channeled his high school track days and put on as much speed as he had in him. The echoes of his footsteps merged with those of the man somewhere ahead of him. He reached the end of the building and paused to listen. The footsteps reached him clearly from the right. He made the turn and put on the steam again. The sound of approaching sirens in the distance reached him.

  Ahead of him was another row of loading docks, many of them with trailers backed up to them. There was something familiar about them and he suddenly realized that this was the area he and Romero had entered after coming through the torn fence.

  He saw his suspect ahead, illuminated by the one of the lights mounted above the warehouse doors. There was something familiar about him, something about the way he moved.

  "Police," Larkin shouted. "Stop."

  He didn't expect the guy to stop and ran even harder after he shouted. He was beginning to close the distance. The suspect changed his direction slightly, and as he passed through another pool of light, turned to look over his shoulder.

  "Son of a bitch," Larkin cursed.