Kyla hadn’t seen any easily accessible cars. She didn’t want to call any more attention to herself, which meant she had to try her luck with hitchhiking. Kyla got to the highway and headed north. She had been walking a while when she heard a horn honk, and an old pickup truck pulled over. There was an old man and an old woman sitting inside. The woman spoke to her. “Sweetie, do you need a ride? You shouldn’t be out here on the highway by yourself this late.”
“I’m going to Bolivar,” Kyla said. “My boyfriend was drinking, and we had a fight because he wouldn’t let me drive. He left me out here.” She felt terrible for lying, but she believed that she needed to gain their trust and what better way to do that than to be a young woman trying to do the right thing.
The old man didn’t say a word. The woman spoke to her again. “If you don’t mind riding in the back, we can drop you there. My husband doesn’t think it’s wise to pick up strangers.”
“That’s fine. I don’t mind at all. Thank you so much,” Kyla said, smiling. She didn’t hesitate. Kyla climbed into the back of the truck, sitting with her back against the cab to block the cold wind. She didn’t blame the old man for his thoughts. After what Kyla had been through in the last twenty-four hours, she didn’t trust anyone either. She felt safer being in the back than she would have sitting inside the cab with the couple.
As she huddled against the cold metal of the truck, memories of her father flashed through her head. She could see him lying on the floor. Kyla squeezed her eyes closed, trying to think of anything to replace the image in her head. It wasn’t fair that he was gone. He was her hero. He always made time for her.
He liked to play games with her. Her favorite was when they pretended to be spies. When she was a small child, he would leave messages on her mirror in the bathroom, that she wouldn’t find until steam had built up in the room.
As she got older, he moved on to more complicated ways of leaving her clues that led to some sort of surprise. She had gotten quite good at solving his mysteries. Those memories had her wondering if maybe her parents were spies. Perhaps they had left something that the men chasing her wanted. She wished that he would have had time to leave her clues about who was after her. Maybe he had, she thought. What would he have done to leave her a message if he only had a few minutes before he’d been killed? How would he have left a message that she could find? If he had left a message for her, it would have been in her parent’s bedroom or maybe their bathroom. Thinking over the things that he had taught her. There may be clues hidden anywhere in the house. Things that he may have hidden years before.
He had given her many things over the years that could contain secret messages or clues. Then again, she might just be wishing that there was some sort of hint that would help her understand it all. He might have been in the dark about everything. What if her uncle was right? What if her mother had been a spy and was responsible for her father’s death? She shook her head, not believing that. She couldn’t picture her mother as a spy. She was a housewife who baked cookies and did laundry, and her mom had loved her father. Kyla was sure of that. She didn’t fit the image of any spy Kyla could think of. Her mother wasn’t devious, she never disappeared and stayed gone for days. Her mom wasn’t a spy.
Kyla couldn’t picture her mom shooting a gun or being in a hand to hand combat situation to save the world. Her father, either for that matter. They were just regular ordinary people. Her father worked as an accountant in a small storefront firm. When he wasn’t going over people’s books, he liked to fish and read. They didn’t socialize with a lot of people. When Kyla had asked them why they never had people over or why they didn’t have a lot of friends, they told her it was because they had everything that they needed in each other. They encouraged her to go out and do things with her friends, but they had taught her to be cautious and mindful of everything and everyone around her. Going over everything, again and again, dissecting their lives wasn’t helping. She put those thoughts away, praying that Taylor would be okay and that the men after her would forget about him and his family.
Chapter Eight
Kyla got off the bike she had borrowed from a yard at the edge of town. She stashed it behind some bushes near the road. From where she was in the woods, she could see the back of the house. There didn’t appear to be anyone there. She couldn’t discern any movement or light. Kyla didn’t see any cars parked close, but that didn’t mean that there wasn’t someone around, watching or waiting for her to return. She needed to be careful.
She eased through the trees, occasionally stopping to listen for movement other than her own. When she felt it was safe, she proceeded to get closer to the house. Kyla dashed from the trees behind the garage, creeping around the edge of the building. She froze at the edge of the garden by the back porch. Kyla could do this. All she needed to do was take a few steps up the stairs to the back door.
Kyla took a deep breath and blew it out, taking one last look around her. She raced up the stairs opening the screen door. She put her hand on the doorknob, twisting it. To her surprise, it wasn’t locked. She pushed gently, opening it. Kyla stepped inside, closing it softly. The laundry room was dark, but she knew her way around.
She put her hand out, feeling the washing machine. She stepped forward, still holding her hand out, touching the dryer. Kyla didn’t want to be in the house any longer than necessary. She slowly opened the hallway door. With no lights on, the house was pitch black except for the occasional nightlight plugged in along the hallway. Using her hands, Kyla felt her way along the short corridor, turning the corner she continued until she got to her room. The door was open. From the moonlight shining in through the window, she could see that everything looked the same. She quickly dismissed the idea of grabbing her cell phone. She knew Crystal’s number by heart, and there was no one else she would call. She moved down the hallway to her parent’s bedroom.
Crystal had said that her father’s body had been found. She knew he would have been taken to the morgue, but in her mind, she could still see him lying there on the floor. The moon shining through the windows gave her enough light to see that her Dad’s body was gone. It looked as if the floor had been cleaned. There was no blood or any sign to indicate that someone had died there the night before.
Kyla quickly moved around the dresser, feeling for anything that might be out of place. She found nothing unusual. Kyla checked the chest of drawers and the nightstands beside the bed. Still, she found nothing. Kyla checked everywhere she could think of in their room and in the bathroom. She came up with nothing. Kyla felt like she wasted her time coming home. For just a second, she got an image of the present her father had given her last year on her birthday. It was a jewelry box that he’d made for her.
She went back down the hall to her room and into the bathroom. She found the small wooden box sitting in its place beside the sink. The jewelry that her mother had given her was inside it. She heard a rustling sound outside. Kyla moved stealthily to the window above the toilet, peeking out into the side yard.
Someone had been watching the house. She rushed back through the house going back the way she’d come. She heard feet rushing through the house as she reached the laundry room. She opened the door and jumped off the porch, racing to get to the woods behind the property.
“She went this way,” Kyla heard a man yell. She raced through the trees in a zig-zag pattern. She was wearing dark clothing. That would make it more difficult to see her. She slowed down long enough to put the hood back on, to cover her hair. She looked over her shoulder, seeing the beams of light that they used to light their way. Kyla ducked behind a large pine, trying to catch her breath. They were closing in on her. She still had her box in her hand. She shoved it in the pocket of her hoodie, getting down on her hands and knees, crawling behind the base of the trees and dense foliage of the ground. There was a hiking trail nearby that led to campgrounds. If she could get there, she might be able to hide among the campers.
Kyla could hear
the men talking, but it seemed that they were slowing down to look more carefully for her. She stopped behind another tree, looking around it to find the location of the men searching for her. With none of them close by, she felt she had a chance to make a run for it. The box fell out of her pocket, hitting the ground at her feet. Kyla squatted down, scooping up the box and its contents. She also picked up a couple of large rocks. She tossed one, then the other in the opposite direction of the way she intended to go.
The men began moving in that direction. Kyla made sure that she was clear, and then she ran. She didn’t bother looking back to see if she had been seen. Kyla crossed the hiking trail and continued towards the campgrounds. Ahead of her, she could see the glow of a campfire a reasonable distance away. Kyla slowed down, and a twig snapped. She froze as her heart raced wildly. She was afraid to move. Her father’s voice echoed in her head. “Close your eyes and listen. You can locate the direction of the sound better if you shut down one of your senses, and sight is the easiest one to cut off.” It was another one of those moments that felt like a dream, but she was sure it wasn’t. She closed her eyes and listened. Hearing the crunch of leaves on the ground, behind her and to the left.
Kyla turned to see a man going down on one knee with a rifle aimed at her. Panic filled her senses as she realized that he was about to kill her. If only the gun wouldn’t fire, Kyla would have a chance, she thought. She took a deep breath closing her eyes, expecting to be shot, but all she heard was a clicking sound.
Her eyes popped open, focusing on the man. He was examining his gun. Kyla didn’t wait for him to choose another weapon or to come after her. She ran as fast as she could, making a detour around the campsite. Kyla knew that the man was chasing her, and he’d probably alerted his team where she was headed. Kyla found the trail again and stayed on it until she found the area where the campers had left their vehicle. She planned to take the SUV that was parked there.
“Stop, or I’ll shoot,” the man said from behind her just as she reached the car.
Kyla stopped but didn’t turn around. She raised her hands. “Don’t, please. Why are you doing this?” He didn’t answer her, but Kyla swore that she could hear his heart pounding in his chest. She could smell his sweat, feel his anxiety. It grew more intense, the closer he got to her.
“Put your hands on your head and get on your knees,” he said, his voice steady.
Kyla moved her arms, raising them, placing her hands on her head. “You don’t have to do this,” she said, getting on her knees.
“Shut up.” He was close to her. Kyla heard him moving. She guessed that he was putting his weapon away. It didn’t seem that he wanted to shoot her. He could have done that already.
Kyla closed her eyes as she felt his hand grab her right wrist, moving it down behind her back. Everything seemed to be slowing down. Kyla knew that if she wanted to get away, she had to do something right then. The air seemed as though it was charged with electricity. The hair on her arms and neck stood at attention. Kyla spun around on her knees, punching with her left hand. She caught him in the throat. He released her, holding his throat and stumbling back a few steps. Her movements were fluid and quick.
Kyla dropped to her behind, raising one foot to kick him in the head. As he fell to the ground, she got to her feet. Kyla pushed him down, sitting on his back, pressing her knees against his arms. She then took the zip tie he had intended to use, quickly binding his hands behind him. He began to try to move and buck her off him. Kyla slipped her arm around his head, putting him in a sleeper hold. “Shush, just go to sleep,” She said quietly as if she were rocking a baby.
As soon as she was sure that the man was out, she released her hold and checked his pulse. She hadn’t killed him. Kyla got to her feet, looking around. She didn’t see any flashes of light coming toward her, but she was sure that the men were coming. Kyla was amazed at herself for having taken the man down alone. She had no idea how she had known what to do. It felt like more than instinct.
Kyla looked at the vehicles in the area. The cars parked were newer models and harder to hot wire. Kyla wouldn’t be able to use them to get away, but she could use them to hide her unconscious friend. She bent down, grabbing him by his feet. She pulled, surprised by how easy it was for her to move him. Once Kyla had gotten him behind one of the cars. She checked the area again to make sure she was still alone.
She checked the man’s pockets. Kyla found MREs (Meals Ready to Eat). It was because of her uncle that she knew what they were. He had more clips for his weapons, a knife, and some first aid materials. Kyla took what she thought she might need, and his radio, including the piece he had in his ear. She tossed the other stuff into the woods. Kyla didn’t need a gun, though she did know how to use one. She had enough problems right now. Kyla left the man leaning against the tire of a car as she ran alongside the road back towards her house. If she could get back to her bike, she could get to town faster.
The radio crackled to life, and Kyla listened as men discussed their positions and how they had lost her. Some were ordered to return to the house, others were ordered to continue looking around the camping sites. Kyla ran as fast as she could, slowing only when she got close to where she had left the bike. She paused briefly to make sure that no one was close and that the bike hadn’t been touched.
She rode through the trails the same way she had to get to her house, without incident. As she had been putting the bicycle back where it belonged, she dropped the wooden box again. When Kyla picked it up, the velvet inlay came loose. Kyla sighed, picking the box up, seeing the damage. She grabbed the inlay material and realized that there was something on the underside of it. She turned it over and found a slip of paper and a key. There was an address with a four-digit number followed by a hashtag beneath it, written in her mother’s handwriting.
Chapter Nine
Kyla stood in the shadows of the building across the street from the storage facility. So far, every place she had gone, men had been waiting for her or had shown up trying to kill her. She was afraid to go up to the keypad and access the facility. What if they knew about this place too? She knew that she didn’t have much choice. It would be better to go now than to wait until the town came to life with the rising of the sun.
She kept her head covered with the hood of the jacket as she went to the keypad. She punched in the numbers and the hashtag she had found on the receipt, and Kyla watched as the car access gate rolled open. She went through the gate and stood to the side behind the edge of the building, watching as it paused once fully open and then begin to roll back into position.
Once it was in place, she walked through the outdoor facility until she found the unit indicated on the paper. She used the key, unlocking the unit. She rolled the door up to find an old beat up truck. She moved around the vehicle, looking under it. There was nothing else in the storage unit. Kyla opened the driver’s door and got in. there was a backpack sitting on the floor of the passenger seat.
Kyla set it in the seat next to her and unzipped it, finding cash and a few driver’s licenses from different states with matching social security cards. There was even a passport matching the names on the licenses. The images on some, were of her mother and father. The others were of her and they were recent photos. More confused than ever, Kyla pulled more things out of the backpack. There was an envelope and a car key. On the front of the envelope was her name. She opened it and found a letter inside.
Kyla,
If you have found this letter, it means that your father and I aren’t with you. I know this is hard, but you are strong and smart. You must get out of town. They will never stop looking for you. You have to forget everyone and everything you know. Anyone you know will be in danger or a danger to you.
It seems tough, but you are stronger than you know, smarter than you think you are. You may be by yourself but are not alone. Find Arthur Jackson. The last time I saw him he lived in Oklahoma City on Amesbury Road in a blue house. He will help you un
derstand everything. You are the most important thing. I’m sorry that you have to face this alone. Your father and I love you very much.
Love always, Mom
Kyla read the letter again, before she put the key in the ignition and turned it. The truck started up without hesitation or problem. Her mother and father had been prepared for this. Whatever this was. She put the truck in drive and drove out of the unit, stopping to close the door and put the lock back in place after making sure there was nothing else in the unit she should take. Then she left the storage facility and the city, taking the highway towards Oklahoma.
Chapter Ten
Kyla was sitting with her arms wrapped around her legs on the beach, watching the water washing against the shore. There was no one on the beach in either direction. She lifted her chin, closing her eyes, letting the sun warm her face. It was a beautiful day. The sky was clear and blue. It was warm, but there was a cool breeze coming off the water. “Kyla.”
She turned at the sound of her mother’s voice. Kyla jumped to her feet, running to her mother, wrapping her arms around her. She held her tightly as her mother kissed her cheeks over and over. “I thought you were dead.”
Her mother pulled back, looking into her eyes, “There is so much you need to know, but we don’t have much time.” It felt as if her mother were being pulled from her arms. Kyla’s arms were outstretched as she tried to hold onto her, but her mother was zooming away from her and it seemed that the sun was growing brighter causing Kyla to shield her eyes with her hands. The light began to dim a bit, and she took her hands away from her face. As things came into focus, Kyla saw someone strapped to a bed a few feet from her. She moved slowly towards the bed. When Kyla reached the foot of it, she gasped. It was her mother. Kyla moved closer, touching her face. “Mom, wake up. Mom! I’ve got to get you out of here.”
Metamorphosis: Science Fiction Adventure: Book 1 Page 4