On The Run

Chapter Five

"You in here?" I hear him pound on the door. Something's wrong.
"Yeah, one sec." I open the door and he looks frantic.

"Time to ditch the car. We need another one. Your face is plastered all over the news and they have a traffic camera that got the car. Let's go. Can I trust you?"

I think about my parents, and how they won't pay the ransom. They don't care, and I'm not afraid of T. I want him to be with his sister.
"Yes." I promise.

He opens my door and I get in the car, man that was a long walk from the trailer. I bet it doesn't help that I am injured at the moment, but I am embarrassed that I am so winded.

He drives about two hours in the opposite direction of our hide out. He parks the car in a deserted area and we get out.
He pulls out a match and gasoline from the car... And sets the car on fire.

"We will walk to a store and get a new car." He says. But I am in shock as I watch the fire burn the car.

"We need to go before it blows up." He orders, so I follow him.

We walk for about an hour until we find a small green car, all rusted at the fender. It is at the side of the road. I wonder if the owners just didn't want the old thing anymore.
"This will do." He says walking toward it. How is he going to start it? Does he know how to hot wire a car?
Yes. My question is answered as he starts the car in less that five minutes.
As he is working on the car, I start thinking about my kidnapper... I know I have seen him before... Because I remember my crush on him.
I mean, he has good intentions, he hasn't hurt me, he had given me my privacy. The only time I was truly afraid was when he held the gun, and when I was tied up.

He must remember me too, he called me by my nickname, and seem to know that my clumsiness is not to be reckoned with. And that is probably the reason he took me. Because he knows me.
He brought me back:
"Hey, you ok?" He asked looking down at me.
I realize I'm sitting with my head in my hands. When did I do that?
"Hm? Oh, yeah... Sorry." He holds out a hand to help me up, and I take it wincing as my ribs scream for attention.

"Do you need another aspirin?" He asks. He probably saw me wince. I need to hide it better.
"Um, if you have one, sure." He pulls one out of his pocket and he gives me his water. I didn't even notice he took it out of the car.

We both get in this new-uh-old car and he drives off back toward our camper-his camper. I notice a car way behind us. It looks like a cop car and it's gaining speed.

"T? Is that a cop car back there?" I ask. I see T look in the rear view mirror. Then I realize how stupid I am acting as I just brought that to his attention, I should honestly be afraid of him, not an officer.
"Shit! Ok, um, flip your hood up, and get out my fake license. In case he pulls us over." He orders.

"Where is it?" I asked frantically, scared to see him so nervous.

"I just put it in the glove box." He answered.
I hand him the license.
"What about registration?" I ask, knowing the drill since my brother is a horrible driver.
"Look in the glove box again or something!" He says frantically.

I shuffle around the glove box and find it, ok now we just have to have a plan. I stop my train of thought... Why am I helping him?
Never mind that, I am just helping him and his sister.
"Ok, if they pull us over, this is your dads car, I am your sister Lucy and we are heading out to our family." Planning out a cops normal basic question, that is the story I came up with... It's not that bad.

The cop car is not too far away from us now, and having no road to turn into,
We just have to keep moving forward. I can see how nervous T looks and I need to tell him to calm down.
"If you look like that in front of the cops, you he will never believe you." I explain, trying to persuade him to calm down.

"You aren't going to say anything?" He asks.

Again, I think about how insane I must be to think this, but I really do trust him. He has done nothing but help me ever since I got here. I feel worse at home than here.
"T, I don't know why, but I don't feel scared around you. And you are doing this for a good reason... Better than... Well anyway, my parents obviously don't care about me that much if they aren't willing to pay the ransom. It's not like we don't have money. So, I'm on your side." I can't believe the words as they are spewing out of my mouth... Did I really just say I'm with the kidnapper?

"Ok..." He looks skeptical, and I really can't blame him. But I look him in the eyes, willing him to believe me, until finally he says something to break the silence.

"In that case, you deserve to know who I am. My name is Ty... And I was your brothers best friend before you moved to Arizona." He speaks like he is rushed, and I know he is terrified to let me know all of this.

I can't move. I am completely shocked because I remember. When we lived in Tennessee, I was 8 and Ty was over all the time. But before I can dwell on this new set of information, I see the cop car light up, and hear the sirens.

We are being pulled over.