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Running Out of Time

“How’d you make it out of there alive?” the police officer queried as we sat there in silence scarred from our experience. Glancing around the police station I tried to avoid that painful memory. I just wished it would all go away, never to haunt me again. Phil’s brown hair was covering his eyes while his figure was slouched over, making it hard to read his expression. I straightened up my back and tucked my blond hair behind my ear nervously. Phil was jarred from his state of mind once I began to move and stared at me like a deer in the headlights. I turned to stare into Phil’s deep, blue eyes and took a deep breath to calm my trembling body, “Well... All I know is that I had to escape or die being a coward. But... the sad thing is we didn’t suspect that to happen to us...”
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“Are we there yet?! I’m starting to become impatient from sitting in this humid, stuffy car!” I complained childishly. Phil kept his eyes on the winding road scanning for our destination. “Well, we should be there soon if I remember it correctly. Just hang in there for a couple more minutes, you won’t be unsatisfied.”
I sighed deeply hoping that he was right, gazing out the window I glanced over the tall emerald grasses of the clearing, and imagining myself running through them laughing as if I were a kid once again, wishing that time could just stop to enjoy the moment. I shifted my head to stare out the windshield, and found that the car had reached the edge of the dark, wooded abyss. The tall, ancient oak trees towered over us with an eerie glow, casting only shadow. Their branches hid the sun but radiated heat to the leaf bedded floor, making the surroundings safe. If only that were the case for us as the sun began to set on the horizon. I breathed in the crisp scent of evergreens intertwined in the leaf dust that hovered lightly above the ground. I smiled and thought to myself, wow this place is perfect.
“Told you that you wouldn’t be disappointed did I not?...” Phil hugged me and rested his head on my shoulder; I nodded automatically. The spell of this woodland had taken my soul as its prize, leaving me helpless to its power. Phil tended to setting up camp while I explored the unknown, blending in to the shadows. Night had already crept in before I realized that I had traveled farther than I expected. I stopped, hoping to glimpse a sign of our camp but all there was to see was full-fledged darkness. The light of my flashlight bounced off the trees illuminating a small area of the woods, I began to worry. What if I can’t find my way back to the camp site? I feel like I’m being watched... My vision darted all around me I heard nothing but silence, then a twig snapped behind me. My heart stopped, while my body froze in its place. I breathed slowly trying to calm my body and tried to convince myself that it was probably just an animal. In the shadows something brushed the back of my legs, and I took off in a dead sprint. Twisting my head every couple of seconds in hopes that no one was chasing me, a solid object caused me to abruptly stop and fall to the ground. A towering black shadow stood in my path moving slowly toward me, I grabbed for a stick near by to use as a blunt weapon. I brought the stick back ready to smash the head of the figure when it stepped forward, “Meeka?”
I lowered my weapon and squinted to make out the outline, “Phil is that you?”
“Oh my god Meeka! I was so worried about you! You are lucky that you weren’t hurt...” Phil grabbed my wrist and yanked me to him, I finally felt safe now that I was reunited with the one of whom I loved. He held my hand gently and led me back to the campsite. A roaring fire was already lit and casted shadows on the trees. I sat on one of the fold out chairs and sighed heavily, At least I’m out of that area of the woods... Something really didn’t feel right when I was lost. It was almost as if someone was...
“Meeka? Are you okay? You are kind of staring off blankly and it’s really starting to scare me...” Phil leaned over and waited for my response, worry written in his eyes. I blinked several times and stared at him, “Umm... Nothing, just thinking randomly, sorry if I scared you though...”
I slumped over placing my face in my hands and staring deep into the fire. Guess I’ll never know what happened back there... I yawned deeply overcome with drowsiness, Phil sensed that I was tired, stretched, and stood up from his seat. He kneeled over so we were face to face I could smell the hint of his skin that smelled of evergreens.
“I’ll be right back, you can sleep until I come back. Don’t worry I’ll be back before you wake up...”
“Wait. Where are you going?” I asked with a hint of confusion in my voice. He grinned his teeth glowing from the fire. “Need more fire wood or we are going to be having a dark campout, second I don’t think you would want that... Just sleep, you’ll be fine, I’ll be back as quickly as I possibly can.” I nodded silently and watched him venture into the shadows. Curling up into a ball I finally started drifting in and out of consciousness and traveled to the deep whirlpool of my mind.
Soon after, I woke with a jump. Was that a twig that snapped behind me? Must be Phil back from getting firewood... I leaned forward, the fire had already smoldered and was glowing an ominous purple. A hand grabbed my shoulder and rested there. At least I know that he’s safe and that I don’t have to be afraid now. The hand gripped tighter and began to pinch my shoulder painfully. “Ow! Stop you’re hurting me!” I reached up to my shoulder and realized that it wasn’t Phil’s hand that was on my shoulder. This hand was rough, calloused over from years of hard work and age, and were strong like a bears paw. I started quivering with fear, my breathing coming out in short rasps. Whose hand did it belong to? I for one didn’t want to stay and find out! My blunt stick still leaned against my chair; I extended my arm and wrapped my hand around it firmly. Using all the strength I had I swung hitting my target with an ear shattering smash. I ran from the campsite, anywhere but there. Footsteps thundered behind me in hot pursuit. I didn’t dare look back in fear of what I might be up against, I just told my legs to keep moving. My eyes had adjusted to the darkness, images focused in front of me. Maybe it’s a way out of here... My heart stopped when I realized what was actually in front of me. A glossy black van was parked against an oak tree, two men leaned casually against the passenger door. I hid behind the nearest tree to avoid being spotted my heart racing I tried to calm down, and listened in to their conversation.
“How long is it going to take till we capture that girl? We already have the guy she was with, he was way too easy to knock out and drag to the car.” The other dark figure snickered keeping his head down. No! They have Phil now! I have to find help and fast or something bad might happen... I turned to flee but I bumped into a sturdy object, dazed I looked up to see a pair of dark brown eyes staring down at me cynically. My mouth opened in a silent scream, I was cornered against the old oak tree. I was seized roughly by my arm and dragged towards the van; all my attempts of escaping had no effect on my captor. I kicked and screamed, Let me go! But his grip only tightened cutting into my arm. All hope of escaping had drained from my being, all that was left was to except my fate with my head held high.
My captor spoke to the dark clothed figures leaning against the van, “Look what I found! She was a difficult one, thought she was going to break something when she hit me with a tree branch…” His voice was rough like sand paper and deep, no emotion was present in that gurgle of a voice. I sat there limp with eyes down looking at the spectrum of the leave’s colors. One of the mysterious figures crouched down and cupped my chin in his hand to take a good look at me, “You know a girl that looks like this could never fight back. She looks much too weak.” I glared up at him and decided to prove him wrong. I carefully brought my leg up and kicked his shin knocking him to the ground in a large thud. He held his shin and groaned, “Okay. I stand corrected…” I smiled to myself, I felt accomplished, but that was not going to save me from what these creeps are going to do to me. I was picked up effortlessly and thrown into the van, the door slammed behind me. The engine was veered to life and pulled us away from the scene; I closed my eyes and hoped for the best as my captors took me to an unknown location.
The van jerked to a sudden stop, and I was yanked out of the car. I stood there scanning my new surroundings to find any type of familiarity, but there was none. I was pushed forward almost tripping over an exposed root and forced to walk to a wood cabin by the appearance of it. Moss was growing on the sides of the cabin in thick webs of green; no lights illuminated the inside of the house what lay ahead could be endless. The door opened and I was engulfed in the vulnerable dark, and then shoved into a room. My eyes adjusted to the dark and I could make out a figure, it was motionless. I inched over to have a better look, I recognized the figure. It was Phil! I nudged him hoping for some kind of response but he didn’t move. My heart froze. Maybe something bad happened to him, like he’s injured or… I didn’t want to think of the other option. Tears stung my eyes and I silently cried to myself imagining how our camping trip would have gone if this never had happened. Phil began to shift and tried to sit up but was bound with his hands behind his back. Guess they forgot to tie me up, or maybe they didn’t want to mess with me… I crawled over and laid my hand on Phil’s shoulder, “Hey are you okay hun?”
“Huh? Is that you, Meeka?” “Who else would it be that would call you hun? Honestly, that would be kind of awkward if the head captor said that to you….” I rolled my eyes sarcastically. Well, at least he’s alive I’m thankful for that… “Do you have any idea where we are right now?” I asked hoping for a straight answer. He blinked and shook his head then stared down at the floor. I sighed and stood up softly and felt for the door. “W-wait! What are you doing?” Phil stammered nervously.
“What else?! To find a way out of here! I’m definitely not staying here just to wait for my death sentence…” He pondered the thought and straightened up.
“Alright. You go do that. I’ll stay here where it’s safe.” I shrugged then grabbed the door knob. “Well, suit yourself… You can enjoy your time here in this gloomy room with the hench men while I escape leaving you behind…” I turned the door knob and took one step into the hallway when Phil lunged at my foot. “Please don’t leave me here!” He whimpered. Wow and he’s the man here. This is really sad I’m not gonna lie. “Okay, Okay! Just keep quiet!” Bending over I untied his hands and helped him to his feet, motioning him to follow me. Crouching around the corner I peered down the hallway, coast was clear. I turned and nodded for him to stay right behind me, the front door was easy to find. The moon was full and casted silvery shimmer of light over us, I breathed in the calming fragrance of pine. Proceeding forward, we bounded through the woods swiftly in hopes of not being detected like deer in the midst of a hunter. Suddenly, a gun shot echoed in the woods and stopped me dead in my tracks. I pivoted around to find Phil face first in the muddy floor. I fell to my knees and went to shake him, when I noticed that his shoulder was wet I didn’t have to look to know that his blood was on my hand. He groaned and stirred grabbing his shoulder in pain, “Go without me! You need to make it out of here! As long as you’re safe I’ll be happy…” I raised an eyebrow Umm… Yeah this isn’t a stupid love scene in a movie! This is real life here! Man… Why do I have to be the brave one? I ripped off part of the bottom of my shirt, wrapping his wound to prevent any further bleeding. Yanked his good arm to force him to stand up and told him, “Start moving, now!” I led him to a clearing where trees didn’t cover the night sky. We made it! Reading my expression, Phil leaned over and whispered, “Don’t get too excited… Looks like they found us…” I glanced up to find that he was correct. My ruthless captor eyed me with a grin etched on his face. “Guess this is the end for you.” His laugh made me sick to my stomach, I held on to Phil’s arm waiting for our demise. A voice shouted behind us, “You are surrounded, lower your weapons! You’re under arrest!” We turned to see the flashing blue and red lights, the answer to our pleas. I hugged Phil resting my chin at the base of his neck, “You know I love you no matter how big of a pansy you are…” He glared at me but shook his head and said nothing. An officer escorted us to a police car where we drove off down the dirt road back to civilization. “Ya know you kids are lucky! That man that you were being held hostage by was a wanted murderer... He had killed already ten other couples, but you two were the only ones who got away. I heard the gun shot and we had our lead to finding him. I’m thankful that you made it out alive!” Phil and I exchanged glances, eyes widened in horror, relived that we were both alive.
Wow… That was close, at least I am safe and with the one I love the most. I laid my head on his shoulder and drifted off to sleep, thankful that our nightmare was finally over and that this couple wouldn’t be going camping for quite a long time…