The tall silhouette was a living hell.
He reached for her and before Kaity could move or scream, a hand was on her neck. A big hand. A strong hand.
He squeezed.
So fucking tight.
Kaity touched his hand. She pulled at his fingers, desperate to pry them loose. But it was impossible. He had always been so strong.
“Fuck,” she whispered. “Please… I…”
“Die,” he whispered. “Just…”
Die.
“DIE!” Kaity yelled as she sat straight up.
Her head slammed against the roof of the car and she jumped, thrashed, and fought the back of the driver’s seat for a few seconds before she realized that everything had been a dream. A reoccurring dream.
Kaity took a few deep breaths and looked around the beat up car. She bought it for cheap from a druggie who needed quick cash. The car sometimes didn’t start and she wasn’t even sure if the car was legally registered or insured. But that didn’t matter. All that mattered was that it put miles between her old life and a new life that waited… somewhere.
The car was parked at the end of an auto repair lot. It blended in perfectly with the other cars, accept for the fact that this car had a woman thrashing and screaming inside of it.
“Calm down,” Kaity whispered to herself.
She ran a hand through her hair and then touched her chest. She had no idea how her heart managed to keep going this long. The pounding and racing seemed like it would only end if and when her heart finally exploded within her chest.
Brad. A crooked detective who had charmed and seduced Kaity so that he could ultimately use and abuse her to the brink of death. She had no choice. She had to do what she did. Now Kaity was on the run, hoping that each mile that separated her from him would erase the memories. But it wasn't working yet.
Kaity looked out the windshield to the quiet street beyond the auto garage lot. She feared a cop would appear and take her in. A cop wouldn’t just take her in, he would take her back to that place. That place of darkness didn’t exist anymore, or she had been told, but Kaity didn’t know what she wanted to believe anymore. She had only been assigned to help once. Help him once.
Kaity laid down in the backseat again and pulled a blanket over her. She stretched out the best she could, trying to pretend that she was in her own bed in a beautiful, safe house. But the images kept her from closing her eyes.
Brad was dead.
That’s all that mattered.
Brad. Was. Dead.
Dead people couldn’t come back and do anything. It wasn’t a movie. It was real life. Brad was gone; dead and buried. He could still haunt her dreams though, which made sleep hard to come by.
Kaity closed her eyes for ten minutes and woke to the sight of the sunrise beginning. She jumped up and couldn’t believe she had fallen into such a deep sleep. She scrambled to get her hair out of her face as she climbed into the front seat. She looked out the passenger window and saw someone walking through the lot. A tall, bald man wearing glasses. His lips were puckered as though he was whistling.
“Fuck,” she whispered.
She needed to leave before the man realized someone was here.
Kaity put her hand where the keys should have been in the ignition.
There were no keys.
“Shit,” Kaity yelled.
She looked at the floor and moved her feet.
No keys.
She looked out the window again and saw the man getting closer. His eyes still hadn’t met Kaity’s, but Kaity knew how this would work. He’d see her. He’d call the police. Then all hell would break loose.
Kaity had a gun in the glove box of the car, but that was only for an emergency. Such as Brad somehow coming back to life. Or perhaps an innocent mechanic inspecting his lot.
Kaity leaned over the passenger seat and saw the keys on the floor. She reached down and lifted them by the ring. She scrambled to get the key in the ignition and turn it. As soon as the car started, the man in the lot looked at Kaity. He pointed and let out a whistle, but Kaity already had the car in drive.
She hit the gas pedal and sped out of the car lot and down the street. She looked in the mirror and saw the man in the middle of the road, waving his hands. Kaity kept staring in the mirror until she heard a car horn blare. She looked forward just in time to see a car moving through an intersection. Kaity was going too fast, so she cut the wheel to the right. The car hit a curb, bounced up onto it and then came a stop with a loud hiss and a puff of smoke.
The engine died.
“No, no, no,” Kaity whispered. “No…”
She turned the key, but the engine protested. The man was walking toward her now. Whether he was just coming to help or not, if he got close enough Kaity knew she would shoot him. She would never go back to that hell again. Nobody understood that kind of hell. Nobody understood how much this freedom meant.