“Get out of my car and start walking.”
“Mr. Reinhart, listen to me-”
“I said, get out of my car and start walking.”
“And if I don’t? You’d kill a man in your own car, dump his body, and drive off back to your house with blood on your hands, all in plain daylight? Your wife is probably dead. If we stay here for any longer, we’re probably dead, or at the least, captured. These men don’t want you. You’re disposable, and I would doubt that you have enough training to fend off an entire warehouse worth of people chasing you. You certainly don’t have enough gas or a durable car for something like that.”
Reinhart swallowed. The cool, metal gun shook slightly in his hand. He couldn’t tell if it was from nerve or from anger. A quick glance at the door showed that whatever girl had walked up to the door had disappeared. Reinhart spoke quietly.
“You’re bluffing. Get out, start walking away from here, and don’t turn back.”
* * *
Cody’s body was involuntarily twitching from the neck below. He kept his eyes shut tight, mind flashing back to his friend Ty, screaming as Cody plunged a knife into him. Cody’s hands tightened into fists, wanting to cover his ears to shut his friend up but holding himself steady to keep the real knife from slicing open his throat. Jeremy’s breath was hot and slow, warming the slippery blade which had remains of onion juice coating it.
The TV switched to commercials, and a loud knock came from the door. Cody dared to open one eye to find Jeremy’s frightened face. The knife moved away, Cody felt his hair released from Jeremy’s hand, and the college student whispered frantically to Cody.
“Fuck. Fuck, I’m sorry. Shit, I’m so sorry. Go hide in my room, it’s the one right over there, with all the swimming stuff. Just hide until we can talk for real.”
Cody stood still, wide-eyed, while Jeremy hurried over to the sink and dropped the knife in, as if it was a mud soaked rag. He rushed to the door to a second knock, voice almost cracking as he said “Just a minute!”
Jeremy desperately motioned for Cody to move, which broke him from his trance. He cautiously walked to Jeremy’s room, keeping both eyes on the man by the door. Cody nearly tripped on dirty clothes that lined the floor of Jeremy’s room. Closing the door, Cody looked around. A desktop, a TV with some gaming systems attached, swim trophies, a half-full trashcan, and posters decorated the place. Cody tried to ignore the speedo that was slung over one of the bedposts as he made an escape plan. There wasn’t much place to hide, and the window was covered by a screen that resisted any attempt at being pried off. Leaving it open, Cody took a second survey of the place and an idea sparked in his brain.
* * *
“So how’re you feeling?”
“Angry at the world. I just want to break something or to hurt somebody.”
“Have you?”
“Not yet.”
Jeremy leaned back on the couch, arms crossed. He sighed, staring at the half-eaten food on the table in front of him. Mary had come over to talk to him a bit. Tom’s death was a month ago, but Jeremy was still shaken up over it. Every time he entered the apartment, his eyes flickered over to the empty room where Tom had stayed.
“Are you sure you’re going to be alright here by yourself?” Mary began rinsing off food and putting dishes in the washer.
“Yeah. I don’t think I could handle someone else moving in, anyway. It would feel like they were trying to replace him. You know how mad I can get at stupid little things.” The rest of the food got scraped up into a plastic container that Jeremy stuck somewhere in his fridge.
“Okay, but if you ever need me, just let me know. I’m only a block away, and it’s a quick walk.”
“Yeah, sure thing. Thanks for coming over, it helped a lot more than you know.”
Mary smiled at him, and left. Jeremy watched the door slowly close and nearly jumped up, jogging the short distance to his room. He rapped on the door twice and opened, looking for Cody.
“Hey, little dude, sorry about that. I-where’d you go?”
The open window blew a chilly wind in his direction. Jeremy hurried to it.
“Oh hell, you already left? Shit, now I know I’m a horrible person. Maybe I can catch-”
Cody had emerged from behind the door and crept up, heavy swim trophy in hand. He brought its granite base down on Jeremy’s head, knocking him out cold. Dropping the golden figure he used as a handle, Cody left the mess of a room and found the main door. Upon exiting, he ran to his foster father’s car and jumped in the back.
“We can’t stay here. Let’s go.”
The car peeled out of the parking spot as Cody fumbled with his seat belt. It clicked, and Cody sighed in relief. They drove out of the lot before realization struck Cody.
“Where’s my father?”
“He’s said he wanted you to stay with me, where it was safe,” Alex Reinhart lied to his adopted son.
“He wouldn’t do that. He’s been trying to find me for so long, he would never do that.”
“That’s what he told me. Just that he wanted to make sure you were safe, and that staying with him was far too dangerous.”
Trees flew by and the sun was slowly approaching the horizon. Cody stared at the reflected eyes in the rearview mirror. Seeing the deception in them, he tried a different question.
“How fast are we going?”
“About thirty-five. Why?”
“No reason.” Cody watched the scenery pass by while they traveled down the two lane road. He waited until there was a clear spot. Quickly releasing his seat belt, Cody unlocked the back door and flung himself out of the car.
===================
[Part 12][Part 14]
i'll say $5 that cody's wet himself after all these near death experiences
And we're back! I think I've found a new place to write - and that place is Chick Fil A. Free refills are a must if I'm going to be sitting down for two and a half hours and writing the entire time. Feel free to share/post this story in places - getting pageviews just warms my heart, in a non-gooey way.
Progress is being made on editing my NaNoWriMo novel, Not Through Choice. I'm still a long way off, but any progress is always acceptable.
And with that, I leave you with this.
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