I scratch a handwritten note to Evvie before I sneak out that says, I’m gone. Be back soon. Or at Tiana’s. I’m not sure how late Evvie will sleep in. I might be back and gone to work already if she’s finally able to steal some solid sleep. I hope this is the case. She needs it and it will give me more time to think about this mess and decide what to do about it.
Serving is beyond easy in this high-tech age. Most customers book their reservation ahead of time and receive a message directing them to their table number when their tablet sees that they’ve arrived on the premises. They use their tablets to order their drinks and meals as well, sometimes before they arrive and sometimes as they sit down. All a server has to do is bring the items and scan someone’s wrist at the end. Occasionally a customer complains about a dish or needs more syrup, but those things are easy to handle while covering many tables.
Hardly anyone comes between ten and eleven o’clock. If any late-risers do come in, most order a simple cup of coffee and perhaps a light side of some kind. This irritates my boss, Tiana, because she intends to be serving lunch and not late breakfasts at this time. She needs to realize no one but obscurities are on that schedule on a Saturday in Miles. Some residents may still be living their Friday night to its fullest at almost five o’clock in the morning. I have to delay my excursions if I choose to go on Saturdays or Sundays, because sporadic partiers will still occupy the streets at four.
My day begins now. My hope is that my run this morning will clean the slate of worries in my head. From nine o’clock, when I have to report to work, until eleven, when Tiana’s preferred customers come in for lunch, I’ll have time to think about the lack of information about Tuli and Tigonee and decide how to proceed. Hopefully Tiana finds something to busy herself with instead of spending this time chatting with me.
I allow the run over to EPA 7-8 to be lighter than usual, since I slept poorly again last night. My insomnia is really starting to take a toll on my strength. My arms feel a bit shaky on the climb and my splash falls short of where it normally does. Regardless of my shortcomings, I’m in no danger of being caught. Even the timing game bores me today. And I’m certainly not going to seek out obstacles and push myself to my limit like usual. All I want to do is get to the top of the hill where Evvie and I enjoyed the sunrise yesterday.
I lazily start to slump off my top when I hear quick thuds approaching me. The sounds are unmistakable. Feet. Running right at me, for me.
I spin halfway around to see the blur of a sturdy man as he grabs me and covers my mouth. Strangely, my first feeling isn’t fear but remorse. Why did I try to turn? I should have run the instant I heard a sound misplaced in my place of solitude.
I lurch about in my captor’s grasp with every iota of strength that belongs to me. He whips me around and I flail my legs, circumstantially making contact with a second, wiry man who jolted out from behind a bush. The solid blow sends him back to his knees and he holds his face for a moment, shocked and pained. He can’t be much older than me, if at all. He isn’t dressed officially, like I’d imagine a county captor would be, but instead he wears simple, earthy shades.
I fight an arm free with the thrash that knocked this man’s partner down. I immediately thrust my elbow into his ribcage. It loosens his grip, and I bolt from his grasp.
I can hear that I have about a five-step lead on one and a few more on the other. I’ve trained for this. I’m sure I can outrun and outlast just about anyone on my best day, but I’m slow today, and as much as I’m trying, I can’t muster enough power to maintain my lead. They’re gaining. Quickly.
I don’t make it a distance greater than a timing game sprint from one tree to another before I sense the larger man only two strides behind me. In another eight seconds, he’ll be able to grab me. I urgently dive into my pack and fortunately find the handle of my knife. By the time I have it out, I have two seconds to open it, turn, and thrust it into my attacker.
But I don’t get that chance. I’m barely beginning to pull it out of my bag when my legs are kicked out from under me. My arms are tied up in this unexpected assault. I’m falling rapidly without my arms to brace myself.
I hit hard. The back of my head makes contact with something solid, sending stabbing sensations throughout my head and down my neck and back. Two blurry figures are on me in seconds, pinning down my feeble arms and legs. One forces my head to the side and presses my skull against the rock-hard surface. I think my eyes are open, but I’m not positive because I can’t see clearly. There are only blurs of light and dark. Suddenly, I feel something warm run down the insides of my thighs and I realize how terrified and helpless I am.
“Ah shit. Hurry up,” the one restraining my legs says. The other man tugs and pulls on the skin of my neck with one hand as he presses into my jaw with the other. I’m sorry, Evvie, I think as I decide I’m unable to put forth more of a fight to free myself. The man stops fussing with my neck for a second.
Let me go, please, I think in the hiatus of the attack. I feel a prick in the wad of skin he’s selected and then a deep burn as a needle slides into the vein. It’s not over here. These men plan to take me somewhere where they can prolong whatever torture pleases them. I feel myself drifting away and then feel the deepest black, a heavy calm. I wonder if I’m dead.