“We’re going to this bistro on Thirtieth. Do you have any idea where that’s at?” I continued looking out the window, my elbow braced against the door and chewed on my thumbnail.
“I do,” Jason said.
“Great.”
“Do you want to listen to some music?”
“You can if you want.”
Crazy scenarios filled my mind as I watched him press the volume button from my periphery. This turned a light and fun day out with a new friend to one filled with nerves and worry.
The car filled with melancholy piano music and, suddenly, I found myself back in the cabin with the fire blazing around me, and his evil gaze trying to keep me there.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath in from my nose, then leaned forward and switched the station as the SUV jolted forward. We whirled around in a tire screeching spiral while I shrieked. I braced myself against the console with one hand and my other on the roof.
Jason grabbed for the steering wheel with both hands, but it was too late. He’d already lost control of the car, sending us into a line of trees at the bottom of the slope.
The front of the SUV smashed with a metal crunch into a tree, propelling us forward before I had a chance to react. Our airbags deployed, sending my face colliding with the air-filled pillow.
Darkness etched around my vision as my ears rang like a high-pitched dog whistle. I raised my head and felt around, trying to gather my bearings, my pulse pounding like a concert in my head.
“Ma’am, Sir?”
A woman’s voice came over the speakers, drowning out the thrumming in my ears.
Jason leaned against the steering wheel, airbag deployed, facing away from me. Blood trailed down the back of his neck from a wound buried in his hair. “Jason?” I nudged his shoulder, but he didn’t move.
Something moved across my scalp, tickling my skin over the sharp pain. A warm rush of blood ran from my nose, over my lips and chin until it dripped onto my lap. I groaned as I moved my stiff, aching body to staunch the blood.
“I’ve sent emergency services your way. Please stay calm,” said the woman I couldn’t see.
“He’s not moving.” I cried as I tapped his shoulder again. Jason twitched as I poked him once more, then raised his hand to the back of his head and turned, his gaze locking on mine.
A tall, bulky man appeared as a shadow in the driver’s window.
That was fast.
He pulled on the door, but the crunched metal from the hood prevented it from moving. Instead, he tapped on the tinted window, creating a metal on glass sound, then with a full arm swing, he shattered it. Jason covered his head with his hands as glass poured inside, falling into his lap.
“Hello, Ivy,” Jeremiah said, pressing a gun into Jason’s head, then pulled the trigger.
Blood splattered over the inside of the car as the sonic boom from the pistol shattered my hearing. Bits of tissue and bone painted the inside of the windshield. It began dripping down the glass as I raised my shaking hands to my mouth and screamed.
He pointed the gun at me. “Get out.”
“Ma’am, is everything okay? What was that noise?”
Jeremiah disappeared from the driver’s door.
“Please help me. He’s trying to kill me.” My voice broke as I shrieked.
Jeremiah yanked my door open, then reached inside and pulled my hair, sending shooting pain across my neck and scalp. “Unbuckle your seatbelt.”
His deep voice sent my trembling hands to my buckle to do his bidding without question. I pressed on the lock until it released my strap. Sliding it off my shoulders, he yanked me out of the car and used his massive quarterback sized bulk to lift me over his shoulders and walk me towards a red car.
It was the same red car he’s had for years, the same one I saw driving around the corner at The Drowning Anchor last week.
When I saw it, I thought my mind was playing tricks on me. I’d convinced myself it was leftover anxiety from Mr. Grady. But no, it was him.