Chapter 33

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Chapter 33

A/N Hey guys I would really appreciate it if you could vote on my chapters (the little star) once you are done reading it- or even before (and if you haven't if you could go back and do so). I do this for free and getting votes (and comments) is how we get any recognition. Thank you! Hope you enjoy! 

I froze and looked around for Noah. He was down the hallway in the living room, 'Get out!' he mouthed. I looked over towards the kitchen; the backdoor was still open, a slight crack. I could make it. Noah couldn't. The living room didn't have many options other than a door leading to who knows where.

I ran towards the backdoor just as the front door opened. My hand paused on the doorknob, and I instinctively held my breath.

"What the hell?" I heard the man say. I'm guessing he tried turning on the light, and it didn't work.

My hand went on the knob, and I turned it, ready to make my escape. It would have been a small hiccup except, apparently, when we broke in, we left the pick on the door in our haste. It fell to the ground with a clang.

My hand went over my mouth to stifle my gasp.

"Who's there?!" I heard the man's voice boom across the house and the thump of his footsteps getting closer.

I closed my eyes tight, and then I heard a loud crash coming from the living room.

Noah.

The man paused. I could hear his breathing.

"Show yourself, you coward," He said, and then I heard him go in the direction of the living room.

My heart was beating so hard I could feel the blood pulsing in my ears. I slipped out the backdoor and softly closed it.

The cold fall air hit my face as I ran towards the back fence. The fence was locked on the inside, thank goodness, my hands couldn't stop shaking, and I didn't think I had it in me to haul myself over. Coach wanted me to be a pole vaulter? Yeah right.

I opened the gate, and then I stopped. Was I going to leave Noah? I mean, he's spent a night in jail before; he's probably done this so many times that getting out of something like this was probably cake for him. Right?

Then I heard it. A loud bang. I knew that sound. My uncle dragged me hunting in central Florida a few times with my cousins and brothers. It was boring, and I read most of the time there.

Hunting required more waiting than actual hunting. At the end of our trip, we didn't see any boars, but my uncle let each of us shoot his shotgun before we left, 'just so we could feel how strong the kick was.'

I had a sour feeling in my stomach.

How experienced was he if he left the pick on the door? Isn't that something he should have thought of?

I breathed out a curse and turned around, running and ducking under windows. I stopped when I saw two windows peeking out of the tall grass. One of them was open. They probably led to the basement. I crouched down in front of one. The hole was small, but so was I. I slipped my arm in and felt for the knob to open it more so I could slip through it.

I heard another bang. Fuck. I made a strangled noise as I tried reaching more, my fingers finally making contact with the knob, and I turned it as fast I could.

The basement was cold and damp. With the street lights coming through the windows, I could make out rows of shelves filled with magazines and games. My foot kicked something, and it made a small tapping noise as it skidded away on the floor.

I looked up and noticed a staircase with a door at the end of it.

I waited with bated breath expecting the door to open. After a moment, I figured they didn't hear me. The light from the window cast a glare on the noisy offender, and I bent down to pick up a marble that had rolled underneath the bookcase.

There was a bag of them sitting on the shelf above my head. A few others threatening to fall. I tried standing it up, only for them to slump back down and almost scatter the glass balls on the floor. I grabbed the bag and put it in the pocket of my Trinity skirt before continuing through the rows of magazines and paint cans.

Once I got to the door, I took a deep breath. If the guy happened to be right outside the door, I was done for. My hand hovered on the knob. Before I could touch it opened.

Noah.

"What are you doing here?" He whispered, his eyes wide and full of fear.

"I heard a gun."

"Exactly, you run the other way. You don't come back."

"Where is he?" I asked. The house suddenly seemed too quiet.

"Upstairs. Let's go," he said, stepping into the basement.

"No," I said, pushing back on his chest. "You don't fit through those windows. It was tight enough for me. We need to leave through the door."

He bit his lip, "go through the window; I'll figure it out."

I shook my head, "No. One, I can't lift myself up to reach them. Two, either we both get out of this together or not at all. You are here because of me. I am not leaving without you."

"Princess, I'll help you up."

"Noah, you're going to get stuck down there. I'm not going unless you go."

There was a thumping upstairs.

He looked at me for a moment, and I hoped I looked as stubborn as I felt.

"Fine, let's go," he said, grabbing my hand and pulling me behind him.

We made it back into the living room when we heard a knock on the door. Noah pushed me behind a large TV hutch next to the sofa. We squatted low, practically holding our breaths to keep quiet. We listened as the man came down the hall. Noah put his hand over my mouth and pulled me closer against the wall.

I heard the man open the door.

"Good evening, officer," he said. His voice sounded...familiar.

"Good evening. Is everything alright?" The policeman asked.

"Yes, sir, why do you ask?"

"One of your neighbors called saying they heard gunshots."

I heard the man chuckle. "Yeah, sorry about that, we've had a problem with coyotes; I saw one digging around my azalea bush. I heard one of those things bit a kid down the block."

"Aww geez, yeah, we've got several calls about them this week; I thought it was all taken care of."

"Well, you know how those pests are."

"You don't have any small pets do you?" The officer asked.

"No, sir, it's just me here, but my next-door neighbors are out of town, and they have a small dog; I always try to keep an eye out for them. An older couple, you know how they are. Their pets mean everything."

"Right yeah. Well, alright, sorry for the bother, just making sure everything is okay. Have a good night."

"You too, officer," the man said before he closed the door.

I heard him say 'fuck' under his breath, and then he picked up his shotgun again.

Through the light coming from a window, I could see the man on the other side of the room. Just standing there. Waiting. As if he knew we were hiding and there was nothing left for us to do. He wore blue jeans and hiking boots that were covered in mud.

Then I saw his legs start pacing. He was like a lion hunting, just waiting for us to make a move. Where he stood, he had a vantage point of both the kitchen and the front door.

After a few minutes, I saw him walk towards the kitchen; I heard a cupboard open and the faucet run.

"Why hasn't he turned the light on? We can lose him if he goes outside." I whispered so only Noah could hear.

I felt his lips on my ear, "I think he knows that. This guy is a freak. See the closet over there?" He asked, gently pushing my cheek in the direction of a closed door.

"I was going to hide there; it was full of guns and ropes and weird shit."

"I think we have to make a run for it," I said.

"How? He's blocking the way."

"I think I have an idea," I said, fingering the bag of marbles in my pocket; I pulled them out and showed them to Noah.

"You've had that all this time? Where'd you get them?"

"The basement. Do you think it would work?"

"Well, no harm in trying. Go for it. Aim for the staircase," Noah said, nodding to the open basement door.

I grabbed his hand and placed the bag in them, "Umm, you throw it; as much as I will try to aim for the staircase, it probably won't happen."

He nodded and wrapped his fingers around the bag.

After taking a moment to aim, Noah threw the bag of marbles through the open doorway leading to the basement. They landed with a soft thud. Not the sound I was hoping for.

I felt a stifling fear start seeping into my chest as the adrenaline started wearing off, and my predicament became more and more glaring.

I was going to die here.

This man was going to blow my head off, and then my mom would never be able to identify me. What would my dad say? What would Robbie do? I suddenly couldn't breathe.

"You tried," I said, trying not to sound as if I were about to have a total breakdown. I felt Noah's lips graze my temple. I could feel his heart thumping in his chest against my back. I felt so guilty. I should have come by myself or not at all. Maria was right; this was stupid.

Suddenly by the grace of whatever powers were up there. I heard a marble fall out of the bag. Tap tap tap, down the stairs.

Noah gripped my shoulder, and I heard the man turn the faucet off. Listening to see if he heard something.

And then, like a waterfall they call came loose. Rattling down the stairs. Banging against the bookcases. In my AP literature class, we would have called this deus-ex-machina. In Miami, we would have called it 'a total cag.'

The man ran past us and down the stairs to the basement.

"Now," I whispered, running out. We sped into the kitchen and out the back door.

"The fence opens over there," I said once we were out.

"Too far, we're jumping."

I heard another bang.

"Don't look back," I said to Noah, as we sprinted, "it slows you down."

Noah cupped his hand as soon as we reached the fence and gave me a boost over. I landed hard on my arm and scrambled to my feet.

Noah landed on his feet after me, a soft thud on the dewy grass. He grabbed my arm and roughly pulled me up.

From the cracks on the fence, I could see the man getting closer.

We ran down the neighborhood towards the bike. The lights in some of the houses turning on as people woke up from the commotion. Thank goodness we at least had the sense to hide the bike in the nearby park.

"Noah!" I said, panting as we got to the bike. I felt as if I were going to have a panic attack.

"Shhh. Shhh. Shhh. You're okay, you're okay," He said, his hands holding my face. I could feel his fingers trembling.

"He saw us!" I said, grabbing onto his wrist.

"No. He didn't. I promise I got a good look; he was still in the house when we jumped over the fence. We need to leave now, though. I don't know if he's going to get his car, and then we're fucked."

I nodded, still gasping for air.

"Hang on, princess," he said as he revved his bike. I wrapped my arms around his waist and leaned against him, my cheek resting on his back. I was ready to get out of there and never see this place again.

Usually, the speed Noah liked driving was terrifying; At that moment, I wished he would go faster.

"What a crazy guy! Do you still think he was a vet?" He yelled as we got on the highway. The wind-breaking up his voice.

"Noah!" I yelled, trying to make myself audible over the wind, "When we were waiting in the living room, I remembered the guy with the hummer he was on the phone with his boss. He was calling him Jack."

"So Johnny is their leader? I figured he wasn't the guy with the hummer."

"Why?"

"That neighborhood is too nice and his boots. Those were 300 dollar hiking boots."

We sped down a long stretch of a dark road; the headlamps on his motorcycle were the only light for miles. Until I saw two yellow lights in the distance.

"Noah! Behind us."

"No. There's no way that could be him. We've been driving faster than a hummer could possibly go," he yelled back at me.

"What if it is? What if he doesn't drive a hummer?" A sense of panic was settling in, and I could feel my breathing quicken.

I felt Noah sigh and then turn off his headlamps. After a few minutes drove his bike into the cornfield to the right of us.

We waited until the car caught up to us. It wasn't the hummer; it was a light-colored minivan. I could see a screen with a recording of sponge bob playing through the back window.

"See, it wasn't the guy. We're safe. It's okay," He said.

I nodded before covering my face with my hands and letting out a shaking breath, "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," he whispered, putting his hand on my shoulder.

I fell into his chest and let out a sob as the last wave of adrenaline passed through me. He put his arm around me, "Come on, let's go home."

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