The Shock of the New

Chapter 40: On The Run

Eleanor peaked out of the alley. As far as she could tell, no police officers were nearby.

"Ok" she said in to the phone "Where do I go from here?"
"Head south down the street" Joel's voice replied "Once you get to the first intersection, turn right onto Jordan Peterson Avenue"

Eleanor took a deep breath, slipped the phone into her pocket (Making sure not to hang up on Joel in the process) and stepped out of the alley. She joined the crowds of people who were already heading down the street and began to walk as normally as she could manage.

The whole time she walked down the street, Eleanor was firmly convinced that at any second, somebody would recognise her or a Lunaville police officer would grab her out of nowhere. Then she'd be off to the Lunaville prison camps (Which were reportedly some of the most brutal prisons in the whole W.E.R. and they were up against some very stiff competition to boot)

However, Eleanor soon made it to the end of the street and promptly turned left onto Jordan Peterson Avenue. Hurrying down in case anybody had spotted her, she quickly ducked down into an alley before taking the phone out of her pocket

"I'm there!" she whispered "What do I do now?"

"Head down to the end of Jordan Peterson Avenue, turn left and then head down Laura Southern Street until you reach the second intersection" Joel explained "Once you get there, turn right and there should be a maintenance hatch on your left. Head down that and keep moving until you reach the end of the tunnel. We should be able to get to you from there"
"Understood" Eleanor replied

"I'm gonna have to hang up now" Joel explained "If I talk to you for too long, there's a good chance, they could home in on this call and track you"
Before Eleanor could reply, Joel hung up on her. She sighed and stepped out of the alley.

Eleanor made her way down the street as quickly as she could without trying to draw any attention to herself. As she did so, for a very brief moment, Eleanor thought she'd actually get away with it. Her hopes were dashed however a second later when a voice behind her yelled

"You there!"
Eleanor turned around to see a Lunaville police car pull up to her. Two police officers stepped out and looked her over

"What's the problem officer?" Eleanor asked as calmly as she could manage. Inside however, she was absolutely petrified.

"You're Eleanor Johnson" replied one of the officers in the same voice that had originally called out to her

"I am" Eleanor nodded "I'm just out for a little walk and I-"
"We've had a report about you" the other officer said

Eleanor froze "Well there must be a mistake or something, because I've been in all day."
The first officer ignored her "Yeah. If I remember, they were sending someone around your flat for hanging out with undesirables"

"Oh dear" Eleanor tried to look disappointed "I've been out for the last few hours"

"Well we'd better contact them and let you know we've found you" the first officer replied "Then we'll give you a ride back to your place"

"Oh no" Eleanor laughed nervously "I can easily get back there-"
"That wasn't a question" replied the first officer "You will comply with us or your punishment will be made more severe"

As he leaned back into the patrol car, the officer reached over for the radio.

"Hello?" he said "This is officer 492 requesting officer 138. We've located ms Johnson and wish to confirm your location over"
As he continued to work the radio, Eleanor realised that her chance of escape was rapidly slipping away. Mostly acting on impulse, she grabbed the open door of the car and slammed it right into the officer which knocked him over into the car. Then she turned and ran for her life.