Suzie Coltrane Saves the Day

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

They were on the beltway circling DC before Suzie even knew it. She wasn't sure where she was driving, but she knew one thing-that she couldn't go back home. Suzie was scared out of her mind after what had happened there. She was worried about her mom and confused about what was going on, but there was also a small part of her that was just excited to be driving.

This was the first time she had ever even sat behind the wheel of a car, much less speeding along the beltway. Even though she was worried, she couldn't help but smile to herself. She looked over at Gwen, expecting to see a frightening face, but she looked like she felt the same way.

​"This is pretty cool, huh?" Suzie said to Gwen trying to suppress her slight grin.
​"I hate to say it, but it's so awesome that we're driving together! Have you ever driven before?"
​"No, my dad wouldn't let me," Suzie said, the grin leaving her face as silence blanketed the car. "But it doesn't seem that hard."

​"Not at all! I think you're doing great! Um...do you think I could give it a try?"
​"Yeah. Let me find a place to stop and I'll switch with you. But I want to go again after you."

​Suzie was beginning to slow down and pull off the road to switch places with Gwen when she glanced into her rearview mirror and saw a car coming very quickly in their direction. The driver was flashing his headlights, swerving in and out of lanes to pass every car, and flying up the road. To her horror, Suzie thought she recognized the car, but she wasn't sure.

No matter what though, she knew that she had to do something. As quickly as she could, Suzie punched the gas and swerved back on the interstate. She didn't want to make a scene by pulling back on the road, but she knew she couldn't stop either-they would be sitting ducks then. She mashed the accelerator even harder, pushing it to the floor. She could feel the engine road back to life and force the girls back into their seats.

​"Hold on, I think they're following us," Suzie said.
​"So I guessed." Said Gwen clutching her armrest for dear life as the car sped forward.
​
They were racing down the road trying to put some distance between them and the other speeding car. Suzie was weaving in and out of traffic like a seasoned pro. She stole a glance in the rearview mirror every chance she got, but unfortunately, the other car seemed to be catching up to them quickly.

​"Wow," Said Gwen, breaking Suzie's glare into the mirror. "You're good at this. You could be a race car driver."
​"Yeah, if you say so, but I'm scared to death."
​"You should be," Gwen said looking at the speedometer with her mouth gaping open. "We're going almost a hundred!"
​"But, what do we do? They're catching up so quickly, and traffic is getting a lot worse."

​"Hey, I've got an idea!" She said as she looked forward and saw a lot more cars, many of which were breaking. "First thing you need to do is slow down."
​"I need to do what!?!" Shrieked Suzie.
​"No, wait, before you freak hear me out. If we slow down some, then we'll blend into the normal traffic. We'll look like every other car."
​"Alright, I'll trust you, but I'll have you know that they're catching up fast."
​"Good." That was all that Gwen said.

​Suzie slowed the car down to a reasonable 80 miles per hour just as they were coming up to a large tractor-trailer. She looked back again and saw that the car, which she could tell now was the same black one that she had seen several times before, was less than fifty yards behind them and getting closer by the second.

​"Alright, now what?" She said, looking at Gwen.
​"Just wait a sec." She said. "Give it a minute."
​"We don't have a minute!" Suzie said as she hoped that Gwen was right.

​Suzie was very confused about what she was planning, but without any better ideas, she didn't have much choice. She kept one eye on the truck in front of them and one eye looking in the mirrors to see the car. As they went under a streetlight, she noticed that someone in the back of the car had rolled down a window and was sticking his head out looking around. He seemed to be confused since he was looking frantically at every car they passed. Gwen's plan was working; they had fooled them so far.

​"Okay, what I want you to do," Gwen said. "is slow down a little more and let them catch up to you."
​"Now you've lost it! I can't do that!"
​"Trust me, as soon as they catch up to you, we'll have them right where we want them."
​"If you say so, but I'm still not so sure," Suzie said as she tapped the brakes a little more to slow them down.

​"Here they come," Gwen said looking back. "Not yet, not yet."

​Suzie was watching her mirrors also and saw the man in the car perk up as he recognized them and began to point anxiously. The black car sped up until they were right next to Suzie's back bumper.

​"Now!" Shouted Gwen.
​"Now what?" Shouted Suzie back at her.
​"Swerve right and speed up."
​"There's no road there!!" Screamed Suzie.
​"Just do it and do it now!"

​Suzie swerved onto the shoulder on the right side of the road and hit the gas. Looking in her rearview mirror again, she realized that she had done it just in the nick of time as the black car had just tried to ram into their back bumper. Suzie breathed a sigh of relief knowing she had just missed having a big accident. That wouldn't have looked good on her driving record. Gwen's voice brought her back from her thoughts to the reality that they were still being chased.

​"Okay, now stay even with this truck." She said looking ahead.

​Suzie slowed back down so that she didn't fly right past the tractor-trailer. She looked back in her mirror again and this time didn't see the other car.

​"Where'd they go?"
​"Look." Said Gwen pointing under the belly of the truck.

​Suzie looked to her left and saw the bottom half of the car speed past them on the other side of the truck.

​"Okay," Said Gwen. "now slow down, but stay beside the truck."
​"Right."
​"Now, when you see them get past the truck, pull back behind it, okay?"
​"Sure, whatever you say."

​Suzie watched the black car intently as it pulled in front of the tractor-trailer, she slowed down and went back behind it. Gwen could see the car ahead and to the left of them, as well as the man who was still sticking out of the window.

​"They look really confused now." Said Gwen with a triumphant smile. "Wait...they're speeding up. I think they expected us to try and outrun them."

​Sure enough, the black car was speeding up in front of them as they were searching the traffic ahead.

​"I think we should pull off onto an exit as soon as we can."
​"I think that sounds like a great idea." Said Suzie.

​They took the next exit that came up on the interstate. As they slowed down on the off-ramp, they watched their chasers in the black car until they lost sight of it. They turned off of the ramp and drove around at random for a few miles until Suzie saw the sign that she had been hoping to see.

​"It's my turn now, I've got an idea."