Gone [Zouis]

Chapter 2

Louis' POV

The boy in the backseat wouldn't stop yelling. He had black hair and huge golden eyes, wide with fright. Maybe he was pretty. I didn't know. All I knew was that right now he was a big problem. Even though I was freaking out, I forced myself to think. Thank God no one was nearby.

If I stopped and let him out, the way he kept demanding, this boy would run screaming to the first person he saw. In ten minutes or less, I would be arrested and everything would unravel. All of us in jail. Probably for a long time.

Instead of slowing down, I accelerated as I turned out of the far end of the parking lot. It threw the boy off balance. I winced as his head smacked against the window, but still I kept going. I was acting on pure instinct now. And instinct told me to get as far away as possible.

I pounded on the side of my head in frustration. How could I have been so stupid as to not notice that there was someone in the car? I could almost hear Garrett shouting at me. It was almost as real as the boy in the backseat, the boy who wouldn't stop yelling.

Ignoring the boy, ignoring his own panicked thoughts, I drove as fast as I could without losing control. Too fast for the boy to risk jumping out. I kept my head half turned, one eye on the road and one eye on him.

Weaving around slower cars, I took a side street, and then another, until finally I was on an empty road that cut through a large piece if land. On each corner, there was a sign but I couldn't tell what they said because they were all faded out.

As soon as I slowed down, the boy came at me, out stretched hands curved into claws, yelling incoherent words. His head was cocked to one side and his eyes were wide and staring. He looked crazy. Maybe he was.

Throwing the car into park, I tried to deflect him, raising my shoulder and turning my head. At least no one was around to hear him. His fingers raked down my right cheek, and I could feel that he had drawn blood.

I had to do something, but what? I squeezed between the seats. I just wanted to calm him down, but I ended up wrestling with him, both of us struggling in a desperate silence. Finally, I managed to straddle him and pin his arms to his sides. I was bigger than he was, and was working on pure adrenaline. At least he had stopped screaming.

The sound of our ragged breathing filled the car. I became aware of a quiet hum--I had never had the time to turn off the car. Straightening up, I managed to quickly reach over and turn off the key.

"I'm sorry," I said into complete silence. "Let's talk about this. But you have to promise that you'll stop trying to kill me."

"I will." He nodded, his eyes not meeting mine. I figured he was probably lying. In the same situation, I knew I would lie.

I exhaled. "Look, it's an accident you're here. I just wanted the car. Not you. I didn't even know you were in the car."

"Then let me go." His voice was low and hoarse. He took a deep breath and then started to cough, a deep, racking sound and he kept his head turned away. When he spoke again, it was a whisper. "Please, please, just let me go. I won't tell anyone "

Even I wasn't that dumb. "I'm sorry, but do you think I really believe that? By the end of the day, my description would be handed out to every cop and broadcast on every radio station in town."

A strange expression played across his face, the ghost of a smile. "But I won't be able to tell them anything. Didn't you notice that I'm blind?"

Blind? I stared at his hazel eyes. I thought they weren't really meeting mine because he was looking past me for help, searching for a way out, assessing the situation.

"You're really blind?"

"My cane's on the floor."

Still wondering if he was tricking me somehow, I looked on the floor. Sitting behind the driver's seat was a folded bundle of white sticks.

I imagined doing what the boy asked. I could let him get out. Maybe give him his cane, maybe not. He could probably hear cars okay and he could flag down a vehicle. But as soon as someone stopped for him, it wouldn't be long before the police were involved.

No. Better to keep him for a little while. Ask Garrett what to do, even though he wouldn't be happy about me bringing back trouble. Tonight after it got dark, I could drive this boy some place where it would be hours before anyone found him. But not here. Not now. Not in daylight. Not when a car might come by at any moment.

As if to make the thought real, I heard a car in the distance. Approaching us.

"I can't let you go." I said, and was starting to add, 'Not right now' but before I even got the next word out of my mouth he was fighting against me again, opening his mouth to scream.

What could I do? Then I had an idea. I didn't know if it would work, but he had to do something. Desperately, I groped across the passenger seat until my fingers closed on what I needed.

I pressed the barrel against his temple.

"Shut up or I'll shoot you."