A Life Wasted

Tired of Running

As is always the case I ran in the direction my instincts carried me. I ran by the house and straight into the woods. Once deep enough into the woods I made a ninety degree turn to my right, which would take me to I-95 after three minutes of running. I climbed the interstate's boundary fence, had to wait a few beats for traffic to pass, ran across the northbound side, crossed the medium, had to wait again for traffic to pass, then crossed the southbound lanes and ran for the boundary fence. As I reached the fence I heard gun fire. I turned and looked at my back trail. Impossibly there were two men standing on the woods side of the fence I had crossed earlier. Both had rifles raised and pointed at me. I froze. They both fired. I saw a flame thrown from each barrel. At that moment an eighteen wheeler passed going south and somewhere in my mind I thought I heard bullets hitting metal. I wasn't sure of the sound then, but today I figure it had to be a trick of my mind. It looked like the truck had appeared at the perfect moment to take the bullets, but it seems impossible I would hear the sound of impact over the noise of the truck.

As fast as it appeared the truck was gone and I saw the men again. As I watched both worked their lever action rifles to load a fresh round. Motivated to move I threw my body over the fence and rolled to the ground to the sound of a pair of staggered shots. I'll have to invent a term to describe what I did next. Unwilling to stand and present a larger target, I "crawl ran" into the woods. On my hands and feet, but without my body touching the ground, I used all four limbs to crawl so fast that it would have to be called running. As I did the gun shots continued but I also heard the sounds of a truck's breaks locking up and several car horns. At this sound I rose to my feet and ran full speed into the woods. I never looked back.

I was again in the woods behind the Holliday Inn. Somehow I ran past the spot I'd used earlier to go through the stolen luggage. I paused there, doubled over fighting for breath. Behind me I heard the sounds of men running in my direction. Whoever those two guys were they were good. They were also determined and not shy about taking shots at me. Knowing this was the end game, I ignored that I couldn't breath and ran towards the Holliday Inn. There was a wide open area I had to run across before reaching the motel's first building. Every step I expected to be shot in the back. Having no other choice I ran on without looking back.

Reaching the building without hearing a new gun shot I ducked behind the safety of a wall and took a quick peek back to see the two men with rifles running directly towards me across the open area. From their course I had no doubt they had seen me enter the motel. I had about two minutes on them, so I ran into the courtyard area where the pool was located. I went up a set of steps and ran down the balcony on the courtyard side. As I did I saw several police cars enter the parking lot ahead of me.

The noose tightening around me. I stopped running and put my hands on my knees, fighting for air. I was completely spent. I don't think I could have ran another twenty feet, and if I could have done so it would have only served to get me shot sooner. Like the old sniper saying, "If you run you'll die tired." I'd still try if I could, but there was no where to run. My thoughts shifted to survival. There was little doubt they were trying to kill me. To survive I'd need witnesses, so decided to go to the motel office, which I'd noticed earlier. Walking in that direction I considered what to do. I'd go into the office, tell the clerk I surrender, then lay on the ground with arms spread wide. I was thinking it would be best to strip down to my underwear when I walked by the maid's cart.

I've always been hyper-observant, so the first thing I noticed about the cart was the maid's pass key in a tray attached to the cart's push bar. I looked in the room and saw the maid making a bed with her back to me. I stepped back to the next room and noticed the curtain's open and both beds made. From the the direction the cart was pointed I assumed the maid had already passed this room. A guy in my line of business had to be fluid. Had to see opportunities when presented and had to be ready to seize the day. This was one of those moments. Carpe Diem.