The Ragdoll

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As soon as Emily got on the highway, she started hitchhiking. She lived four hours from the city, which would take her days on foot. As soon as she got there she would find a place to stay, and find as much information on the man that ruined her life as she possibly could. It was night when she stuck her thumb out and the first person picked her up. She assumed it was because the darkness hid her face. The car was small and silver, she had to duck to get in the passenger's seat. She put her overnight bag on the floor in front of her. The man driving kept his calm when he properly saw Emily for the first time. He had a long orange and white beard and was wearing a button up plaid shirt and jeans. His hair was hidden beneath a blue stocking cap. Emily thought he looked like a lumberjack.

"You get in a bar fight?" he asked. He had a heavy southern accent.

"Something like that," Emily replied softly. She kept her eyes forward.

"Yer real purty otherwise, darlin," he said.

Emily didn't know whether to say thank you or take offense, so she said nothing at all.

"You headin' into Heart City?" he asked.

She nodded, and he kept going.

"I'm on vacation. The wife is goin' through menopause and I always loved the city. Came here for my brother Jack's funeral. Yes sir, yes sir."

Emily nodded, pretending that she was listening to whatever nonsense the man was spewing from his mouth.

"Mah name's Al by the way, darlin'. Yours?"

"Paulie," Emily lied. She wasn't sure why.

"Well, Paulie, nice tah meet ya."

He offered his hand, and Emily took it reluctantly. They shook and it was silent for a long while. The road was completely deserted, and the car sped through the darkness. Emily found it strange that Al stopped speaking. He struck her as the type of person that got high off of one-way conversations. Al slowed the car down and pulled over on the side of the road.

"What's going on?" Emily asked.

Al looked at her and eyed her up and down.

"You are real purty, darlin'," he whispered.

The car door locked behind her.

"Al," Emily said. She looked straight ahead as she spoke. "Don't do anything you might regret."

"If there's one thing I don' like, darlin', it's people who boss me around."

"That wasn't an order, Al, that was a warning. I'm warning you to not do it."

Al licked his lips.

"Hard tah get. I like that game." He reached into the front of his pants and leaned upward. He stayed there as if he expected for something to happen. Emily cringed. He looked at her.

"Whatcha waitin' for? Dig in, darlin'."

After a short while of nothing, Al sat back down.

"Didn't think I'd have tah spell it out for ya," he said with an annoyed tone. He reached for her, but before he could lay a finger, the switchblade was already open. Moving as fast as she could, Emily leaned forward and stabbed it as hard as she could into his leg. Al cried out in pain as she pulled it back out. He cried while he held his knee.

"You bitch, I'll kill you!" he yelled. Emily chuckled.

He reached out his hands as if to strangle her. Emily grabbed one, and snapped his wrist to the side using the bare minimum of her strength. He cried out again and went to hit her with his good hand. Emily caught that one too. She leaned forward and repeatedly stabbed her blade in his side.