Hunted

Chapter Seven: 574 Oakley St.

I left my house at 11:45, and pulled the page that I had torn from my biology book out of my pocket.

The car started, and I pulled out of the driveway slowly, hoping I wouldn't wake my parents, who had gone to bed early.

I drove downtown to the street that the building was on, and started looking at the numbers on the buildings. 568. 571. 572. 574. It looked like an old apartment building, and seemed completely uninhabited.

I parked the car, and walked up to the front of the building, holding a flashlight in one hand and my purse in the other.

The door was unlocked, and opened up into a long, dark hallway. I switched on the flashlight, and slowly began to walk down the hallway past several locked doors, looking for any evidence of someone being there.

There was a staircase to my right, and I turned and started to walk up to the next level. The next level was another dark hallway, lined with more doors. It looked the same as the downstairs hallway, except one of the doors was open on this level.

I walked slowly to the open door, and suddenly hear a creak behind me. I spun around and came face to face with Officer Riley, wearing jeans and a black jacket.

"You?" he gasped. "It was you who sent the message saying that there was information I needed here?"

I shook my head. "No, I received a note saying that if I found you here, you'd tell me the whole story about what happened to Sam." I replied.

Even in the dim light of the flashlight, Officer Riley looked pale. "Does that mean someone else knows we're here?" he asked, hand resting on the pistol in his belt.

"I don't know." I said. "Officer Riley, what aren't you telling me about when Sam went missing?"

He looked down at the ground. "Olivia, Sam said..." he began, but was cut off by the sound of footsteps coming down the hall. "Hide!" he hissed, and pushed me into a the bathroom.

I stood behind the door, peering through the crack between the door and the frame, but all I could see was Officer Riley.

Suddenly, he pulled out his gun an aimed it at someone that I couldn't see. "Stay back!" he shouted.

He shot twice, shots ringing in my ears, and then there were more gunshots. I clapped my hands over my mouth as Officer Riley stumbled back, dropping his gun. He fell to his knees, hands clutched over his chest.

"You sick bastard..." He choked, coughing up blood. "They're only kids."

There were retreating footsteps, and I heard whoever it was going down the stairs. I threw the bathroom door open and rushed to Officer Riley's side.

"Olivia..." He gasped, blood dribbling down his chin.

"We'll get you to the hospital, maybe they can still help..." I whimpered, opening the front of his jacket looking at the three bullet holes in Officer Riley's shirt.

"Olivia, Sam witnessed something that nobody was supposed to see. He has information that the police should have heard as soon as he knew it, and they'll kill him for it." He choked. "He said that you..."

He was cut off by a fit of coughing that sprayed blood down the front of his shirt.

"What is it? What did he say about me?" I begged, pressing my hand to his chest to staunch the flow of blood.

Officer Riley looked up at me with a pained expression. "Sam's being hunted because of what he's seen, Olivia... He said you're the one who's most likely to find him. That's why they're using you."

"Who? Who is using me?" I asked. "Please... Please stay with me."

Officer Riley shook his head. "You're playing a dangerous game, Olivia Lewis." He croaked.

His head fell back, and his eyes stared up at the ceiling.

My phone beeped, and I dug it out of my pocket, leaving a smear of blood across the screen. I opened the text message.

'He knew too much. Get out before we burn this place to the ground.'

I shivered. They were burning the building to get rid of the evidence, and if I didn't leave, they would burn me with it.

I ran down the stairs, and out the front door. I got in the car and drove as fast as I could, desperate to get home.

I was a few blocks away when I heard the explosion. The noise rang in my ears, and I saw a pillar of smoke rising into the sky in my rearview mirror.

As I drove home home, I tried to think of where Sam could be. Whoever was looking for him was beyond capable of killing him, and I couldn't let that happen. I had to get to him before they did.

I was so busy thinking about Sam that I didn't see the car coming to my left, and suddenly I was thrown aside by a heavy jolt. The car flipped onto it's side, and then rolled onto the sidewalk. My head smacked against the steering wheel, and I felt a small stream of blood trickling down my forehead.

I was upside down, and struggling to get my seatbelt undone. Someone was trying to open my door, and suddenly I remembered the blood. Officer Riley's blood was all over my hands and my shirt.

"Olivia, is that you?" A voice called from outside the car. "Don't panic, we'll get you out of there!"

The door jerked open, and I felt a pair of hands at my side, try to unbuckle my seat belt. When they succeeded, I fell onto the ceiling of the car, and slowly crawled out onto the pavement.

Danielle and a tall boy with spiked blonde hair were looking down at me, but nobody else was on the street.

"Are you okay?" Danielle asked, eyes filled with concern.

I nodded, sitting up. "I'm sorry, I..." I started. "I wasn't paying attention to the road."

"Don't apologize, it was my fault." The tall blonde boy said.

"Do you think you need to go to the hospital?" Danielle asked.

I shook my head. "No, I think I'm fine."

I looked over at my car, and realized that they must have been driving really fast to have caused that kind of damage.

"Did you hear that explosion a few minutes ago?" I asked.

Danielle nodded. "I bet the police won't even hear about the accident until morning. My apartment is only a few blocks away- I could lend you something to wear home and give you a ride." she offered.

"I'll stay here and wait for the police to come so I can tell them what happened." He said, leaning against a lamp post.

"Thanks, Warren." Danielle told him.

Danielle and I started walking, and I looked over at Danielle. She was calm... Almost too calm. Why wasn't she asking why I was covered in blood?

Could it be that she already knew?