On the Run

Chapter 1

Running had become my solace.

Every day at the track, same time, same distance, faster speed.

I felt that if I went faster, I was safer. I could run away from everything, all of my problems.

My depressing job, my messy past, my piles of bills. I could just run away from it.

Or, at least I could while I was at the track. About an hour a day where I didn't have to think or worry, I could just run.

I was lucky there was a high school near my apartment with a full outdoor track; I couldn't afford a gym membership just to run, and I didn't like how crowded regular streets were.

And it was the same thing everyday. One or two new people would show up every once in awhile, but would eventually give up and never return; no one needed to run quite like I did.

Except one person.

He had watched me run for a few minutes from the fence one day. It was hard to miss him; being quite tall and built along with being the only other person there made him noticeable.

It made me uncomfortable, that someone felt the need to stand and watch me. Just me. There was no other excuse for him to stand on the other side of the fence. He was obviously taller and stronger than I was, and could be a serious danger to me. I made me feel like I was back in my past, when there were always eyes on me.

I reminded myself that I could run away if I needed to, and just continued with my laps, hoping that he would get bored and leave.

I was anxious the whole time until he was gone, but then he showed up the next day, and the day after that, and his appearances continued. Though, he only passed by or stopped for a few seconds on some days.

And then, he joined me.

Without hesitation, In jeans and a long shirt, he hopped the fence and started jogging, and we eventually matched pace.

Neither of us spoke at first, I just kept my eyes forward, nervous to look over and possibly recognize the face as one of the men that had taken me in the past. Nervous that it was all coming back to me in that moment, because I thought I was finally safe. I felt that in that moment, I was locked on to the track: as though if I tried to run away he would only catch up. My safe spot, my sanctuary, had been penetrated by fear for the first time.
There was only the sound of my breathing, the strange man didn't even seem out of breath while he ran with me.

Finally, he opened his mouth, "You run a lot."

And that was all he had to say, a normal comment, and almost harmless. I didn't recognize the voice; he had a thick accent, something Serbian probably. This gave me the courage to look over at his face.

He was smirking over at me, under a little stubble and white hair. In the moment, running along with me, his face almost seemed kind.

I felt some of my fear seep away when I saw that I didn't recognize him.

I jabbed back quickly, "And you watch me a lot." But he only laughed a bit and didn't seem phased.

And with that, we returned to the silent jog. I couldn't figure out what he was running for, he obviously didn't plan on this given clothes, but he just continued as if he ran like this all the time.

About half a mile of running past, with him matching my speed no matter how much I slowed down or sped up, until he spoke again, "I bet I can run faster than you."

I was pretty confident, almost dependent on my running abilities, so I naturally challenged him, "I don't know- I can run pretty fast."

"How about this," he offered, "I beat you: you tell me your name. You beat me: I will personally hand you $10,000 in cash and never bother you again."