Contests and Short Stories

Cars and Murderers

Ella Fitzgerald's voice filled the car with the sound of old fashioned jazz. The light mellow mood of the songs were completely mismatched with Maria's state of mind as she speedily drove down the lonely road at around midnight. She nervously croaked and screeched out the words of the song in a pathetic attempt to cool her overheated nerves. She wanted to close her eyes, take a deep breathe and repeat over and over again that everything would be okay but then she might get into an accident. She also knew quite well that she probably would not be alright.

After about another half an hour of speeding down the road, Maria didn't feel any better. The only thing on her mind was how she make the car go faster. She was such a nervous wreck with her sweaty palms sliding about the steering wheel and beads of sweat forming on her forehead despite the fact that it was quite cool, maybe even a bit cold outside. She thought that maybe the smooth music and quiet roads would calm her, but it seemed to just make feel worse. Like something could just pounce out of the quiet darkness and violently devour her. The very thought caused her to jump in her seat. And by this time she was so tightly wound that when she finally turned her attention back onto the road, she could not even get out a scream when suddenly a man standing smack in the middle of it. She swerved the car out of the way, relying on her efficient reflexes, as her mind had long lost control.

As the car spun and whirled with all sorts of acrobatics, Maria was still too much in shock to even choke out a sob. She just sat there, a stony statue in the car seat with the world nothing but a spinning blue blur around her. Then there was the loud crash.

She sat in the totaled car, mangled and motionless, but not dead. And as long as she was alive she would fight to remain that way. She could feel her previous fears and anxiety melting away and being replaced by her stubborn want to survive. With all the will power she could muster, she forced her body into motion and slipped out of the shattered windshield. She had acquired some minor bruising on the way, but it was nothing she could not handle.

She peered through the mass of trees, she was enveloped in darkness she realized. Her only light coming from the half moon above. After randomly picking a direction to run in, she wasted no time, and bolted off in that direction. She didn't need to guess that she was being chased. She knew that no sane person would just stand in the middle of a speeding car for no reason. So that person was either in dire need of a psychiatrist or was intentionally trying to run her off the road.

As she ran through the trees, her heel clad feet sunk into the soft mud, holding her back. She could hear the steady thuds of boots pounding against the ground behind her. She was losing lead, and quickly at that. Her heart began to roar in her chest and she could feel it vid rating through her body as she pushed herself to run faster, but her shoes were a problem. Without about her thought, she yanked each heel off each of her feet and didn't hesitate to fling them behind her. Her mood was almost lifted when she heard the pained grunt from behind her, and it just encouraged her to go faster.

There was no way she was going to be caught. Not tonight and not ever. She would run until her feet fell off if she had to, but she would survive tonight. Her feet pattered against the mud, not lingering for more than a second as she sped through the woods. Her sense of direction was quite erratic, she randomly changed direction and darted under hanging branches and even occasionally took a peek behind her to make sure she had a good lead. She didn't know where she was going, but she was going. Her feet flew over the dirt and she soared through meandering path between the trees, losing herself a bit in the fast pace.

She felt a little delirious with all the adrenaline pumping through her veins, but it just added to her weightless feeling. Sweat ran down her face and soaked through her clothes, and mud covered her feet and ankles but she didn't let it fade her. And eventually she could not feel the presence of her chaser.

That was the moment her foot hooked in some petrifying debris, and then she was crashing to the ground and tumbling down a steep muddy slope. As she rolled down the edge she couldn't help but think how close she was to getting away. Then she was hugging a rock in her unconsciousness, blood oozing from her forehead and nose.