I Choose You

Chapter Twenty One - Speed Chase

I blinked, trying to keep myself awake. We had been driving for what felt like hours, and Jessie and Ann had fallen asleep. I was bored out of my mind. The scenery had not changed, and the only window there was, was about three-by-four and way too far away to risk to get near. Because, you know, me, an 18-year-old, can squeeze through a three-by-four window, which was made of glass. Totally logical.

To entertain myself, I made men out of my fingers and ran the across my legs. I promise I'm 18. After about five minutes, I got bored and resumed staring a the door, pondering about how much it would hurt if I opened it and jumped out.

I heard moaning from behind me.

I turned to see Jessie stirring. "Hello, Sleepy Head." She gave me a small smile, then stretched her hands above her head, yawning.

"Hi," she said groggily, "How long was I asleep?"

I glanced at my empty wrist. "From about I don't know to I don't bloody know. Does it look like there's a clock in here?"

She nodded, then pointed to her mother's wrist. There it was: a small, golden watch, ticking away. Her mother was sound asleep though, and the last thing I wanted to do was wake her - especially with the past few traumatizing days she has had. . . and where she was now. It was truly my fault. Once again, there was nothing I could do. As I thought about everything I couldn't do, a tear rolled down my face. No. Quickly, I wiped it away and rubbed the back of my neck with my hands. No crying.

I leaned back against the divider between us and the culprits and began to close my eyes. I pried them back open. Jessie rubbed my arm, "Rest, if you want. I'll stay up."

"You sure? I can make myself stay-"

"Yes. Sleep." I nodded, slouched back and got as comfortable as possible.

                                                                           ~~~~~~~~~~

I woke up, and my eyes immediately opened to examine the unfamiliar scenery. This wasn't the hospital, and it wasn't my house. My brain put the pieces together: The van. Philip. I was still doomed. Then, though, I realized we weren't moving. Maybe we were at a red light. I looked to my left, and Ann was looking at me. To my right, Jessie sat, staring at the door like I had done when I was keeping watch.

"Ann?" I asked.

"Yea, love?" Well, I guess she didn't hate me. Thank God.

"Can you, maybe, tell me what time it is, please?"

She looked at her watch. "Eight twenty-six."

"Thank you." I peered out the tiny window, but didn't see much. It was dark outside and I was far away from the small opening. We still hadn't moved.

"Cops pulled us over." Jessie said, taking her eyes off the door to look at me.

"Seriously?"

"I think. We heard sirens, then saw them as the noise got louder. We moved over as they stopped. Haven't moved since." I needed to know. If the cops were there, I could bang on the wall. They'd hear me, and certainly help me. I'd be the hero, and saved from this tin imprisonment. I got on my knees and struggled towards the window.

"What are you doing?"

"Looking for police, Ann."

"That's not a great idea-"

"Mom, stop."

I looked around, and surely there was a cop walking around the van, looking it up and down. I ducked. There was a bang on the door, so I looked out the window again. They had K-9 units out there, sniffing away. I returned with the ladies.

"K-9s everywhere. Police circling the van," I whispered.

"Oh, my gosh," Jessie said in a hushed tone.

"This is good, this is good." I nodded, Ann was right, We were safe for now. Suddenly, the van took a lurch forward, pushing us around with great force. We slid forward and then slammed against the wall again.

"Not so good anymore," I mumbled, trying to keep myself straight up. Sirens blared, but we just kept going. waving in out of traffic (I think) we all slide from side to side in the van. 

"Lay down," Ann said, flipping to her stomach. Jessie and I followed.

The sirens got louder and louder the further we went, more police joining the chase. We came to a sudden stop, all of us being pushed forward. I squeezed Jessie's hand as tight as my eyes. Then we took off again. A sharp turn was made, the tires screeching.

None of this seemed to phase Philip, though, because he kept driving. We didn't stop again, not matter how loud the sirens and horns got. Either he forgot we were back here, he was desperate to get away from the police or didn't care his cargo is getting brutally beaten.

I was actually petrified. The van gained speed what seemed like every second, and I knew this wasn't safe. Even though we seemed to be dodging every single obstacle, I knew it was just luck. Going this fast and not getting into a wreck was slim to none. At first, I thought I was going to be okay tonight. Then, I thought I would die tonight. After a while, I thought maybe I'd survive tonight. Now, though, I'm almost sure I'd die tonight. Not a single thought was believable about being save. The cops wouldn't catch us, we were going really fast with lots of turned, and I highly doubt they'd be able to keep going for longer. Besides, we'd probably end in a fiery death before they even got close enough to force us to stop. if I knew my physics, I knew a lot of a force would be needed to stop this van in an instant, and not much can add up to this inertia. We had a lot of momentum, and added with that mass, only one thing would stop us. . . a collision. Of course, because of our speed, in the process, we'd be dead.

So I accepted it. I was going to die tonight. and once again, I was helpless.