Danger In Vices

Catch Me If You Can

I was running the fastest I possibly could, my feet pounding the sidewalk with every step.

Don't look back.

I was weaving in and out of people - hundreds of people - pushing the occasional person out of the way who wasn't quick enough to dodge me, too busy on their phone. Every time I reached an intersection a car would honk its horn as I leaped in front of them, hoping the driver's reaction time was quicker than that of the pedestrians.

I kept finding myself looking back to see if they were still following me, but the streets were just too crowded to know for sure.

Just keep running.

I ran until I was certain my feet were bleeding. Breathing hard and heavy, I reached my apartment. I was faced with 3 flights of stairs and I cursed my living choices.

After enduring the grueling steps, I locked my door, closed my blinds, and plopped down on my couch.

Finally, a moment of peace.

I grabbed the TV remote and pushed the power button, but nothing happened. I figured it must've been the batteries. I knocked them out and went to the kitchen to search for new ones. All the while I whistled a nameless tune, something I would do to make the silence more bearable. When I finally found the batteries, I turned around and before I knew it, a fist was hitting me in the face. Hard. Then the fist hit me in the stomach, and I hit the ground. Soon, a cloth was being forced over my nose and mouth and no matter how much I squirmed, I couldn't stop it from happening.

That's when the last words I had spoken came back to me.

"Catch me if you can."

I truly thought they couldn't, but it would seem that I thought wrong.