The Spare To The Throne

Chapter 10: Safe Promise

The morning chirps of birds rung in the air as the sun's mellow colors of orange, pink and yellow began to rise in the sky like a blooming flower opening its petals. I huffed and and stopped to take a breath. I had been hiking through the woods all night long without rest and my legs burned, feeling as if it would give out on me any moment now. Bending over, I rest my hands on my knees, panting.

Without a doubt, I knew that I was far away from Romeo's house. The sound of many cars driving past one another caused me to perk my head up.

"I'm close." I whispered.

I suddenly felt rejuvenated and full of energy. Ignoring my throbbing chest, and pained aching body, I began to sprint. I ran as fast as I could towards the sound of a street. Gliding and swerving through tree branches, the sound of cars got increasingly louder. I smiled to myself.

This is it Farrah, this is it.

The sun was now fully in the sky now, bursting its golden colors and warmth for all to see and feel. My smile grew into a grin as I now neared the edge of the forest. A one way street was now in view and I watched in awe as several different colored cars raced by. A trailer honked its horn to a car as it roared by.

A metal railing by the side of the road barricaded the road from the woods. Carefully, I climbed over the railing, making sure to stay on the small lane in which vehicles only pulled over if they were to break down or have some kind of accident.

I huffed, tired and weakened but happy at the same time. Up the road, was a small red gas station that had only three to four customers at the moment. Farther up the road was a super market along with many other stores. I began limping towards the gas station. If I could just get ahold of a phone to call Mason, I could ask him for help.

The walk to the gas station felt like eternity. A middle-aged woman who was currently pumping gas into her blue Volkswagen looked at me and then took a double take. Curiosity filled her eyes as I already knew what she was probably thinking.

What happened to her?

Ignoring her looks along with many other bystanders' ride stares, I swing open the door to the gas station. Apart from me and the cashier, only one other person was currently in the store.

Thank God...

I limped over to the cashier. "Hi uh, d-do you h-happen to h-have a phone I c-could p-possibly borrow for a few minutes?" I stammered, feeling weak and tired. "I promise it'll only take a couple of minutes."

The man behind behind the desk stared at me with pity. The corner of his eyes crinkled as he squinted at me with a worried look. "I'm sorry, were you just in an accident."

I refrained from rolling my eyes. I couldn't possibly look that bad. "Yes," I say, not wanting to explain myself to him. "I was, but I'm fine. Now could I please b-borrow a p-phone." I asked pleadingly.

The guy gave me another glance from head to toe. "Maybe you should go to a hospital. Let me call the police or an ambulance for-"

"No!" I cut him off. I let out an exasperated breath, looking over my shoulder at the one customer in the store who was now holding a bag of chips and staring at me and the cashier.

I lowered my voice. "I really appreciate your concern," I say. "I really do. But I'm fine. I just need to borrow a cell phone."

It took a minute or two but the cashier finally nodded his head slowly, understandingly. He dug deep into his inside pocket, before withdrawing and Iphone and unlocking it. I watched silently as he thumbed the screen, opening the dialing app. He handed me the phone and I took it gratefully. "Thank you." I mouth to him.

Walking to a corner of the store that would make my conversation inaudible to the cashier and the shopping customer, I dial Mason's memorized number in my head. My hands trembled as I held the phone up to my ear.

It rang once.......twice........three times, and then.......

"Hello?"

A part of me wanted to cry at the sound of his voice.

"Mason," I say, with tears brimming my eyes.

"Farrah?" His voice was now filled with concernment snd tension. "Farrah?" He says again. "Are you okay? Why haven't you been picking up my calls? You sound hurt."

"It's a long story and I promise to tell you later, but you have to trust me okay?"

There was silence on the end of the line, and then I heard shuffling. "Farrah are you hurt?" He asked. "Why are you calling me from this number?"

"I need you to get me a plane ticket," I say, completely ignoring his questions. "To Cali, I need a plane ticket to Cali."

"I need to know what happened to you Farrah. It's the only way you're gonna get me to do anything-"

"I was kidnapped." I quickly rush, peering over my shoulder to make sure no one heard me. Mason was known to be stubborn. He always wanted to be know things and be filled with information about something, even during a crisis.

I could already envision the worry in Mason's eyes at the moment.

"Kidnapped," he whispered. "My God, Farrah are you okay? When was this? Do you remember the person who did it? What did his face look like? Or was it a her?" He continued to bombarde me with so many questions, I couldn't keep up. My head felt heavy and dizzy at the same time, so I rested it against a nearby wall. "Did they hurt you? I'm going to kill whoever did this to you." His voice emitted nothing but anger.

"That's great, Mason." I said. "It really is, but could you kill him after you send me a plane ticket?" I asked impatiently. My head was now throbbing and my legs felt as if they would give out any moment from now.

"So its a him." He said as a trail of thought.

I could hear Mason moving around on the other end of the line, followed by the fast typing of keyboards on a computer.

"I'm sending your ticket now Farrah, you're staying with me and Chelsey as soon as you get here."

The sound of fingers hitting keyboards ferociously suddenly stopped. "First class," he says. "I've sent it to your phone, but it's in three day, don't know why."

I closed my eyes and smile gratefully although Mason couldn't see it. "You still there?" His voice asked, laced with worry.

I nodded my head yes but face palm myself, remembering he couldn't see me. "Yeah, it's fine." I say, tired. "Thank you."

"You should call the police." He continued.

"Trust me," I say. "They wouldn't do anything."

Neither of us talked as silence fell upon us both. "Hey, do me a favor?"

"Anything." He muttered.

"Don't tell mom and dad about this."

I knew he would understand. Our parents didn't need this type of stress at their old age. I don't need dad having another heart attack right now or ever.

"Sure, Farrah."

I let out another sigh. "I have to go now Mason, I'll see you in a few days."

"Promise me you'll stay safe Farrah." Mason says through the phone.

I give a sad smile. "I promise."