Little Kid's Horror Stories

Chapter 7 - Escape and Discovery

The Escape

There was another loud moan of pain and outside the shed Penny and the boys began shouting in fear. Charlotte's blood chilled when she heard Heddy scream and she waved her arms helplessly not knowing what to do.

"Someone has to go for help." John said weakly.

"You should go, Miss Huddie, " Dobbs said. "Maybe you can get your phone working out on the highway. I'll stay here and see what we can do."

Charlotte shook her head and began to protest when Heddy burst out of the house and fell down into the yard.

"He's coming! He's coming!"

"HEDDY!" They all quickly ran to the breathless girl, holding and touching and talking at once.

Now would be a good time to get out of here." Dobbs shouted, dragging the still wobbly John toward the front of the house.

The mob piled into the van, all shouting and yelling for Charlotte to hurry and start driving. From the back of the house they heard the roar of a motor and John yelled out a warning about a motorcycle. Charlotte yanked the van into gear and cranked the wheel, sending dirt and grass spraying in a wide arc as the vehicle tilted to one side and bolted down the drive.

"It's him! He's got a bike," Dobbs warned, watching their pursuer out the back of the van.

"Head for Eldora, it's the closest," John said.

The van careened out onto the highway and the passengers all slid to a heap on one side. "Fasten those belts!" Charlotte shouted, hunching over the wheel and clamping her teeth tight.

The motorbike exploded onto the highway in a cloud of dirt and dust, the wheels skidding left and right before straightening out.

The front wheel came off the ground and Dillard yelled, "Wow! Keen!" Impressed with Haggard's wheelie.

"He's gaining, Miss Huddie," Dobbs sounded understandably worried.

"I can't outrace a motorbike in this," Charlotte said.

"Open the back window," Penny said, climbing over the seat to the storage space.

"What? Why?"

"Just open Miss Huddie, please."

Charlotte pressed the button on the door panel and the rear window slid down allowing the roar of the motorbike to send a shiver down her spine. Penny rooted around in the carton on the floor and grabbed a handful of the contents.

"Slow down a bit and let him get closer."

"What! Slow down! What are you doing, Penny?"

Heddy yelped a laugh and scrambled over the seat with her sister. "I know! Do it Miss Huddie. Do it!"

Reluctantly, Charlotte eased up on the gas and the bike seemed to fly toward the back of the van. She glanced in the mirror and felt her throat tighten.

"NO! Oh no, Penny. Don't . . ."

Counting to three, both Heddy and Penny tossed two armfuls of clothes from Miss Huddie's carton out the rear window. Haggard didn't have a chance. A print skirt caught the wind and billowed through the air, draping itself over his helmet. Frantically he swiped at the garment as several other items landed on his hands, lap and the front fender. A rather pretty leather belt, still in the light pink walking shorts that stuck just under the front fender, whipped around and wedged its buckle in the spokes.

There was a loud screeching sound as the wheel was wrenched from Haggard's grasp and the bike, trailing Miss Huddie's wardrobe, shot across the road, into a ditch and slammed noisily into a tree. Charlotte slammed on the brakes and skidded the van to a rocking halt that gave the passengers a broadside view of the crash and Haggard's trajectory through the trees to a crunching halt against a large boulder.