The Hunt

2

Ren was sitting at a vacant table in the corner of the Starbucks, drumming her fingers on the table, nervously glancing around for any sign of the person following her.

She was sure it was a man following her, but she wasn't positive. She hadn't gotten a close enough look to actually analyze them. It all started about three days ago, when the mystery man started following her around. She noticed him trailing behind her car on her way to school but quickly dismissed him as probably another student. And when she was coming back to her car after classes finished, she saw the car he was driving in right next to hers. And he was in the driver's seat, arms crossed, glaring at her.

Ren was sure she had a stalker.

But she had to be extremely careful. One false move and she could be toast. She didn't have any proof to the police that he was following her and, if she were to be openly honest with herself, she didn't want to get in trouble for something that could've been a coincidence.

But this mystery man was no coincidence that she saw him spying on her from her own house, when she went to school, the grocery store, and the Barnes & Nobles where she worked part time. Ren had abandoned all help, kept this a secret from her parents, the police, her best friends, except for Jose Gonzalez, a good friend of hers since she was in preschool.

He was the only one she could trust.

The sound of squealing tires rubbing against pavement caught her attention and she whipped her attention towards the parking lot, seeing a white Ford truck with mud stains spattered across the wheels come to a halt. Her eyes widened.

It was the mystery man's car.

As she expected, her stalker came out of the car, although this time she could see him clearly. He was wearing jeans and a jean jacket along with a black polo shirt beneath it and cowboy boots that looked very Texan accompanied it. He looked like a park ranger, except without the cowboy hat. He had wavy sandy blonde hair and bangs that shadowed most of his eyes. He looked around quickly and strode towards the door, tossing a few cigarettes from his pocket into the trash can outside.

Ren froze, paralyzed with fear. Although this man had done nothing to her except stalk her, she was scared out of her mind. Where the heck was Jose?! He was supposed to be here five minutes ago!

The mystery man glanced around and spotted her, narrowing his eyes on her. It was less than a second that he met eyes with her, but to Ren, it felt like an eternity. He suddenly approached the counter, giving the waitress there a friendly wave and ordered something off the menu. After receiving his latte with thanks and a nod, he sat in the opposite corner of Ren, sipping his drink, watching her intently.

Ren couldn't take it anymore. She had to get out of here.

She quickly scrambled to her feet and out the door. She dashed towards her car, unlocking the door, climbing into the front seat, and jammed her keys into the ignition. She frantically turned and turned repeatedly, trying to start her car.

A string of curses flew out of Ren's mouth as she slammed the steering wheel, tears flying from her eyes. "Come on, come on!"

The mystery man had followed her out of the Starbucks and he had his cloudy eyes focused on her. He was getting closer ... closer ... closer!

Why wouldn't the car start?

"Come on!"