Catharsis [Novel]

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX  

             No audible warning has been given, nor have they announced their arrival, but I sense a vehicle in the driveway that wasn't there before (The soft purr of a running engine crawls into the back of my ears to tickle me.).  I hear the footsteps of two men (Or rather large women.  Whoever it is weighs well over two hundred pounds.) as they move slowly through the lawn.  Scooping up my bags I scurry over to the back door and hunch against it straining my ears for a hint of who my new guests might be.

            I get nothing for nearly a minute as they walk around the house shining flashlights through the windows and never saying a word.  Then a soft crackle from the car alerts me to their identity as I hear a radio dispatcher ask for an update.

            "The police!" I hiss and look around the kitchen for any alarms I might have set off.  Nothing catches my attention as I look around at the doors and windows for the tell-tale magnetic alarm boxes.  Must have been a neighbor, I realize and hope that they didn't see how I got into the place.

            Should I try to flee and run past them?  I wonder.  Or would staying put and waiting them out work best?  What if they find me and I have to fight my way free?  I pause to consider that.  Do I hurt them?  Can I afford to not hurt them?  As the questions skip across my frontal cortex, I can feel my body reacting to the stress of the situation. 

            It's a pleasant reaction.

            My heart is slowing down and my muscles are relaxing.  Instead of quickening, my breathing decelerates into long, slow inhales that flood my brain with information about my surroundings.  Unconsciously, I find myself leaning towards the crack between the door and the frame so as to take in as much of the outside air as possible with each breath.  The house has gone silent around me except for whatever I can hear from the other side of the door.  My body has become completely relaxed and ready to move at a moment's notice, and the worry has left my body.  I am ready for whatever I need to do.  For whatever the situation will call for.  Not only am I ready, but I am anticipating it.

            I want to do this.  I need to do this.

            Shifting the bags slowly until most of the awkward weight is in my left arm, I set the lone bag of dog food gently onto the ground with my right.  Reaching up, I slowly unlock the deadbolt and twist the handle until I can feel its resistance give and I know the door is ready to be opened.  As I crack the door slightly, I inhale deeply and taste the air.  They aren't close.  One of them has moved by here recently, but neither is on the back side of the house with me now.  Grabbing the dog food again, I ease the door the rest of the way open.  I don't even look around once outside as I’ve come to trust my nose and my instincts.  I turn, set the dog food down, reach inside and lock the door behind me, then pull it shut all in one move. 

            I'm now outside-with the cops-with nothing to shelter me aside from the dark and a few trees.  The energy pulsing through me is exhilarating and far more enjoyable than it has any right to be.  I am not a thrill-seeker.  I don't like most roller coasters (I can do wooden ones, but as soon as they go upside down I'm ready to jump out of my skin.  That's just not a natural thing for a vehicle to do.).  Evading police isn't something that should make me this happy.

            But it does.

            Picking the bag back up, I turn and silently lope across a few backyards (No fences in this neighborhood.  Must be an odd local ordinance.) before stopping next to a backyard swing set and shimmying my way into a large play set (It reeks of child, but that isn't something to worry about right now.).

            Watching the house I had just fled, I realize not only am I not being followed, but I don't think they even realize I was there.  My escape was that easy.

            Too easy.

            Well, not "too easy" as in it’s-a-trap-and-they're-waiting-for-me easy, but more like I-wanted-exciting-and-that-wasn't-exciting easy.

            My body is still tingling from the run and the escape, but I don't want to leave.  I want to see just how much I can do right now with my body hyped up.  I want to go back.

            Good idea?  Definitely not.

            Exciting and fun?  Well, only one way to find out.