Gravel crunched beneath her feet as she ran towards the shelter. Her breathing became heavier realizing that her pursuer was still close behind. After escaping she had only moments to decide what her next steps were going to be. She was in the middle of nowhere and the chances of finding help were almost nonexistent. There was a shelter located at the bottom of the hill where an abandoned highway rest stop sat. All she knew as she thrust herself forward was that she had to get to that shelter. Somehow she would lock herself in and then figure out the rest. The ground was getting steeper, and she was gaining speed—if she wasn’t careful she was going to fall. Her foot caught the edge of a hole and she stumbled, but caught herself. Finally she reached the bottom of the incline and bolted to the shelter door. All she could hope was that there was a lock on the opposite side.
She pushed the heavy wooden door open and threw it shut behind her. She only had seconds, and her eyes desperately searched for a lock. At the top right corner there was a hook, she grabbed it and put it in place, hoping that would be enough to keep any intruders out.
As she backed up she heard fists hitting the door from outside. He finally caught up. Her heart sank as she turned around and looked at her surroundings. She was standing in a male’s bathroom. Three urinals were still in the wall to the right and one had cracked off and now remained in shambles upon the floor. There were two small windows in the back with wood planks as shades. The sunlight filtered in exposing tremendous amounts of dust swirling around due to her disturbance.
“This is it,” she thought. She would either stay in this room till she died, until he found a way in, or on the lightest note: until he gave up and left. She didn’t think the last was very likely but she found herself hoping, praying that it would come down to that. She fought herself into thinking she could somehow escape through the back without him realizing what she was doing. Her options were limited. Thirsty, she walked over to one of the dust infested sinks and turned the faucet. A brown trickle of water escaped followed by a steady flow of clear water. She eagerly bent down and cupped her hands for the water. The water floated over her tongue and down her throat, relaxing her. She looked up into her deep blue eyes and shuddered. She still was locked in a bathroom. Her lips quivered and parted as her eyes swelled with tears.
Suddenly the pounding at the door stopped and she could hear rocks and dirt being disturbed. Fearfully she looked down at the door and the floor. The floor was not concrete. It was merely hardened dirt due to years of being trampled on. Light began to show where the door and ground met. She gasped. He was trying to get to her by going under the door.
“Is that even possible?” she asked herself softly. Regretting speaking out loud, he answered her.
“If it is I’m about to find out!” replied the man in a harsh tone. He continued digging and she immediately began looking for an exit through a window. She stood on her tippy toes, her old converses bending beneath her weight. Her finger tips just barely reached the bottom plank, but that was enough and she pulled. Using all her weight she managed to rip one side of the plank loose. A tiny bit of hope surfaced in her, and that was all she needed to continue. She grasped the end of the board and pulled. It broke free, and she carefully placed it on the ground. The last thing she needed was to alert the man of her plan.
Her only significant problem now was hoisting herself up through the petite opening. She wasn’t sure if it was even quite possible. She grabbed the middle piece of wood and pulled. It wouldn’t budge. She tried again and it moved slightly but still nothing monumental. Perspiration began to form on her forehead as she used all of her strength and pulled harder. She was struggling for her life. Nothing would stop her from pulling this board free.
Unexpectedly the digging stopped and she whipped around. A tall tan man stood in front of her clutching a knife. The hook on the door swung freely. He had forcefully pushed the knife through the crevice and let himself in. A grin spread across his face revealing a horrific smile. She swallowed, and backed up knowing that this was her fate.
Two days later
The sky was beautiful, clouds were limited and birds flew freely towards the horizon. I breathed in the irresistible aroma of the sun. Today seemed to be almost too perfect, I never wanted it to end. I turned around and saw Dustin heading towards me. His eyes glittered blue in the sun as he walked up to me and scooped me in his arms. I smiled at him, and we turned away from each other hand in hand and began to walk. We had left the day prior for a road trip to nowhere, and stopping where ever we pleased on the way. Perhaps it was kind of spur of the moment, but that was the extraordinary thing about it.
We had pulled off the interstate almost an hour prior, not being able to resist this scenery. Behind us lay a navy blue blanket that we had spread, and a large cooler filled with water. It was my idea to get up and venture out to enjoy more of the sloping hills. Dustin reluctantly agreed.
“Skip with me,” I said and began hopping. Dustin looked at me in wonder.
“Liz, you never cease to amaze me.” Dustin replied.
“Thanks,” I said, smiling back up at him. He gave in and began to skip with me in the most masculine way imaginable. We were approaching a narrow path and decided to follow it. The trees beautifully provided a canopy above us, dimming the path but leaving beams of light coming at all directions. It was absolutely breathtaking. I turned towards him in hopes to sneak a kiss, but his attention was elsewhere.
“Liz?” he breathed.
“What Dustin?” I said leaning to follow his gaze.
“Can you see that?” he asked, a shadow crossing his handsome face. I stood on my tippy toes and finally saw what he was looking at. At first it didn’t seem to be anything quite too strange. Some girl perhaps just left her jacket while she and whomever she was with was out roaming around just like Dustin and I. I looked back at Dustin and that’s when it registered with me that I was entirely missing something.
“What is it Dustin? It’s just a girl’s jacket…” I said in hope that that was all that I was seeing.
“Liz.. Don’t you see the blood?” he said. I squinted. The red display on the jackets front I had mistaken as an artistic paint design. I gasped. It clearly was blood. Dustin released my hand and slowly approached the jacket. He then pulled the cuff of his sleeve down his hand and picked the jacket up careful not to touch it.
The jacket was dirty but it was apparent the rust colored stains conquering most of the jacket was blood. It was stiff, and clearly dry. I looked from the jacket to him, hoping he would have some answers to what to do.
He dropped the jacket where he had found it and turned to me. As our eyes met we both knew we were thinking the same thing: whomever the jacket belonged to was no longer alive. I began to speak but Dustin reached for me and held me in an embrace. Reaching for my cell phone it was clear to me that we were this only girls hope, if she were alive. I had zero bars, and looking around it wasn’t exactly shocking: we were literally nowhere.
“Lets follow the path... if she’s alive she couldn’t be too far… could she?” I asked, he looked at me with remorse. I knew what he was thinking, he was thinking about the alternative. What if she wasn’t alive?
Cautiously we walked down the gravel trail that lined a steep hill. Not too distant there was a building however clearly abandoned. My first presumption was that it was an old barn of some sort, possibly far from the owners’ home. However as we approached the structure it became clear that it was not a barn, but a shelter from a rest stop.
“What happens if we find her?” I asked, looking up at him and slowing my pace.
“I don’t know Liz, but I don’t want to stay down here long. We need to get back to the road and call the police.” Dustin said, glancing at his cell phone. His service was worse and he hadn’t bothered checking it before.
I looked around and there was nothing for miles other than trees and grassy hills. From down here the area looked completely vacant. I sighed and grabbed his hand pulling him towards the shelter. We saw a door marked “Women’s” and I pulled Dustin to it. Regardless of sex, I was not going in there without him. He didn’t fight my wanting him to come with me so I let off and we warily entered. Dust covered the floor, leaves had settled from years of abandonment. However something made the room feel alive.
Dustin let go of my hand and went to the last stall. He lifted his hand and slowly pressed the door open. I held my breath and waited. His eyes shifted and he let out a sigh. He turned back to me releasing the door.
“Well?” I asked him, impatient with why he went to the stall to begin with.
“I don’t know... call me stupid, but it always seems like in horror movies, someone is hiding behind the bathroom stall.” He said bashfully. I laughed at him, and then apologized. There was a girls jacket covered in blood just up the hill, this was no laughing matter.
“Alright well, this place is making me feel strange. Can we get out of this musty bathroom already?” I pushed the door open and stepped into the warm sun.
“Let’s check the back,” Dustin said, “there is probably a men’s restroom.”
We turned around the corner and sure enough, Dustin was right. There was a men’s restroom, but it looked entirely different compared to the women’s. The door hung on its hinges, and there was a small amount of gravel in a pile next to the door that had been removed from beneath. I stepped back and stayed behind Dustin as he went forward.
“Liz stay out here, I’m going in.” Dustin said, and slowly entered the men’s restroom. I watched him enter and slowly approached the side of the door. Dustin stood in the middle of the room completely unaware of my presence. My mouth dropped when I saw the blood streak across the floor. In the back I could see windows, one badly disturbed, all of its shades removed but one.
Dustin turned around and walked out of the bathroom. He stood next to me for a few moments in silence.
“Liz, we need to get out of here,” he said, “now.”
“Okay, lets, please. I can’t stand this place. I can’t stand thinking about all the possibilities of what could have happened down here. This is out of the books Dustin, this can’t be real.” I said, wrapping my arms around myself even though it was warm outside. Towards the horizon clouds started to form, an ugly foreboding.
We quickened our pace up the hill and stopped where the jacket was—where the jacket should have been. I gasped. This wasn’t right, Dustin put the jacket down.
“Dustin,” I paused, “wasn’t the jacket right over there?” I said pointing. He looked at me and nodded. We instantly both knew we were not alone.
“Liz, we really need to get out of here now.” As he spoke his words we heard a rustling of leaves. Whoever was out here with us was joining us on our path out. I huddled against Dustin, prepared to face a savage murderer. My heart plummeted into my stomach, and Dustin held me tightly.
Twigs broke beneath the stranger’s feet, as they came into view. I stood in awe. Dustin’s grip loosened, and before us stood a girl no more than a few years older than us. Her hair was disheveled, and her eyes wide and blue. In her hand she clutched the jacket covered in blood. Finally she spoke, “Help me, please.” She stammered, unable to hold back her tears.
“Are you hurt?” I asked suddenly feeling ridiculous, of course she had to be hurt—her jacket was evidence enough! Her response shocked me however,
“No, I’m not hurt. All I want to do is go home.” She responded, her lip quivering.
“Come with us,” Dustin responded, “We have plenty of room and we can call the police as soon as we get to the road.” The girl hesitated. I wasn’t sure quite why, but then she agreed. She couldn’t possibly think that were bad people? Or maybe it wasn’t us, maybe the cops where who she feared.
She followed us up the path keeping her distance. As we neared Dustin’s silver convertible I saw the girl glancing back cautiously. She was acting quite peculiar however considering her circumstances what was normal for her situation? I started for the passenger’s door and saw Dustin turn away from his car. He quickly went over to our blanket stretched out in the grass and balled it up in a hurry then grabbing the cooler. “Would you like some water?” Dustin asked the girl, bending down to open the cooler.
“Yea, thank you.” She responded, taking a bottle of water in her hands. Dustin reached out for my hand, his hand wet from the bottle. With his other hand he got out his cell phone, and sure enough he had no service. I reached into my back right pocket and got my cell phone out. I had two bars, which seemed enough to be able to call the police. I went to dial 911, when the girl spoke up,
“Is it okay if we don’t call the police just yet?” She asked, her eyes breaking our connection and glancing to the ground.
I looked at Dustin, he clearly didn’t get it either. This girl had to be hiding something. “I guess, if that’s what you want,” I said. She looked back up at me, her eyes agreeing. Dustin led me to the trunk and he shoved the blanket and cooler in. While the hood was up, blocking us from the girls view, he leaned into me and said,
“Liz, something’s up with this chick, it’s creeping me out. What is she hiding?” He slammed the trunk shut, and we headed back over to the girl.
“I can sit in the back if you want,” I said, “It’s really no big deal.” I opened the passenger’s door. She didn’t argue, so I lifted myself into the back seat.
Once all of us were settled in the car Dustin backed out and turned around, taking the dirt road to the interstate. A few moments of silence followed and the girl spoke up, “Look, I don’t expect you guys to understand, but what happened down there I just want to forget. I wasn’t kidnapped; I was hitch hiking, and was dropped off over here because I got in an argument with the driver. I got bored and wandered.” She went into more detail of what happened…
Two days earlier
The girl was horrified. The man slowly approached her as if gaining some kind of sick pleasure from prolonging the moment of his attack. Quickly she ran forward searching for a passage of escape. The knife was clutched in his right hand, and she went to the left of him. He stood in shock, clearly confused of what she was attempting. She pushed past him and as she did she heard him yell out. Knowing she would regret it, she looked back as she made her way out of the door. As she pushed past him she had collided with the arm in which his hand clutched the knife. The knife swiped him cleanly down his shirt. Blood was flowing from his chest. She was shocked in how careless this man was and she ran.
Her mind ran with her with crazy thoughts of what would happen if he caught up to her. The man was now beyond furious and she had the idea his intent was to kill. If it hadn’t been before, it was now. She flung herself up the hill towards a gravel trail. Having no idea where to run she just kept going until she was off the trail and overheated she threw her blood soaked jacket down and continued into the woods in the opposite direction. She considered running up to the dirt path, perhaps the man had a car, but she knew she wouldn’t be able to hot wire a car.
Now deep in the woods she slowly hiked down but she slipped her arms flying out before her, but it wasn’t enough and she fell. Her head made a sick thwack as it hit the ground. She lost consciousness instantly.
When she woke it was dark, and her head throbbed, the pain pulsating down her neck. Her hand reached up and touched her forehead. A trickle of blood crept onto her fingers. She moaned and looked at her surroundings. The woods were silent other than an assortment of insect and animal sounds in perfect harmony. The tenseness she felt earlier had left her, and finally she felt alone.
Fatigue consumed her and she drifted into a peaceful sleep snuggled on the forest floor. Hours later she woke, her head still faintly throbbing. She picked herself up slowly, and tried to figure out what direction she had come from. She began to wander, hoping to find her way out. A shadow of dread crossed her thoughts as she realized that the man could still be attempting to seek her out.
Two days later
“Until I saw you two, I was lost in my own mind. I was filled with worry, and was scared, what if the guy was really hurt? I knew it was self defense but I didn’t want to think of the possibility of what I was responsible for,” She said sadly. I didn’t know if we should believe her, but if she was lying she deserved a golden globe for her performance.
It was getting dark; we had been driving for about 2 hours, when we passed a small town. She asked us to take the exit and let her out. We obliged.
When she stepped out of the car I claimed my seat next to Dustin. We wished her good luck and she just looked at us speechless. As we pulled back onto the highway I realized we never even learned her name.
As we drove to our destination we decided not to stop anywhere that wasn’t populated. Going off the map was now off limits for us.
Not until I got home later that week, and thought about it, did I realize that she could have committed a heinous crime and gotten away with it. Would anyone else venture out there and see the blood in the men’s bathroom? She took the jacket, which I supposed was evidence. For weeks I looked for men’s missing ads, but I knew she could have lied, it could have been anyone.
I had suggested to Dustin that we call the cops and report it, but given the information we had what would we say? We saw a girl, that we don’t have a name for, and transported her to a town we also don’t know the name of? Plus what would the cops find when they went down to that stop? They could find possibly an unsubstantial amount of blood on the bathroom floor? Or maybe it was enough blood that whoever shed it would be dead. We didn’t know and we pushed it to the back of our mind.
