The chase

My breath echoed through the air as I ran. The police siren was approaching again. We had to come up with a plan. I stopped running and just focused on breathing for a moment. Jared and Jeremy stopped when they noticed that I was no longer running with them. Cursing, they turned back and grabbed my arms.

"Let's go!" Jared yelled, pulling me with him. I pulled my hand away and fanned my face with my hand. I looked up at them, my expression somber.

"Everybody split. As soon as they drive towards us, split. On three." Jared nodded and crouched, prepared to run into the trees. They were both standing beside me. I glanced around. There were barely any houses here. Great! No eyewitness account. It was also a flaw. If someone couldn't testify that we weren't murderers, the judge would most likely believe the police officers. Especially, if they added the fact that we tried to escape the law.

Jeremy scratched his head. "They'll catch one of us." I frowned as I turned that thought around in my head, looking at it from every possible angle. There were rules of the chase..right? No, I determined, they wouldn't catch us if we had a plan. Someone had to become bait. I would do it. I was better capable of protecting myself in court and here, if I did get caught.

"Not if you're smart, they don't know what we look like." I reasoned. They nodded in agreement. "Later, come over to my house. We need alibis incase Kita rats us out." I had already begun planning stuff mentally. I would have to cancel my family trip if I became a person of interest in the potential case. I bit my lip nervously. I couldn't let my friends go to jail. The cool breeze teased my face and I looked up at the shiny moon through the thinning trees, oblivious to the fact that I would get the shock of my life, topped with a massive injustice.

The wailing of the police sirens came closer and before long, the headlights were shining at our bodies. They were still too far to see our faces but they were approaching as fast as light. I looked first at Jared, who patted my head. Like the way you would pat your child's head absently if they did a good thing. Then, at Jeremy, who have me a grim nod, his eyes twinkling with laughter. In spite of all the tension in the air, I grinned heartily and took in a deep breath

"One" I murmured slowly, flexing my fingers as the car drew closer, my heart thumping desperately. ".... two..." not long now, the police would grab us any second. "...three!" We took off in opposite directions instantly. With a scurry, Jeremy ran into the bushes at my left, Jared at my right and, with no other option left, I ran down the street. Obviously, the police followed me since I was still in their range of sight. I smirked as I ran. They're so pitifully predictable. The breeze slapped against my face and my legs were getting weaker. I had slowed down, I would have to outsmart them.

Of course, I couldn't outrun a car. By the time the car had gotten closer to me, I stopped abruptly, turned around and ran back up the street. As I sped by the car, I heard Kita screaming. "I'm innocent! Please let me go!" Her cries sounded muffled and I almost turned back to help her. Her screams slowly turned into quiet sobs till they disappeared.

It was a narrow street so by the time they'd turned around, I was long, long gone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I collapsed against my door, breathing heavily. I stuck my hand in my pocket to grab my phone and give Jared and Jeremy a call. My eyes widened as I groped around in my pocket. I'd dropped it. Damn. Frowning, I thought of how I'd get out of this mess if the police got their hands on my phone. That was evidence to implicate me in the crime.

I went into my backyard. It was overgrown with weeds and other unsightly plants. I looked around my community. It was still very early and no one was out. As quiet as a church mouse, I slipped out of my clothes until I was left in undergarments. I put my discarded clothes in a part of my backyard that had the most amount of unsightly weeds. I scurried back into my house, grabbed a box of matches and marched outside. I said a short prayer and lit a match, carefully placing it on my shirt. The flames worked it's way through the clothes they had swallowed it up. I was reminded of the car explosion.

Tearing my eyes away from the burning clothes, I ran into my house and locked all the doors carefully. I had just taken a bath and worn a night gown before I heard two sharp raps on my door. I went downstairs. I opened the door and was prepared to scream when a hand clapped over my mouth. My eyes widened in utter terror.