*
Simon ran inan all-out sprint, trying to find where the hell she was. He thought he knew which path she was on; he swore he knew which path, but it looked like he was one below her, and just enough distance separated them that he couldn’t tell what was going on. He heard a voice yelling somewhere. But he heard no shots, no second voice. So, at the moment, it looked like it was just the one attacker. He heard another couple run off on a different path. He quickly retraced his steps and realized that a hook off to the left went higher up the hill. He hadn’t thought that’s where the murders were, but, for all he knew, that’s where Kate was. At least it would give him a better vantage point.
With a stitch forming in his side and his lungs gasping for air, Simon continued to pound up the hill, until he got to the top, where he could look around. And down below somehow, he wasn’t even sure how, he saw a man standing there, flailing his arms up in the air, talking to the trees. Simon frowned as he studied that. And then he saw the path that he’d missed.
He carefully retraced his steps, coming out on the path just down below the tree-talking man. The jogging couple were already past Simon and past the other guy, the pair happilyheading off down the path on their morning run. Simon checked the parking lot, and nobody else was coming or going that he saw. He made his way toward the man, running as if he were just out for a casual jog. He watched as the man darted into the trees and hid. Simon continued past, totally ignoring him.
As soon as he got around the corner, Simon slipped behind a tree himself. There he waited and then carefully backtracked through the brush, trying to give as wide a berth as possible and to not make a sound. Then he stopped, as he saw no sign of either of them.
He pulled out his phone. With it on Silent mode, quickly sent her a text.I’m here. Where the hell are you?And when no answer came, he pocketed his phone and crept forward ever-so-quietly.
Then he heard a man speak.
“There you are.”
He froze because the voice sounded so damn close by. He turned and looked around but saw no one. Taking a chance, he stood up, but again nobody was visible. With the brush and bushes as high as they were, there was no shortage of places to hide here. With every step Simon made, something broke and snapped under his feet. A tree was right beside him, so he quickly grabbed a low branch and swung himself up, which made a little bit of noise, but it wasn’t terrible. He hid in the branches as he studied the area, moving the tree fronds around gently, trying to see where Kate and the attacker were.
At least he assumed it was an attacker, but, for all he knew, it was just a crazy man out having a talk with his psychosis because he forgot to take his medication. It wouldn’t be the first time, and it wouldn’t be the last. The morning light was starting to get brighter and brighter, and he thought there would be a lot more runners at this hour, but it was Saturday, and maybe people were more inclined to sleep in on the weekends, instead of getting out here and hitting the path.
After he heard the man’s voice, he heard a woman call out.
“You missed me.”
And he swore it was Kate.
A weird laugh came from the brush. And then a man bounded onto the path. “Well, you’re here somewhere,” he yelled. “I can hear you. Come out, come out, wherever you are.” He practically chortled. “You know I can’t let you live after this.”
Complete silence came afterward.
Simon didn’t know what he could do, but, thinking instinctively, he closed his mind and opened up his senses, sending out a message.Run. Run down the hill, away from this asshole. Run, damn it. Run.
Almost as if she had actually heard the message, Simon heard sounds of somebody bolting down the hillside, running flat-out, and halfway sliding through the brush.
The man stood in the pathway and started yelling, “No, no, no! You can’t go that way. You have to go up here.” And he headed after her.
Simon wasted no time. Jumping off the limb, he headed down the same path with the man in front. If the guy got a hold of Kate, at least Simon wouldn’t be far behind.
His knee took a beating as his feet hit that first landing and then skittered even faster down the hill. Kate and her attacker were leaving quite a pathway, and that was good because, if anybody could help right now, they needed to know where the hell this would all end up. He wanted to call for backup for her sake, but he didn’t have a chance, and he didn’t dare take time out to make a call. He would have had to stop and find a way to balance because they were literally sliding down the side of the hill.
Up ahead, he heard the man roaring, but his words were indistinguishable.
No way to speed up, but, hell, no way to slow down either. The only thing Simon could do was let his body weight throw him down the hillside. When he came to a sudden stop on top of a large rock down at the bottom, he was stunned for a moment, the wind knocked out of him. And then he felt a gun at his neck. He slowly rolled over to see a man standing above him, the gun now pointed at his temple. He looked up at him in surprise. “What the hell, man?”
“Why are you following me?”
“I thought you were hurt. I thought you were in trouble,” Simon said, trying to come up with an excuse. He slowly lifted himself to his feet, limping ever so slightly as he stabilized himself, holding his stomach where it had plummeted hard against the rock.
The man just stared at him. “You weren’t chasing me?”
“Shit no, I was just out here for a run, and I heard yelling and saw you go down over the hill.”
The guy looked at him uncertainly. “Do I know you?”
Simon immediately shook his head. “No. I don’t think I’ve ever met you before.” Looking at the gun, he said, “Would you mind putting that thing away? I’m really not here to hurt you.” Then he took a step back and winced. “Shit, there goes that knee.”
“Man, the fucking knees are the worst,” the man noted. “My knee has been buggered up for years.”
“Are you running on bum knees then?” Simon asked, with feigned surprise.