Chapter 3 - The Midnight Rain
Chloe tossed the wire cutters onto the hood of our dead car.
She laughed and tapped on the windshield with her sharp fingernails.
My father began walking slowly down the front steps.
He still held the silver pistol firmly in his right hand.
Grandma looked around the dark neighborhood desperately.
The rain started pouring down in heavy, freezing sheets.
She told me to climb into the backseat and open the rear passenger door.
I crawled over the leather seats as fast as my injured body would allow.
Grandma kicked her own door open and shoved Chloe backward onto the wet driveway.
I slipped out the other side and grabbed Grandma's hand.
We ran blindly into the stormy night.
We crossed the street and sprinted into the thick woods behind the neighboring houses.
The mud sucked at my ruined party shoes.
My ribs throbbed where the bandages were wrapped too tightly.
We heard my father shouting orders to someone in the distance.
Grandma pulled me behind a massive oak tree to catch our breath.
She pulled a small flashlight from her purse but kept it turned off.
She whispered that we needed to reach the old highway miles away.
I hugged my broken doll tightly against my chest for comfort.
I noticed a strange, hard lump hidden inside the stuffing of the doll.
Before I could investigate, a bright beam of light swept across the trees.
A deep voice ordered us to freeze exactly where we were.
It was not my father.
It was a uniformed police officer pointing a weapon at us.
I felt a massive wave of relief wash over me.
May you like
The officer lowered his flashlight and smiled warmly.
Then he pulled out his radio and told my father he had found the runaways.
