Not my usual type of story.
Wrong place, wrong time, Ella could not think of a situation
that was better described by that over used phrase. All she wanted in life was
to fall in love, start a family and run her flower shop. She had always had an
affinity for flowers, growing them, arranging them, deciding which scents
worked best with each other. On this particular day she was dropping off a
bunch of arrangements for a dinner at a hotel. She got all of the flowers
unloaded and the center places on the tables. Ella got into the van and drove
away. Heading back to the shop to start the flowers for the wedding on Friday.
She glanced in the rearview mirror and saw him.
He was at least six feet tall and looked like he could tip a
bull. But even more concerning was the gun pointing at her.
“Drive,” That was all he said. It came out more as a growl rather
than a word.
Ella had no choice. She drove.
“Where do you want me to drive to?” She didn’t want to do
anything to endanger herself or anyone else.
“Just keep driving. I don’t give a damn where you go.” She
was a bit thrown off. He didn’t seem to have a plan in place, which made him
even more dangerous.
She kept driving, looking behind her regularly to see if he
was still holding that gun, he was. After about fifteen he finally spoke again.
“Get us out of the city. How much gas do you have in this tank?”
“I have about half a tank. We should be able to drive a
couple of hundred miles.” Ella knew her voice was shaking, but what did she
expect, she was driving a lunatic around.
“Good, that’s good. Hopefully, by the time we get that far
they will be off on a wild goose trace.” He looked relieved.
“Um…who?” She hoped that if she kept him calm and talking
she would make it out of here alive.
“The bastards that tried to double cross me. Did the idiots
really think I wouldn’t notice the cops surrounding the place. Somebody tipped
them off.” He was starting to get worked up, that was definitely not the plan.
She needed to find a different tact.
“Are you hurt? There is a first aid kit back there. I tend
to nick myself a lot with my shears and on the rose thorns. It is in the
cupboard to your left on the middle shelf.” There, that should not bring on
more anger, at least not towards her.
“Thanks,” he opened the cupboard and pulled out the kit. As
he shrugged out of this black leather jacket he let out a groan and flinched. There
was blood, a lot of blood. She kept looking behind her to check on what he was
doing. He began to clean it up with some of the clothes in the back of the van.
Then he took the towel from the kit and tied it tightly around the wound. It
should stop the bleeding.
By this time, they were outside of the city and about fifty
miles from anywhere with help. “We are going to need fuel soon and I still have
no idea where we are going. Now I am more than okay with driving as long as you
want me to, as long as you don’t shoot me, but I would like to know where I am
going.”
“Where are we now?” He looked around, trying to get his
bearings.
“We are fifty miles from Glenville.”
“What is Glenville?”
“It is a tiny town about a hundred miles from the city. There
is nothing but a few houses and a gas station.”
“Perfect, pull in and fill the tank. I will give you more
instructions then.”
She was nothing if not good at following directions. Especially
when her life was on the line.
He had her pull over near a power plant on the side of the road.
He forced her to get out first and followed her behind a small shed. He looked
at her, “I’m sorry.”
Those were the last words she ever heard.
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