Afraid

I was in the trunk of a car and by the sound of the tires squealing and my body hitting both sides of the car, we must have going at high speed. I had a smelly cloth tied over my head. First thing I did was get it off and away from my nose. Thankful they did not tie my hands and legs.

I had been walking to the store when a car pulled up beside me asking me directions. I stopped walking answering as best I could, not knowing the street they were asking for. If it had been a van, I would not have gotten as close to the window, but before I had a chance to yell or run the passenger was out and had me around the neck pushing me into the trunk. How many times had I told my pupils never to go near a car if they did not know who was in it.  

I started to bang the rear lights. After what seemed like hours, I kept my feet right on, the light and hit it as hard as I could. My ankles and feet were getting numb. Finally it popped out. They had slowed down some and I wondered if they could hear my noise. I was afraid of what would happen when they stopped the car.

It sounded like we were on gravel and I could hear voices, I started banging on the lid of the trunk. I heard a strong voice telling someone to open the trunk. A gun shot. 
Then the trunk opened and all I could see was one of the men lying on the ground bleeding from the chest and the other in hand cuffs. A policeman gave me his hand to help me out. I wished it had been me who fired.

I had to go to court and testify. The fellow who had been shot died on the way to the hospital and the other one was charged with kidnapping. He was sentenced to ten years as he pleaded no contest and said he was only the driver and was not aware of what his friend had in mind. His brother got on the stand and gave a raving report of how good a person he was and had never been in trouble with the law before.

I did not know at the time that the brother had many charges against him and had spent a few years in jail. That did not come out at trial. 
However, he came to visit me and told me to recant my statement in favour of his brother as they were going after a re-trial and he would be paying me a visit late one night if I did not.

Was I going to have to live in fear for the next ten years or more? Should I go to the police and file a complaint or handle this myself? I lived alone in a small house on a dead-end street, no neighbours close and trees surrounded me. I had always enjoyed my privacy and was not going to let this criminal change my life.

The phone calls started late at night and continued for the next month. The phone would ring and when I picked up silence and heavy breathing.  Then a rock came crashing through my kitchen window in the middle of the night. I phoned the police and they came and looked around in my garden. They thought it might be kids just trying to scare me until I told them what had been happening since the trial. They boarded up the window and said they would try to get footprints the next day. Then would send patrols past through the night. 
On the other hand, would I like to go to a hotel until they got who was doing this? I told them I knew it was the brother and why did it not come out in the trial that he was an ex-convict?

I started to believe the police could not protect me. Being summer, I was off work and a plan began to form in my mind.  The re-trial neared. 

The next day the phone rang, a whispered voice told me I should not become involved with the police and this was my last warning. I was going to pay for doing it.  I was sure he would come late at night and try to get into my house, killing me so I could not re-testify in the morning.  The police told me they would come by every hour that night but I had seen them cruise by, hardly looking at my house.

I prepared for the night ahead, taking my sleeping bag and hiding it between the trees of my house where the brush was thick. Using some wire, I attached some tiny bells to my plants at the back and front doors. I would hear him arrive. I hid all my kitchen knives, and potential weapons that he could use against me, only putting my new gun in my hip holster. I would never be without this until this man was gone from my life, one way or another.

I made two thermoses of coffee and some snacks inside a pack sack. It was going to be a long night. I dressed in dark cloths as the sun went down and dusk settled in. No moon tonight. I was sure he would make the move soon to stop me from testifying  tomorrow.

My watch just reached three o’clock when I heard the bells. and a murmured curse from him.  He was carrying  a red can and had started to splash it around the front door then moved towards the back. He was planning to set my house on fire!

I ran from the bush as he came back towards me and I shot the can from his hand. It burst into flame as he tried to distance himself. I let another shot off so he could not move. He did not know where I was I pressed 9-1-1 as I changed my position. He was stuck beside the burning gas can.

Then he made a big mistake taking out a gun and started aiming into the darkness randomly hitting trees as I moved behind the trunk of my big weeping willow. I could hear sirens closing. He would be caught in moments, but I was not prepared to go through another trial for this man.

I aimed and hit him right through his head. Lucky shot.

They called it self defense. No trial for me either.

Grandpa

A dark figure appeared in my peripheral vision, the footsteps stopped when I did. Then started up when I resumed walking. A scraping sound went along with what sounded like a cane and whoever was using it tried to subdue its noise.

I quicken my step, trying to reach the subway and get on a train before whoever it was caught up to me. Reaching the last car before it left the station, I jumped on, looking around to see if I could get a glimpse of the people who were behind me. Several, two women and three men arrived, getting on just before the doors closed.

An elderly person who carried a cane sat three rows from me. Another dark man in an overcoat had sat down before I had a chance to look if he was carrying anything in his hands. Watching him from the corner of my eye, he paid no attention to me or anyone else,  just sat looking out the window. The old man sat talking to a woman beside him. He reminded me of a grandpa.

Maybe I just had let my imagination run wild and nobody had been following me after all. I settled down reading my book as my stop was last on the route. When I looked up only a few passengers were left, dark man and grandpa and one woman. Dark man got off at the next stop, leaving the remaining three of us. He had a walking stick.

As the train neared my station grandpa smiled over as the last woman got off the stop before mine. A slight chill ran through me, shaking off the feeling I ignored him, got up, and moved closer to the exit door. When the train stopped I would jump up, surprise would be on my side and run for the stairs and would be gone when he emerged. He got up moving closer to the door as the train stopped. I was through the doors as they opened.

Taking the stairs two at a time, I looked up to see the dark man coming down towards me, how had he gotten to this station so quickly?  I only hesitated a second and turned to run back down the stairs, tripping as I reached the landing. The old man was starting up the stairs towards me and caught me before I fell. The shadowy figure appeared on the stairs coming towards us. I had nowhere to go as his walking stick came down and hit the old man across the knees, losing his balance he fell backwards towards the platform missing going over onto the track by inches. I bent to help him when I felt a hand grab my neck and pull me away.

Dark guy was sneering, his teeth showing a yellow tinge. His sinister brown eyes boring into my face sent shivers up my whole body. He started to drag me into an alcove, pulling at my coat as I struggled to get free. No one was around to hear my screams and this man was going to rape or kill me. 
As he turned at a sound behind us, I was able to kick him hard in his groin he bent over from surprise as grandpa came up and smashed his cane into the mans face. He was in frenzy now coming at us slashing his stick wildly. Moving us closer to the platform, I could hear a train coming. Hoping someone would come and help us from this maniac.

He grabbed hold of the old man's jacket. I grabbed the cane and hit him over the head and heard a loud cracking sound like I had broken a bone, he staggered losing his balance as I lunged towards him pushing him onto the track as the train came screeching into the station.

He would not be bothering anyone again as he lay dead under the train.

Grandpa picked up his cane, checked it for damage, turned towards me telling me he had to go now as his dinner would be waiting. He shuffled away. 


As passengers got out of the train to stare at the mangled body I melted into the crowd and went home.