North on I-35 [Index of Writers and their contributions]
Seventh section by Amber Hall
| "Amber, sweetie, what did you do?" asked Jason in a hazy voice.
"He's bad, Daddy." Amber held the bullet for him to take. "Damn!" he said and dropped it. "It's hot!" "Sorry Daddy," Amber said. She touched his palm with light fingers where a red burn etched his palm. The shape of the bullet looked surreal as it faded from his skin. Amber smiled innocently, as though what she'd done hadn't been anything at all. "Jason," said April. "What happened to you?" She tried to cling to something in her paradigm of reality. The miracle of her daughter suddenly didn't seem to fit and her mind shied away from explanation. "Mommy, we have to go now," said Amber. "They'll wake up soon." April didn't quite know how to react to the little girl all of a sudden, but she looked around her at the frozen people and then at the frozen Burnette. "Daddy had to stay here," she said weakly. Amber shook her head with all the emphasis a six-year-old could muster. "I'll fix him so he doesn't hurt." She touched the bandage on his head and then touched his shoulder. "Does it hurt anymore?" Jason shook his head and stood on weak legs. He raised his eyebrows at April and looked meaningfully at the door. "My arm is still broken, but I can walk," he said. "She's right. We can't stay until they wake up." "Come on sweetheart," April said to her daughter. The three left the all-too-quiet hospital quickly, climbing into the new Jetta April had bought last week. Funds from the previous haul Jason had taken to Amarillo made it possible to pay in cash. April's mind flashed a thought that she'd never be able to do that again. The sky was overcast. A typical San Antonio day. The adults sat silently, listening to Amber play make believe in the back seat. Construction everywhere slowed down their escape and April bit her nails every time she stepped on the brake. Jason watched people pass, trying not to think of the people as killers and kidnappers. April took followed the I-10 exits to Houston, where her sister lived. It might not be the best place to hide, but it was the only idea she had, and Jason wasn't offering any help. What were they supposed to do now? They shouldn't have trusted Jimenez at all. Drug dealers weren't usually so open to ideas and sharing money, were they? That should have tipped them off in the first place. April glanced at the reflection of a now-sleeping child in her rearview mirror. "I think I got us into this mess," said Jason. "I just don't understand what they're after." "They think you'd talk to the police. Blow their cover. These people are ruthless," said April. "I've seen that guy before. Burnette." "He's one of Pedro's guys." "Yeah, now that you mention it, I did see him with Jimenez. Strange. That's not when I was thinking of, though. He was at the hospital when Amber was born." "What? No, I would remember." "Baby, you were so out of it. You almost died, remember? I was so scared when they told me you and Amber might not make it." Jason paused. "Come to think of it, Burnette was the doctor that told me." "That's crazy. How could it be the same person?" April asked. "You think he's been following us or something?" Jason shrugged. "Why?" Neither of them said anything more until they were at April's sister's house. They didn't need to: they were thinking the same thing. Why would someone follow a couple and a child for so long? |
This is part 7 of a story
written by a 'committee' - writers from the Writing Workshop.
It will be gradually added to as each new section appears.
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