Being Chased

Rachael sat in the room that contained only a table and two chairs, and she sat in one of them. She turned to look to the side and saw a big glass window, but she knew quite well that there was someone behind it. Watching her, how creepy?

She sat there in silence. She was sure that she was in for trouble. Suddenly, the door was pushed open unexpectedly.

He walked to the table and sat on the chair in front of her. "Good day, ma'am," he nodded at her. "I am officer Kelvin, and I'd like to know, ma'am. Do you know why you are here?" He asked her.

Rachael slightly creased her face. "Not at all, officer."

The officer leaned back and stared at her for a while in absolute silence. "I believe you still have your memory intact because I'd like to ask you some questions about what happened to one of our officers," he looked at her with a serious face. "Why did you hit the officer?"

"Well I… I... I was accused of something I didn't do. I was scared at that moment."

Rachael was actually shaking as she replied. Ever since her father died, she has hardly communicated with anyone.

"Did you know that by hitting a police officer, you would have to spend six months in a cell?" He asked, but it was more of a statement. He sighed. "Why did you even steal the money in the first place?"

"I didn't, I swear I didn't." She said, almost in tears. Rachael blinked several times to blink the tears away. She just hated the fact that always cried in situations like this. She just would never act bold and confident about it. Every time she wanted to defend herself, she always ended up crying. It was just so annoying.

"Well… We're still waiting for the lady to write her statement, but for now, let's leave you be." He stood up and nodded while straightening his suit jacket.

Rachael was confused, unable to fathom what just happened. Did he plan to come later, or were her ears deceiving her? She only knew that once she was in here, they'll throw her endless questions and make her look like a liar, after all, she tried to escape by kicking a cop.

She sat quietly in the room, hours passed like minutes, and soon she was already sleeping with her head on the table.

She felt something tap her shoulder gently, and she thought maybe the sleep was making her feel things if that was even possible.

However, she felt the tap again and then again. She jolted back awake when someone called her. She scrutinized her gaze and looked closely at the blurry image in front of her.

"Ma'am, you can go now," the person said, looking at her weirdly. She shook her head to stop the drowsiness.

"Go? I'm free to go?" She asked in return.

The man nodded his head and was about to say something when she stood up hastily and actually ran her way out like she was being chased.

"Strange woman," he muttered.

Rachael rushed outside and took a moment to breathe. She placed her hands on her knees as she took in deep breaths. After she was calm, she took the time to wonder what just happened and why she was suddenly let out of that hellhole. Yes, that was how the empty room felt like.

She raised her head and was surprised to see men in black suits and black sunglasses. What the heck? And why were they looking at her? In high alert, she turned around to see the easiest way to run. She saw an alley and without thinking twice, she ran quickly towards that direction. She started running but decided to turn around to be certain if she was really being chased, and she was after all right as she saw the men running behind her.

Rachael swore that she could hear her heart beat loudly in her ears as she continued running faster and faster until she ran to the end of the alley with no way to go. No! This couldn't be her end. She looked around desperately and luckily, she found a trash can. She didn't care of how dirty she'd look afterward, she just wanted to save herself, and she couldn't care less about the way she would look.

She quickly went into it and closed it. She waited quietly and patiently while trying not to breathe in the malodorous smell. It was highly impossible, especially since she was exhausted and needed badly to take deep breaths.

Not long after, she heard footsteps close by. "Where is she? Where did she go?"

She placed her hands on her face, covering her mouth and nose as she made sure not to make a sound because she could hardly hear anything but the irregular beating of her heart that threatened to burst any moment soon if she didn't take a good amount of fresh air.

She waited for minutes, but that felt like hours and her eyes were already getting misty as she tried so hard to keep it together until she was sure that she was safe. She waited and waited until she couldn't hear footsteps, but even at that she stayed there until after an extra suffocating moment.

After counting to ten, she slightly opened the trash can and peeked outside through the small opening. Making sure to be quiet, she came outside and looked around nervously. After ensuring her safety, she started running back. She paused when the whole place seemed to be alike to her. She finally decided to give up since she was clearly lost. She turned to her left, but her eyes almost popped out.

"The… The club," she muttered with a disbelief look. She immediately advanced towards it, however before she could take one more step, a hand came, covering her mouth and nose with a piece of fabric that smelled like Hydrogen Sulphide which made her breathless, but she refused to let the smell in, nevertheless she couldn't keep struggling as she needed to breathe in, and she took in a sharp breath and the smell flooded in.

A hand came around her shoulders to hold her in place. In no time, she found her eyelids closing on their accord, and she could do nothing but to let it happen.