Dead Fit - 29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

Something told me the fist pounding at my door was attached to someone who wanted the smartphone back. Was it Todd or Brian?

I flipped the light switch in my room off and prayed my visitor hadn't noticed the sudden change in illumination. Using the light emitting from the monitor of the computer screen to see, I grabbed the smartphone and shoved it in my pocket, then pulled the memory card out of the reader and slipped the card into my sock. I heard glass shatter and I knew my intruder was just seconds away from gaining complete access to my house.

I quickly weighed my options. Assuming that the intruder was alone, I really had two viable alternatives. One, I could sneak up the stairs and hide in either my parents room or the guest bedroom. I could dial 911 with my cell phone and pray the police would arrive in time before the intruder could find me. Or two, I could climb out of the window of my bedroom and run like hell. I had my keys in my pocket and I could conceivably drive to the police station or at least a 24-hour grocery store where I could seek refuge until I could summon assistance. All of this was assuming, of course, the intruder didn't have an accomplice waiting outside, ready to spoil my plans.

I heard the front door creak open and that was my cue to high tail it into action. I got on the balls of my feet, making sure the heals of my shoes didn’t clack against the wood floors of the house. Option two seemed to make the most sense to me. Hiding upstairs and waiting for the police to arrive would be putting too much faith in someone else.

I had the benefit of knowing the layout of my home, while the intruder had the disadvantage of waiting for his eyes to adjust to the darkness of the living room. Time was on my side for at least a few moments, but I had to move quickly. My bedroom window was already opened and I pulled out the mesh screen. The house was built on a cement foundation and the distance from the window to the ground was at least 6 feet. The possibility of twisting my ankle was moderate, but it was probably a much lower risk than my fate if I stayed in the house.

I jumped from the window and landed on the ground. So far, so good. I crept along the side of the house, making sure I didn't step on any branches or leaves. I peered around the corner to see if anyone was standing guard in the front yard. I didn't see anyone, but I saw my car parked in the driveway and a blue BMW was behind it, blocking any chance for me to escape by vehicle. I recognized the BMW instantly. It was Todd's. Once again, Brian sent his henchman to do his dirty work.

From inside my room, I heard Todd say aloud, “He was here. His computer is still on and he’s seen the spreadsheet.” Was he talking to someone or to himself? I didn’t have a chance to dwell on that question for long. I heard footsteps hitting the wood floors, moving quickly. Suddenly, Todd's head popped out of my window and his eyes looked right at me. I had no idea what to do, but I knew sitting here wasn't it, so I started running.

I ran from my house and headed down the street. From behind me, I heard footsteps on the porch followed by a car door opening, then slamming shut. Todd started up his BMW and threw it in reverse, making a squealing noise that I hoped would wake up some of the neighbors.

No lights came on in any of the surrounding houses. That's what we get for living in a neighborhood where the average age of residents was in the triple digits. The neighbors probably turned off their hearing aids for the night.

In a severe lapse of judgment, I ran smack dab in the middle of the street to escape my pursuant. My lack of experience in dealing with the criminally insane was working against me and it wasn't long before Todd's BMW was just a few feet behind me. His headlights shined from behind, casting my shadow on the ground. Seeing my silhouette grow bigger as he closed the gap between us helped me see the peril of my decision. In a flash, my good judgment returned and I ran to the sidewalk to get out of his direct line of driving.

Todd was now driving next to me as I sprinted along the sidewalk. He was probably barely tapping on the accelerator. Was I insane thinking I could outrun a car? Todd was desperate to get his phone back and I knew if he had a chance, he would mow me down in a heartbeat. It was clear I needed a new strategy.

I took several deep breaths of air through my nose. I needed to maintain my ability to think quickly and clearly, and it wasn't going to happen if I was in a state of panic. I continued to run along Fourth Street, buying time until I could figure out a plan. Todd kept a steady pace next to me.

To the north was Seventh Street, a major arterial in Long Beach, and one that would surely have more traffic than these residential streets. With any luck, someone would see a lunatic chasing after me and either stop to help or at least call the police. To the south of me was Ocean Avenue, another main street, running parallel to the water. If I could make it to Ocean Avenue and Todd was still following me, I could always head down to the shoreline and run along the paved trail. At least the shoreline was below the level of the street and Todd couldn't chase me down in his car. At best, he would have to chase me by foot and I was confident my athletic ability was greater than his.

I ran towards Termino Street with Todd still following along side, slow and steady. The traffic light at the intersection was green, so I continued along Fourth and crossed Termino. Just as I hoped, Todd followed me across the intersection. Then, I stopped dead in my tracks, turned 180 degrees and headed back to the intersection. Todd was thrown off by the sudden change in my path. It bought me a few precious moments to turn on Termino and head south. For a moment, I had lost my stalker. I knew it wouldn't be for long, so I planned my next move.

One thing I was grateful for at the moment was growing up in the neighborhood and knowing it like the back of my hand. I knew the blocks on Termino had alleys that ran perpendicular to the street. As a child, I often rode my bike through these alleys to avoid traffic. The alleys were used by local residents to access their garages, and utility trucks occasionally drove through to repair phone or electric lines. Tonight, they were going to keep me from being totally exposed in the streets.

I ran into the first available alley, heading east away from Termino Street. When I was satisfied that I had ran deep enough into the alley to avoid being seen from the street, I made a sharp right and headed towards Ocean Avenue, creeping between houses and garages. I crossed Third Street, again staying between houses, and continued until I hit First Street.

As I was crossing First Street, I heard a car peel out and head right towards me. Todd had turned off the lights to his BMW, so I didn’t even see him coming until he was just inches from hitting me. I dived, head first, into a well manicured lawn. Thank God for the illegal immigrants who kept this lawn nice and plush.

Todd slammed on his brakes and threw his car into reverse. I knew he was crazy enough to drive his car up on someone’s lawn to take me out, so I picked myself up, sprinted between two houses and ran to Ocean Avenue.

Todd’s BMW was nowhere to be seen, so I darted across and headed towards the water. Traffic was light on Ocean Avenue. That's what I get for being chased on a Sunday night. A car full of college students whizzed by me. One of them hollered, “Need a ride,” and the rest of the group broke out in laughter. Nice, my life was in jeopardy and no one was interested in helping me.

I went down the stairs, two at a time, until I reached the trail running parallel to the water. Another critical decision point – run to the west, towards touristy Shoreline Village, where there was sure to be people at a bar or restaurant. Or, run to the east, towards Belmont Shore Pier, where fishermen were likely to still be trying to catch dinner. Even if most of them weren’t native English speakers, it didn’t seem like proficiency of the English language was a requirement to figure out that a lunatic was seeking to inflict harm on me.

I opted to run east, towards the pier, basing my decision more on physical fatigue than on logic. The pier was probably 900 feet from my present location, whereas Shoreline Village had to be at least double, maybe triple the distance.

The cement trail that ran along the shoreline was lined with lamp posts, illuminating the path for pedestrians and bikers, neither of which was present tonight. I looked back up to the top of the stairs. Still no Todd and I wanted to keep it that way. The clouds were thick and hid the moon, creating total darkness in the areas beyond the lights. I ran to the strip of sand that lay just between the paved trail and the water, out of the light emitting from the lamp posts and into the cover of darkness.

I ran a few hundred feet or so, then turned around to see if Todd had followed me. I saw him barreling down the stairs and heading in my general direction. I couldn't quite tell if he knew my exact location and I certainly wasn't going to hang around to find out, so I kept moving.

I ran as quickly as possible, but my ankles weren’t used to running on shifting sand. I didn't make as much progress as I could have had I stayed on the paved trail. This was another miscalculation on my part. Running on the sand kept me out of my predator's visibility, but it also slowed me way down. Even with his late start, Todd was quickly catching up to my lead.

I kept running for what seemed like an eternity. When I was less than fifty feet or so away from the pier, I noticed another figure running towards me, coming from the opposite direction as Todd. It was too dark for me to discern any physical characteristics, but I didn’t need to see his face to know it was Brian.

I stopped dead in my tracks. My heart felt like it was going to pound right out of my chest. Even though I was in good shape, my lungs weren’t used to working so hard. I gave myself a quick minute to catch my breath, keeping my eye on Todd and Brian the whole time.

For the time being, it seemed that neither Todd nor Brian knew my exact location – just that I was somewhere in the vicinity. I had the advantage. With both of them still on the paved trail, they were in the light while I was in the dark. I was confident they couldn't see me.

Brian and Todd stopped running and were now busy scanning the surroundings, their eyes penetrating the darkness trying to locate me. From where they stood, there was still a distance of at least 400 feet between them, and I was sandwiched in the middle. For now, it seemed I was safe. Just to be sure, I took a few steps backwards, further into darkness, reducing the chance they’d see me. This was yet another miscalculation on my part. As I stepped back, I startled a flock of seagulls resting on the sand. The birds went flying into the air, capturing Todd and Brian's attention. Even if they couldn't pinpoint my exact location, they certainly had a good idea where I was hiding. Both Brian and Todd looked in my general direction. Before long, Todd pointed at me. My cover was blown and it was time to get moving, again.

My options were quickly dwindling. To be accurate, I had only one real option. I was smack dab between Brian and Todd. Short of swimming in the Pacific Ocean to escape, my only real choice was to run towards Brian and hope to reach the Belmont Shore Pier before he did.

I ran from my cover of darkness and back on to the cement trail. I was now fully visible to my assailants and they wasted no time resuming the chase. I kicked it into high gear, sprinting the short distance to the base of the Pier, then up the stairs. The Pier was now mostly dark. Apparently, the City closed it down after a certain time each night.

I ran on blind faith, heading towards the only source of light at the end of the Pier. I knew there was a bait and tackle shop at the end. The light was either coming from the inside of the store, meaning someone was still there, or it was spotlights illuminating the store's sign. I could hear Todd and Brian's footsteps behind me, their shoes thumping against the wooden planks.

The Pier smelled like rotten seafood, no doubt the bits and pieces left over from fishermen cleaning their catch. I wondered if Todd and Brian decided to hack me up, would the stench of my decaying flesh blend in with smell of fish? If that were the case, no one would ever learn of my grisly ending.

I ran to the end of the Pier and rounded the corner. The light source was, indeed, a spotlight for the bait and tackle store's sign. The inside of the store was completely dark. No sign of human life. Now what?

Todd rounded the corner on one side and I could hear feet running towards me on the other side. I was cornered. Fifty feet below me, the waves rolled in from the expanses of the Ocean and crashed against the beach. The sound was deafening. Even if I could gain control of my emotions and force myself to scream for help, no one would hear me, except the seagulls that were nestled near the water. Damn seagulls betrayed me anyway. It’d serve them right if I startled them from slumber.

Todd shouted, "I found him. He's over here!"

Brian rounded the corner and stepped into the light. He was wearing his blue Quicksilver t-shirt, the one that I borrowed from him and cuddled with at night when I felt lonely. I never had the chance to return the shirt to him. He must have taken it from my room tonight. Brian was wearing it on purpose, full well knowing it had sentimental value to me. It was his perverse way of manipulating me. He probably thought it would soften me, allowing him to get what he wanted from me. He knew me well, because his ploy was working.

“Jaysen, why are you running from me,” Brian asked.

I tried to respond, but no words would come from my mouth. All I could do was stare at Brian.

“Baby, we need that phone back.” Brian inched closer to me.

I shook my head and slowly backed away from Brian.

"Please don't do this to me.” Brian sounded hurt. “Just return it to us and everything will be okay.”

I reached into my pocket and threw the phone on the ground.

"That's my boy." He picked up the phone and walked towards me.

"Why are you shaking so badly?" His voice was gentle and sincere, his eyebrows furrowed with concern.

Just inches away from me, I could smell his mix of fresh sweat and designer cologne. The scent made me remember happier times. My shoulders slumped and tears welled in the corner of my eyes.

Brian leaned in to hug me and I could feel myself losing resistance. He wrapped his arms around me and my body went limp. For a second, I forgot the terror of the last hour. It felt good to be in his strong arms again, right where I belonged. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the feeling of safety, of being protected, of not having to run for my life.

The moment was short-lived. He abruptly pulled away from me, snapping me back to the reality of the situation. Brian walked towards Todd. With his back to me, I couldn't see what he was doing, but I was sure he was checking to see if the memory card was still in the phone.

Brian stopped in his tracks and asked, "Where is the memory card?" The voice that asked that question sounded angry.

When he turned around, the loving man I once knew was completely gone. His warm brown eyes were filled with rage. His soft lips hardened with a frown. His hands that once gently held mine, gripped the smartphone, seemingly strangling the life out of it.

“I'll ask you one more time,” he said. “Where is the memory card?"

I looked at the stranger before me and suddenly found it easy to lie. “I dropped it when I was running. It fell out of my hands and into someone’s lawn. I tried to find it, but I saw Todd’s car coming and I ran.”

Brian sighed and shook his head. The look he gave me was a combination of disappointment and irritation. Like I was a nuisance. An object that stood in the way of his life’s ambition.

“I don’t know why you have to be stubborn about something that doesn’t even affect you. But no matter, you’re the only person who has seen the contents of the memory card. Even if it is true that you dropped the memory card, someone who found it would never understand its meaning.”

Brian moved next to Todd and both of them faced me. Brian wrapped his arms around Todd’s waist and said, “You know, when I first met you, I really thought there was a chance for us together. You were like me a few years back, fresh out of school, ambitious in your career, new to the dating scene. But the more I got to know you, the more I realized how much I missed Todd.”

Brian pulled away from Todd. He folded his arms across his chest and said to me, “I wanted to break it off with you, but I just felt so sorry for you, falling for someone you could never have. So out of pity, I let you stick around for a little while longer. And when it came out that you still had my phone, I needed to keep you around just long enough to get my property back. Now, I have no need for you anymore, Jaysen.”

Brian pulled a small handgun from the back of his waistband and handed it to Todd. It looked almost like a toy, one of those cap guns kids play with. In Todd’s hand, though, the gun appeared to carry the weight of a fully-functional weapon.

"Shoot him,” Brian said to Todd.

Todd seemed startled by Brian's command. He looked at the gun in his hand, then looked quizzically at Brian and said, “You can't be serious.” Brian didn't reply. He just stood there and stared at Todd. I interpreted Brian's silence to mean, yes, I am serious.

Todd didn’t move, stunned to hear that Brian was actually willing to kill me. I wasn’t sure if Todd was still so smitten by Brian that he’d be willing to pull the trigger. I certainly wasn’t going to wait around to find out. I had to do something, anything.

Brian was obviously crazy and Todd seemed to have a few screws loose, too. But between the two, I'd rather take my chances with Todd. Maybe I could talk Todd out of pulling the trigger for Brian. I just hoped my voice wouldn’t shake in doing so.

“Todd, don’t listen to Brian. He’ll do anything to get what he wants, including lie that he still wants to be with you. He said the same load of shit to me. You and I both know he’s obsessed with trying to prove to his father that he can be a success.”

While Todd mulled over what I said, Brian wasted no time refuting my claim. “Just shoot him and let’s go back to my place, baby.”

“He used to call me baby, too, Todd. Just like you, I thought it was because he cared about me. Now I know he just wanted his phone back. Brian’s only telling you this so you’ll do his dirty work for him. When it’s done, he’ll toss you to the side again. It’s just like when you two dated, the only reason he kept you around was for your network of business contacts. Once he got what he wanted from you, he left you, didn’t he?”

“Todd knows better than that, Jaysen. I told him breaking up with him was the biggest mistake I had ever made. We’ve been spending a lot of time together lately, catching up for the last year we were apart,” Brian said. Then, in a patronizing tone he asked, “You didn’t really think I had a plumbing emergency today, did you?”

I didn’t answer, which in itself was an admission of my naiveté.

“Oh, Jaysen, you really did fall for that line? I'm sorry; I didn't think you were that gullible. I didn't have a plumbing emergency. Todd and I spent the whole afternoon together. In fact, we were in bed when you called him. I heard every word you said. Very clever plan you hatched.”

I glanced over at Todd, wondering if he was going to confirm Brian's story. He still didn’t move. He just stood there, like a deer caught in the headlights. This back and forth wasn’t getting us anywhere. I needed to turn my attack on Brian. Maybe if I could get him to snap, Todd would see him in a different light.

What I did next was a low blow, something I’m not proud about. I don’t believe in intentionally hurting others. But to save myself, I was willing to engage in psychological warfare.

“You’re father’s right to think you’re a loser,” I sneered.

That got Brian’s attention.

“What did you say,” he demanded.

“You heard me. You’re a loser. Your father figured it out and that’s why he disowned you, not because you’re gay. No matter how wealthy you'll ever be, it won't change the fact that you're a fucking loser.”

Mission accomplished. That made Brian snap, but not in the way I was hoping. Instead of curling up into a fetal position and crying like a baby, Brian grabbed the gun from Todd's hand. He drew the gun to the level of my chest. I looked at Brian, square in the eyes and I saw pain, the same pain I saw the night he told me about coming out to his father. This was the same pain that drove him to be obsessed with winning his father’s approval, stopping at nothing until he got it. And the same pain that would allow him to kill someone who he thought was going to stand in his way.

As I waited for him to pull the trigger, I thought about how I had never been close to death before, nowhere near close. It's funny; the only thought that ran through my mind as I stared at the barrel of a gun was of my family, nothing else. Not the money in my account, not the degree I recently completed, not my job, not the boyfriend I had for a short while. Just my family.

I heard the gun fire and my eyes instinctively closed, waiting for the bullet to tear through my body. I was ready for a premature introduction to my maker. Would I be greeted by a man, a woman, or someone in between?

Funny, the pain of a bullet entering my body didn't feel like anything out of the ordinary. In fact, it felt like nothing. I opened my eyes, bracing myself to see a stream of blood oozing from my body. But what I saw instead was Brian falling to the ground, blood gushing from his thigh, followed by a figure in blue tackling Todd to the ground.