38.
The car was angled in the ditch pinning the driver’s door shut against the dirt embankment. Some bush hung over the embankment and covered the top of the car like a badly placed wig. The passenger side, which was hanging up in the air as if halfway through an elaborate magic trick, had been battered severely by the trees. Both passenger-side doors were bashed in.
Her face bloody, Bev struggled to open the crumpled door, alternately shouldering and kicking it. But it wouldn’t budge. Between frustrated attempts to open the door, she eased her frustration by leaning out the window and firing wild shots at me.
I saw all this through quick glances over my shoulder as I ran. Bev was too groggy from the gas and her injuries to shoot straight. The bullets zipped harmlessly through the trees a dozen yards away. Beefy Mike still hadn’t moved, but if he did, they could easily get out of the car and be on me in a few minutes.
I thought about going out to the highway, hoping to wave down some passing car. But I couldn’t be sure I wouldn’t run into Bishop, returning to see what happened to his minions.
So Houdini and I ran deeper into the woods. Houdini was in a lot better shape than I was, so we were able to run pretty far before we had to stop to catch our breath. I sat on the ground sucking in air, looking around to get my bearings. I was surrounded by tall trees and thick underbrush. When my rapid panting finally slowed down, I could hear faint movement in the woods.
Someone was coming my way.
I looked around, deciding which direction would be safest. But every direction was the same. Big fat trees. More big fat trees. And even more bigger and fatter trees.
Plus, I was so tired that I didn’t think I could keep running. I looked at my tattoo. The turtle and the butterfly had faded a little. Houdini would soon be gone. Not that it mattered. If Beefy Mike and Bev caught me, they’d put me in a grave, not the trunk of the KIA. Even Houdini couldn’t escape from a bullet to the head.
The rustling sounds of people running through the woods were getting closer. I jogged away from them, running as best I could, but each step was painful and I was already panting again.