Well, experiment #1 appears to be a success. I’ve received great feedback with comments here and on my Facebook page as well. So, as promised here’s chapter 2. If you didn’t read chapter 1,  you can find it in the archives under CHRYSALIS. Thanks for all the positive comments, keep them coming.

CHRYSALIS-CHAPTER 2

Chryssie stared at the gun aimed at her chest, then up at the man holding it. He seemed familiar, but not sure why. Maybe, from the bar? She wasn’t sure—it was hard to think with a gun pointed at her.

A thousand thoughts zoomed around her mind. He was bigger and stronger than her. Not to mention he was the one with the gun. The picture of the little girl flashed in her mind. She couldn’t die before she had a chance to make it up to her.

Throwing her hands in front of her face, she cried, “Please. Please, don’t hurt me. I didn’t see anything.”

“Whatever.” The man grabbed her hands and dragged her down the alley. Towards the man lying on the dirty cement. She stared down at him. He didn’t need her help now. A halo of blood surrounded him.

His hands loosened around her wrist.

This was her chance.

She pushed the man as hard as she could. Her feet unfroze and she ran.

Pop. Pop.

Faster.

She zigzagged down the alley. The
way people did in the movies.

Pop.

Her feet pounded on the uneven pavement. She turned right into another alley. No more pops. Did that mean he was out of bullets? Or just that he couldn’t see her? Who knew? It didn’t matter.  The man looked strong enough to kill her with his bare hands.

She ran faster.

Her wig slipped, dropping down into her eyes. As Chryssie pushed at the wig, it fell off. She leaned down to pick it up and dropped her purse in the process. Scrambling, she picked them both up and kept running.

She glanced behind her. The man turned the corner. She was furthering the distance between them. Forcing her legs to move faster, she sprinted down the alley and into another one. All her morning runs were paying off.

He might be bigger and stronger, but Chryssie could run faster.

Pumping her legs as fast as she could, she headed to the shopping area known as The Maze. It was late and not many people would be around, but she could find a place to hide.

His footsteps echoed behind her. But the further she ran, the quieter they became and then there was silence except for her own ragged breathing. She made a turn and then leaned against the building. Sucking in deep breaths, she peeked around the corner.

The alley was empty.

She’d lost him or he’d given up.  Chryssie sighed in relief as she looked around trying to figure out where she was. One thing was for sure, she’d have to walk home.

There was no way she was going back to get her car tonight.

As her breathing slowed, she became aware of her throbbing feet. Oh well, nothing she could do about that. There was no way she could spend her rent money for a cab. Even if her feet were killing her.

As she stumbled home, she debated what to do next.

Should she call the police and report what she’d seen and what happened? After all, she’d gotten a very good look at the man. She would be able to identify him. Of course, it was the right thing to do.

But she was exhausted. Maybe, it could wait until morning. Until she’d had a few hours of sleep. No one could blame her for that. Well, she’d blame herself. Exhausted or not, she’d call the police as soon as she got home. If she had a cell phone she could call now, but she refused to spend that much money on a luxury item.

No one ever said doing the right thing was easy. But if she ever hoped to transform from a worm to a butterfly, she had to keep making the right choices every time, not just when she felt like it.

The black sky turned a hazy gray. She looked at her watch. Almost 5 AM. There’d be no sleep for her that night. She turned the corner and headed down her street.

She stopped.

Two men were standing at the door of her apartment complex. Actually, more like blocking the entrance way. Were they waiting for someone? It was pretty late or pretty early depending how you looked at it.

She didn’t like the way they were looking down the street. As if searching for someone.

Someone like her.

Chryssie stepped behind the big oak tree, staring at the two men as if that might explain why they were there.

She was being paranoid.

There was no way that the man who chased her who could possibly know where she lived. And neither of the men looked like that man anyway. Of course , he might have recognized her from the bar, but even if he did, he’d have to wait until morning to find out her name and address.

And Chuck wouldn’t just give out that information to anyone.

He was protective of his employees.

She stood there trying to make her feet move, but they were rooted to the ground. No matter how much she told herself those men weren’t looking for her, she didn’t believe it.

So tired, she could barely stand, she leaned against the tree. How was she going to be able to take her final that day? Her last final before graduation—before becoming a nurse. One final–that was all that stood between staying a worm or transforming to a butterfly.

This was ridiculous. She wouldn’t let her paranoia get in the way of graduating. Taking a deep breath, she moved out from behind the tree and walked toward her apartment building.

The two men turned as they heard her footsteps.

They looked at each other for a moment then back at her. As if a single unit, both men moved down the steps and then began to run.

Towards her.

ANY COMMENTS?

Until next time….God Bless & Good Reading!