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CHRYSALIS–CHAPTER 8

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Even in the dimness of the bar, Chryssie recognized the men. They’d been chasing her all day. Her mind froze. But only for a moment. She turned back towards Chuck. “I can’t believe this.”

Then, her arms flew out in front of her as she shoved him.

Unfortunately, Chuck was ready for her. His arms surrounded her and in the next moment the two men were beside her. One on each side of her. They each grabbed an arm. She tried to fight them off, but they were stronger and bigger.

“Just calm down, Chryssie.” Chuck’s voice penetrated her panic. “I don’t want to hurt you. We just need to have a talk.”  Instead of talking, he went over to the bar’s front door and latched it.

No one would be coming in to rescue her.

All the fight went out of Chryssie. She slumped against one of her captors.

Chuck walked back. “Unfortunately, we can’t talk here. So, you need to go with these men. I have to stay here until Bobby’s shift.” He nodded at the two men.

They dragged her towards the back of the bar.

She dragged her feet. “No. I don’t want to go with them. Look, he hit me.”

Poor Chryssie. Is she ever going to get out of this mess?

UNTIL NEXT TIME…God Bless and Good Reading!

“Well, stop fighting and struggling with them, and they won’t have to do that again. Now, be a good girl.” He turned his back to her. “I’ll talk to you later.”

She couldn’t believe he’d said that to her as some goons were dragging her out of the bar. Not just any goons—his goons.

****

Chryssie sat on a folding chair. Tears streamed down her cheeks, but she couldn’t wipe them away. Thanks to her hands being taped behind her back, there was nothing she could do.

And if that wasn’t bad enough, the goons had taped her feet to the bottom rungs of the chairs. They obviously weren’t going to let her get away from them again.

Her head drooped down on her shoulder.

Chuck? How could he have done this to her? She’d thought he was the one to help her. Instead, he was the reason she was in this prison. But she’d thought he was a good guy.

This had to be because of his cousin, obviously. He must have recognized her from the bar and went to Chuck for help. Chuck wouldn’t be involved in illegal activities, would he?

If she hadn’t been so exhausted and frantic, she would have remembered him. He must have asked Chuck to take care of her. But what did that mean?

She couldn’t believe Chuck would kill her.

But blood was thicker than water. After all, look at all she’d done so that she could rescue Misty from the foster care system.

A loud sob escaped.

Now that would never happen.

Poor Misty. She probably would never know what happened or why her big sister abandoned her after she’d promised to get her and make a new life for them. Just like their mother had abandoned them.

No! She took a deep breath.

That was not going to happen. She would do whatever she had to. To get out of this mess. Chryssie shook her head. Why hadn’t she just gone to the police as soon as it happened? It had been so stupid not to.

Stupid! Stupid! Stupid and selfish!

Her mother had told her so time and time again. No wonder, she really was stupid and selfish. If she hadn’t been so focused on taking that exam, she would have known the right thing was to go to the police.

But no—she’d thought she knew better. Take the exam and then go to the police. Now look at her. What a mess!

The door opened.

One of the goons walked in. “Still crying and feeling sorry for yourself, I see.” He smiled at her.

Chryssie glared at him, but said nothing. It didn’t seem like a smart thing to antagonize him. After all, he was in control.

He walked over until he stood directly in front her. “I was told to make sure you were comfortable so is there anything you’d like from me?” He leered down at her.

She still didn’t speak.

He rolled his eyes. “Like go to the bathroom or eat?”

“Yes, I’d like to do both actually.”

He laughed. “Actually, I figured as much.” He knelt down in front of her.

A knife was in his hand. Was he just messing with her? Pretending he was going to be nice, but kill her instead?

Her muscles tensed as she readied herself to be stabbed. A thought jumped in her mind. I should have gone to church with Marv when I had the chance. Please, God, I’m sorry.

He waved the knife in front of her face. A big smile on his own face.

Chryssie steeled herself.

He reached behind her and felt the knife cutting through the tape binding her hands. A moment later he did the same to her leg and then the other.

She was free!

Tempted to take the opportunity to try to escape, Chryssie quickly decided against it. No doubt, the goon would be expecting that. And he would enjoy stopping her way too much. She’d do what Chuck had told her to do—be a good girl.

And wait for a better opportunity.

 

OK, folks–only two more chapters to go. I hope you’re enjoying Chryssie’s story.

UNTIL NEXT TIME…God Bless & Good Reading

CHRYSALIS–CHAPTER 3

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So, here we are again. I know you can’t see me, but I’m smiling…. When I start writing a story, I never know exactly what’s going to happen or if the story will have enough momentum to make it the end. This one does! I’m almost regretting my decision to post it for free–almost. Don’t worry. I’m going to see this story to the end. I hope you’re enjoying it.  FEEL FREE TO POST ANY COMMENTS OR IDEAS THAT YOU THINK MIGHT HAPPEN…you never know I might use them.

If you need to read the first 2 chapters, go to Chrysalis in the archives. Thanks!

CHRYSALIS–CHAPTER 3

In that split second, Chryssie knew she’d make a mistake—possibly a deadly mistake. Forgetting about her exhaustion and throbbing feet, she fled into the darkness.

By the sound of the footsteps behind her, these men were much faster than the man who’d chased her earlier—maybe faster than her.

Her only advantage was that it was her neighborhood.

And she planned on taking full advantage of that.

Still running, she turned into the Dunner’s yard. “Sparky. Sparky.”

Sparky started barking, just the way she’d known he would. Sparky was a hundred pound Rottweiler that loved her and the walks she took him on. Another way she made extra money.

Sparky bounded out of his huge dog house and ran straight towards her, probably thinking it was time for his walk. His feet landed on her shoulders as he lapped her face. “Watch’em, Sparky.”

The dog went to immediate attention. Chryssie ran to the dog house.

Sparky barked. It wasn’t the happy-to-see you bark.  She peeked out from her spot beside the dog house. The men stood at the edge of the yard staring at Sparky. Sparky strained to get to them.

“Where is she? I can’t see her.”

“She’s gotta be here. I saw her run this way.”

Chryssie shoved the dog house away from the fence—the fence that Sparky had dug a hole under earlier in the summer.

Good thing the Dunners hadn’t fixed it yet.

As quietly as she could, she slid under the fence and into the Miller’s back yard. The fence post scraped her back, but other than that she’d survived another chase.

This was insane.

As she ran through the yard, Sparky still barked. Those men weren’t getting in his yard any time soon.

How had they found her? Her heart still racing, she slowed to a walk as she left their yard.  What should she do now?

Looking down at her empty hands, her heart sank. Somewhere in the chase she’d lost her purse. Now, she had no money, no keys, nothing.

She needed to get to a phone to call the police. The sooner she did that, the safer it would be for her. Unfortunately, the phone was in her apartment. The apartment she was afraid to go to. The apartment she didn’t have keys for.

Of course, she could go to the manager. She looked at her watch. Almost six o’clock. Mr. Roberts probably wasn’t even up yet. On the other hand, he told her never slept late.

But those men might have gone back to wait for her, thinking that she had no other choice but to go there as well.

She shook her head.

They were right.

In another three hours, she’d need to be in class to take that final exam. If she called the police, they’d want to question her for hours. The school would probably let her take the exam later, but she wasn’t going to take that chance.

As much as she hated the thought, she had to find another way into her apartment. After that she could get Mr. Roberts to open her door, change clothes, take the exam and then go to the police. It might not make them all that happy that she’d waited so long to contact them, but she had to take that exam.

That’s all there was to it.

She wanted to be a butterfly—for herself and for her mother. But most of all for Misty. Sweet, beautiful Misty.

As she neared her apartment building from the back entrance, her feet slowed. Chryssie had to make sure the men weren’t there—looking for her.  She slipped behind a tree and waited.

No one around.

Quickly, she moved from the tree and ducked behind a car in the parking lot. Her senses were on high alert. When the time felt right, she moved up to the next row of cars and then the next.

Only one row of cars stood between her and the door.

Now, she had to wait for someone to come out so she could get inside. Shuffling noises caught her attention. Peeking out from the car, she saw one of the men who chased her.

He walked casually around the parking lot, his hand in his pocket.

Her heart rate soared.

Did he have a gun in his pocket? Of course he did. She closed her eyes wondering how she’d gotten herself in such a mess. Tears flooded her eyes. She tried so hard to do the right thing.

And she was so close, but it was all falling apart.

The gap between her and the man was getting smaller. Chryssie couldn’t run. If she did, then he’d be sure to see her. Instead she flattened herself on the gravel and rolled under the car, hoping the owner wasn’t an early-to-work person.

Footsteps.

His footsteps, no doubt. Why didn’t they go away? Did they think she was so desperate that she’d come back to the apartment after they’d chased her away?  She rolled her eyes. Obviously, she was that desperate.

Shoes came into view.

They stopped.  The shoes were so close she could touch them if she wanted to.

Don’t look under the car. Chryssie held her breath, afraid the man would hear her. Don’t look under the car. She needed air, but didn’t dare breathe.

CHRYSALIS–Chapter 2

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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!