Midnight Getaway

 

Vibrant lights soar through the streets and into the sky

The city busy as ever, even at night

Sparks dazzling just before the bullets fly

Words at war trying to set my mind alight

A warm, motherly voice calls from nearby

City lights, catch my watch, it’s midnight

 

“Hey, hun. By chance, did you call an Uber?”

The chime of jewelry draws me in

At the wheel is a plump woman with coiled hair

I guess my Uber’s here

 

I hand her cash for the ride,

letting my backpack sink down to the floor,

keeping a hand on the duffle bag beside me

My eyes peer at the rear-view mirror

Hers are focused on the road

 

“It might take a while. Do ya mind if we take Styx,

I know a few shortcuts”

I quickly respond with a 'sure,' trying to sound casual

 

She never removes her eyes from the road

To relax, I mess around on my phone

She speaks up again, her voice still as soothing as before

 

“Hun, if you don’t mind me asking. Why're you goin’ to Cerberus station?”

Her eyes briefly shift over to the duffle bag

Feeling self-conscious,

I instinctively pull it even closer than it was before

I button up my shirt, attempting to cover my neck

 

What once were roars are now hisses of the past

Vivid memories begin flooding my mind

I scratch at my throat

 

It feels like someone is taking a hammer to my head

I give her a weary smile and let out a half-hearted chuckle,

"Got into a fight with my girl, so she kicked me out"

 

“Oh, really!”

My eyes were glued to the back of her seat

“Yeah”

As she spoke her next words, the car gradually sped up

"I'm sorry to hear that, hun,"

 

 She lets out a light chuckle

“So, you plan on movin' back in with your parents?”

My Uber giggles heartily at her jest

I join in

 

However, our laughter is quickly silenced

Sirens blare, as lights of red and blue flash

The frigid grasp of dread clutches and squeezes at my heart

As I regain my composure, the car hits a few bumps

This is fine

 

“Yeah, I uh. I'm goin' to my parents' place"

This seems to pique her interest

“Oh damn, that’s rough!"

My nails scrape against my neck again

 

I can’t seem to follow through with my half-truth,

A horrendous reminder of what happened mere hours ago

I loudly exhale and place my head in my hands

 

Recent memories flash into my head

Each one stacking a familiar burden onto my shoulders

I can still feel the hands squeezing my neck,

Fingers digging into my windpipe

 

The car flies through the shimmering lights of the city

The desolate roads tell me that we are near the station

We stop at a red light when she says,

“So, are you running from your girl, or something else?

You don’t gotta answer if you don’t wanna”

 

A red glow reflects off her hand

Her voice is no longer soothing and warm,

But calm and chilling

 

It makes my blood turn into ice

My stomach churns

I rub my chin and ignore the question

 

From the rear-view mirror, I see her eyes with a new shine in them

As the light turns green, her phone rings

“Sorry, hun. I gotta take this. Hope you don’t mind”

 

On my end, I hear several ‘uhuhs’ and ‘mhms’

“Got it. I’ll tell him”

My heart trembles and quakes

“Who was that, your day job?”

My voice cracks, much like the failure of my joke

 

It’s the last thing she says,

that strikes mind-numbing fear into my veins

A soft chuckle carries through the car like a breeze in the air,

“Yes”

 

“You have some friends waiting for you, hun”

The slight inflection in her voice tells me otherwise

I become rigid where I sit

The car comes to a halt, “We’re here”

 

I’m in a daze

she scribbles something down

Duffle bag in hand, I step out into the station,

My Uber stops me, “Wait. Here, hun”

 

The nickname feels more like a mockery at this point

I take the business card from her hands and read it:

 

“might wanna turn around

~ Hermes :)”

 

The passenger window slides up,

Hermes’ gentle grin and taunting eyes disappear

In the reflection of the window,

 Three men in suits stand behind me, guns in hand

 

I take in the depths of the darkness and what they imply

The outskirts remain quiet, nothing in sight

My mind implodes asking, why?

Why? The fires blaze and burn bright

A click, something cold I can feel behind my eye

I wish I were blind, then maybe my throat wouldn’t feel so tight