Night Run
Song Wright

 

Susan awoke. It was one of those strange awakenings when one moment you are sleeping and dreaming and the next moment you are wide awake but you don’t know exactly when the dream stopped and reality began.
She slid out of her bed and dressed. Absurdly she wondered if she should be wearing a denim shirt over a red T-shirt. She tucked the shirt under her jeans, and then changing her mind pulled it out and tied a knot just over her belly button. Quickly she made a ponytail and went to the door.
She grabbed the knob and carefully turned making sure she didn’t let go while the latch was retreated. She stepped out and grabbed the other knob with her left hand while her right hand still held the knob and the latch retreated. She carefully released her right hand and with her left hand released the latch as she closed the door. Her mom could sleep through a loud thunderstorm but a click of a door could wake her up instantly.
Susan stood still in front of her door for half a minute making sure everyone was still sound asleep. When she was satisfied she crept down the hall and down the stairs to the back door. Earlier that day she had squirted a generous amount of oil on the hinges and the latches of the back door to make sure it opened soundlessly.
It was a bright night with the almost full moon casting its eerie light over the landscape. The houses stood more like some giant creatures asleep than inanimate objects. Even the asphalt on the street shimmered as if its black skin was coming alive under the magical moonlight. Susan half expected the parked cars to start transforming into some unearthly creatures.
As bright as the night was the shadows were even darker. Each black void between houses and under bushes seemed to extend invisible tendrils to pull her into its endless vacuum. Susan shook as if her goose bumps would fall off.
She hurriedly picked up her bike that was lying on the edge of the back lawn. “Shit,” she cursed under her breath as one of the pedals scratched her ankle. Her single utterance rippled through the silent night. Somewhere not too distant a flock of birds seemed to sense the offense and fluttered away from their resting tree.
She quickly checked her wristwatch. Good, she had plenty of time, but she didn’t feel like slowing down.
She got on her bike and in two strokes she was on the street. In another second Susan was gliding down the hill following the yellow dividing line with her ponytail flying along behind her head. For a brief moment she allowed herself to release her hands from the handlebars and feel the cool night air rush through her body. It felt sweet and free. She knew this was what she’d feel if she could fly like the birds. But she wasn’t a bird, was she?
With that momentary feeling of her stomach being suddenly suspended in mid air the road turned uphill. Susan got off her seat and put all her weight on the pedals and pumped vigorously. She didn’t slow down as the brightly lit hospital ground approached. She hoped she’d only be a blur to anyone who happened to glance in her direction.
Another five minutes of riding hard on the bicycle brought her onto Route 102. Now that there was occasional traffic she rode the bike along the edge of the road.
She knew the red stables of the miniature horse farm were still over the hill about a mile away. Nevertheless, she stretched her neck to see the red barn appear above her horizon.
Susan veered left onto the gravel road just before the farm, and glided into the shadow of the giant red barn. She got off her bike and wiped the beads of perspiration off her forehead with her sleeve. Just as she leaned her bike against the wall of the stables, she heard a rustle coming from behind her. She turned around and saw a squirrel scurrying along the top of the white fence that bordered the whole miniature horse farm. Above the post of the fence as it turned ninety-degree angle the Moon glowed with its knowing beam.
Susan turned back and instinctively put her hand to her mouth as she tried to muffle her cry. In front of her stood Melanie looking pale and ghostly as she stood in the shadow of the barn.
“God, you scared me to death!” Susan whispered. “Have you been waiting long? I’m sorry. I fell asleep.” Susan spoke quickly. Her heart was still beating fast and it affected her speech.
 “You’re not late. I just got here a few minutes ago,” said Melanie.
With that they looked at each other in silence. There wasn’t much to say anymore. They had already said all they needed to say. Besides, words couldn’t describe how they were feeling.
As if both read each other’s mind they turned at the same time and sat on the grass with their knees up and leaning against the wall of the barn. Susan reached around her neck and pulled out the dog tags she bought from the mall few days ago. The silvery metal was embossed with Melanie’s name and Susan’s address. Susan handed it to Melanie.
“I want to know…Just in case something happens to you.”
Demurely Melanie took the tags and tucked them under her shirt.
“Thanks,” she whispered.
Susan then pulled out a wad of bills from her back pocket and gave it to Melanie.
“You’ll need it more than me. Take it. It’s all my savings. Three hundred and twenty five dollars. Not bad for a shopping nut like me, huh?” said Susan with a little giggle. She wasn’t about to tell Melanie that she had been stealing from her parents. She didn’t want to admit either that she almost enjoyed doing it. She wanted to say she felt like Robin Hood, but was ashamed she had made such a comparison.
“You don’t have to, you know,” said Melanie, but her hands were already reaching for her backpack. Melanie knew as well as Susan that she could use the money. Actually she needed it. All Melanie could scrounge up was sixty dollars and she knew that wouldn’t be enough to start a new life.
“I guess you better be going,” said Susan as she got up.
“Oh, I almost forgot.” Susan turned to her bike and opened the pouch that was hanging between the handlebars. “I stamped and addressed all the envelopes, so all you have to do is write. The cards are small so you don’t even have to write a whole lot, unless you want to, of course. Would you do that for me?” Susan asked feeling a little uneasy.
“Sure.” Melanie thought promises were easy now. She got up and dusted herself. She took the little box of stationary and tucked it in the front pocket of her backpack.
Melanie walked around Susan and took hold of the handlebars. Without a word the two girls started to walk toward Route 102 with Melanie now guiding Susan’s bike between them. When they reached the edge of the street, Susan came around and gave Melanie a hug.
“Bye, Melanie.”
“Bye, Susan.”
They said each other’s name as if they knew they would never say it again to each other. Susan watched as Melanie rode away on her bike. She didn’t want to turn around until she couldn’t see Melanie anymore, but she forced herself to do so. She had a long way to walk back home now that she was without a bike.
Susan was glad the night was so bright. It was easier to ignore her fears with the moon shining so bright. Still her skin tingled and goose bumps rose.
Susan hurried her walk and kept her thought on Melanie. What would happen to her now? Well, she knew that. Melanie would ride Susan’s bike to the bus stop next to the Shell station on Route 440. She would board the Greyhound bus headed for New York at 3:45AM. Once in New York Melanie would disappear into the crowd.
Susan wanted to know what would happen to Melanie then. She had asked herself this question many times. Each time she pictured some horrific scene playing out in her head as if she was watching a horror movie. And each time the scene ended with Melanie dead on some street with her ghostly eyes staring into the void while blood ran down her cheeks.
Susan shuddered and hurried her steps once again. She wanted to be back in her bed where she could feel warm and protected. As she thought of her bed, Susan felt odd that it was so easy to imagine Melanie dead on some street in New York, but it was hard to imagine Melanie at home.
Susan had seen people getting shot, their throat slit, and even their heads being split in half by an ax, all through the magic of Hollywood, but she’d never seen a man molest a child. Of course she’d heard about it and the few times she managed to watch the day time talk shows the guests talked about it as if they were showing off some old battle scars. She knew it wasn’t like that though. It wasn’t even like the sex you see in movies. She had seen some and once even saw a pretend rape when Walter Smith sneaked away one of his father’s X-rated movies and passed it around school. Everybody thought it was gross, but they all watched it anyway.
Melanie had only implied about the things that went on in her house at night. Susan tried to find out more without outright asking her, but she wasn’t very successful. When she tried to imagine what went on with Melanie at home, she felt like someone had blindfolded her while the TV was turned on. She could see nothing but she could hear the muffled cries and ignored protests. And that made what went on in Melanie’s house even more sinister. A shiver ran up her spine.
Susan remembered the many days when she suggested one solution after another, and all the time she could see in Melanie’s eyes that she had already thought about them all.
There were times when Susan wanted to talk to an adult about Melanie’s problem. She couldn’t think of anyone though. She certainly couldn’t talk to a man. She just couldn’t trust them. Her father, maybe, but she knew her father would only make her talk to other strangers, and strangers she could not trust. If a man like Melanie’s father who was so well liked by everyone could do such a horrific thing and look so innocent during the day, how could she trust anyone by just looking at them. Perhaps she could have talked to her mother, but she doubted if her mom would have believed her. Susan felt sad, guilty and frustrated all at once. It was amazing how her mom could put up a wall and refuse to see the truth when she didn’t want to. In her mind people simply did not do such things, especially if they were people she knew.
What’s the use? Melanie away from home was far better than Melanie at home. Susan could not allow herself to think of it any other way.
As she walked up the last hill and saw her house sitting quietly asleep under the moon, Susan felt a pang of guilt. Tears came unbidden. She was gratified and at the same time ashamed for having such a comfortable haven. She felt she ought to have gone with Melanie. Two would have made it easier, she thought.
She shouldn’t be so pessimistic. Susan chided herself. Melanie would make it. She has to. It’s just so unfair if she doesn’t. Susan muffled her little voice as it tried to say, “but life is unfair.”
Susan slipped into bed and felt the soft sheets under her pillow. Again she felt guilty for not going with Melanie. The truth was she didn’t want to go with Melanie. She liked her home. She even loved her parents even though they could be so unbearably mean sometimes.
Susan rubbed the soft sheets with her palm again. It felt comforting. She felt secure in the soft caress of her baby blue cotton sheets. Susan yawned and suddenly felt very tired. She closed her eyes. As she did so she heard her mother open the door.
“Susan are you awake?” Her mother whispered.
Susan kept her eyes closed and her muscles relaxed.
Susan’s mother paused by the door while she made sure Susan was still asleep. She was sure she heard the click of a door opening and closing. Perhaps her paranoia had been causing her bad dreams. Susan had been brooding and acting so distant lately. For a moment she longed for the little girl who used to run to her with every little problem she encountered. She closed the door feeling she somehow failed to see the truth.

 

 

Copyright © 2000 Song Wright
Published on the World Wide Web by "www.storymania.com"