Renting Ginny

I froze in sheer terror, unable to believe what I was seeing. But I was seeing what I was seeing. There she stood, as gorgeous and as crazy as ever, leaning against the doorjamb. I knew I couldn’t run. She had me completely cornered. The only way I stood a chance of running was to get out of the room. Thinking quickly, an idea came to me. It wasn’t one I liked, but if it would save my ass in the end, then that was okay with me. “Anina,” I said with the biggest smile I could force my lips to make. “There’s my sexy German goddess! My God, I was so, so worried!” For a fleeting second, I could see a hint of surprise register on her face. She definitely hadn’t been expecting that one. I put on my bravest face and walked right up to her. “I’m so glad you’re alright.” But she could see right through my act. Hey, I never claimed to be able to put on an Academy Award-winning performance, but I did try. “I don’t know what the hell you’re trying to pull,” Anina hissed dangerously, eyes glinting with rage and lunacy, “but it won’t work. It seems to me you owe me another four days of service, and I want the rest of my money’s worth!” “I think it was three days,” I said, phony smile once again in place, “but I’ll give you ten if you just relax and calm down. I’m not trying to pull anything on you. Why are you so paranoid? I’m into our games just as much as you are. I miss being tied up and made to—” “Shut the hell up!” I tried not to show the fear I was feeling. “Just shut the hell up and move it.” She gestured me out of the room, giving me just the chance I needed. I lowered my head and stepped out of the room ahead of her. And then I flew down the stairs screaming. “Dad! Dad! She’s here! Dad! She’s after me! Help!” Anina was close on my heels. I could practically feel her breath on the back of my neck as she commanded me to stop running. Now almost to the bottom of the stairs, I expected my Dad to come running, but he didn’t. Where the hell was he?! Anina caught a fistful of my hair, bringing me to an instant halt. “Ow!” I cried out in pain. Something cold and sharp grazed the small strip of skin between my shirt and jeans toward my lower back. “Make one more sound and I won’t hesitate to kill you,” she ordered. “Is that understood, slave?” “Y-yes,” I stuttered, unable to keep the fear from my voice or my legs from trembling. “Now walk out that door without a word.” I wasn’t sure at first that my legs would even support me, but I did as I was told, all the while the steely cold blade of death remained present against my exposed skin. Why hadn’t my father heard me? Why wasn’t anyone coming to help me?! Keeping a firm grip on my wrist, she slipped the knife into the waistband of her jeans and pulled a keyring out of her pocket. She used the remote attached to it and unlocked the doors to the Mercedes, which had been moved to a more secluded location. The locks popped open like softened gunshots. Just then, the knife slipped from her waistband, hitting the pavement below with a thud. She momentarily loosened her grip on my wrist as she bent down to reach for it. That was my chance! I yanked my arm free of her grip and ran like hell. I was thankful to be in good shape and a pretty fast runner. But I could only get so far so fast. She immediately gave chase, the unlocked Mercedes and fallen knife momentarily forgotten. “Get back here this instant!” I ran through the parking lot and onto a grassy section. I propelled my body toward the street as fast as I could. I wanted to be near as many people as I could possibly be near, knowing that someone was more likely to stop and help me that way, and that Anina would be less likely to do anything stupid with people around. At least I hoped that would be the case since some people were just too crazy and too stupid to care. But as I ran alongside the street, there was hardly a car in sight, and absolutely no one at all was out walking dogs or riding bikes. There was a car sitting at a red light about half a block up the street. I ran toward it as fast as I could, arms waving frantically in hopes of the driver spotting me in their rear-view mirror. But if they did, it had no effect on them, for as soon as the light turned green, they sped onward. My lungs began to burn, and I began to feel a cramp in my side as well. In that moment, I totally regretted not taking up running like I had considered doing many times before. To be able to run long distances without stopping was exactly what I needed to do right now! But I couldn’t. I simply didn’t have the stamina or the leg muscles necessary to pump my body forward for that long. Instead, I was forced to stop, doubled over with my hands resting on my thighs as I struggled to catch my breath and slow my racing heart down. Maybe I wasn’t in as good shape as I thought I was. As soon as I could, I hurried onto a residential street because there didn’t seem to be any businesses around anyway. I didn’t want to waste time knocking on doors after what had happened with the strange old couple on the street that seemed to have disappeared, and I didn’t want to be in view of the street either if I could help it. I ran between two houses and toward the backyards. I hated to trespass and risk being attacked by any vicious dogs, but I didn’t see where I had much of a choice. “Shit!” I muttered once I saw the block walls. Chain link fences I could climb, but block walls were a bit harder. I ran down the block, glancing left and right for any yards I could get through that would allow me to cut over to the next street and lose Anina. She’d seen me enter this street, so I wasn’t safe on it. I started to dart diagonally across a small intersection when she came out of nowhere. The black Mercedes loomed threateningly as I tried to dodge it by changing directions as fast as possible. But the crazy lunatic behind the wheel was faster than me. Or maybe not. The vehicle missed me by inches. I was still alive! And still in danger, too. I continued running as terrified and as exhausted as I was. I knew that if I somehow survived this madwoman and escaped with my life, I would probably be sore for weeks, but I didn’t care. If anything, it may encourage me to get in shape, not that I was fat or anything. I’d had a few fat spells in life, but for the most part, I watched what I ate and didn’t let myself pack on much extra weight. It wasn’t only unsightly, but it was also a great way to open the door to all kinds of health problems. I turned onto another street and quickly dared a glance behind me. She probably saw which street I turned onto, but if I ran and hid somewhere as fast as I could, then she at least wouldn’t know where on the street I was. For all she would know, I could be inside someone’s house, calling the cops on her. And so I dodged between two houses with thick, tall shrubbery between them and remained as still and as silent as I could, not caring what kinds of insects may be crawling all over me, eager to meet their sudden visitor and maybe sample a taste of them as well. I remained as still as I could so as not to cause the shrubs to make too much movement. I listened for any sounds around me, but heard nothing. No people, no animals, no nothing. Where the hell was everybody? Then, like a devil in the night came the slowly approaching sound of a vehicle. I could just make out Anina’s car through the branches and leaves in which I hid behind, hoping she couldn’t see me as well. The problem was that I had bright colored clothing on, as usual, and was afraid it would stand out through the shrubs and give away my hiding place. The Mercedes stopped, nearly stopping my heart right along with it. No one was around, and there was no place to run to other than toward her, since everyone’s backyard in the area seemed to be enclosed by block walls. Therefore, there was nothing to stop her from getting out of her car and dragging me out of the shrubs and back to her crazy world if she spotted me. But she moved on instead. She either hadn’t seen me or she just wanted to play with me for a while. Cat and mouse was a fun game for these kinds of sickos, wasn’t it? After what seemed like forever, I rose on already sore and shaky legs, deciding that she probably hadn’t seen me after all, and stepped out from behind the concealing shrubbery. I cautiously stepped out onto the road and began wandering aimlessly. I walked and walked, mind churning anxiously, confused as to why no one seemed to exist on the planet at the moment other than myself and the lunatic that was after me. I kept walking, once again noting the unfamiliarity of my surroundings. I hoped to come across a business soon that would let me use their phone. I just didn’t trust any of the residents. I remembered that one of the guys had said they worked in a guitar shop. But what guitar shop and where? And what the hell had happened to my father and Emmy? Lost in my own confusion and exhaustion, I never heard the black Mercedes run up behind me like a cat pouncing upon its prey. It was only within the last split second that I turned around and realized I was about to die.