The Wrong Sister

I moved as fast as I could through the chilly streets of San Francisco. My rat was tucked inside my coat, no doubt just as confused as I was. I stuffed as much of my clothes, personal items, and medication as I could into a backpack and grabbed whatever cash I could find—which wasn’t much. Between the rat, backpack, purse, and two duffel bags, I was carrying quite a bit. I would really be screwed if I were robbed. I had no idea where I was going. I just knew I had to put as much distance between the condo and myself as possible. I knew I could no longer use my cell phone because its location could be traced. I didn’t doubt that Lisa had plenty of resources to track any trail I left—and rather quickly, too. I would not take any chances. I couldn’t afford to if I wanted to live. The only person I could think of contacting—and I wasn’t even sure I could trust her at that point—was Dr. Lacayo. She was the only one I was willing to take a chance on. I would have to get further away before I felt comfortable enough to stop, purchase, and activate a cheap cell phone to contact her. I needed to take my old phone, however, to get numbers from my contacts that I couldn’t remember. I just couldn’t make calls from it, and I didn’t want to browse the Internet from it either. I decided it would be best to wind through side streets, even if it might take me longer to put more distance between Lisa and me. I figured she was more likely to spot me on the main roads. A light drizzle began to fall from the cloud-laden sky. Shit! I didn’t want my rat to get drenched any more than I wanted my stuff to get wet. I was about three blocks away from the condo. I walked briskly but wouldn’t let myself break into a jog, so as not to tire myself out too fast. The street was deserted. Because it was Sunday, many of the stores were closed. A bad feeling started to come over me. Maybe I should’ve stuck to busier streets. I glanced behind me and saw no one. I felt alone and vulnerable. Then I glanced up ahead and saw just one person about a block away, who disappeared a second later when they rounded the corner of a building. A car went by, and it, too, was out of view in seconds. And then it happened. Way too quickly. The screech of tires… Footsteps pounding on the pavement… I swung around and looked behind me. Fuck! It was Lisa—and there was no way I could outrun her. Even if I weren’t carrying such a heavy load, she was the stronger, faster one. “You’ve got nowhere to go, Shay.” She ran toward me, a little out of breath, long, dark, wavy ponytail disheveled. Funny thing was, she still looked hot as hell despite how livid she was. She wore a brown leather jacket over a black sweater with jeans. How could I still notice how good-looking she was, given the fact that I was probably going to die that day? “Drop it!” “Drop what?” I stammered dumbly, never more terrified in my life. My mind screamed at me to run, but my body was frozen in place in sheer terror. A black-booted foot expertly kicked out at me, compliments of the kick-boxing training she’d had, along with probably a million other things… karate, tae kwon do, jiu-jitsu, and God only knew what else. I went down hard, belongings scattering on the pavement, but I was determined to hang onto my rat. Holding my wrist with one hand, she opened the passenger door of her truck and threw my stuff inside with her free hand. Then, before she threw me in along with it, she punched me in the temple, rendering my world as black as midnight.