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melissabik

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There was silence in the car on the way back to town.  Occasionally, I would glance up at Humphrey.  I had never gotten a really good look at him.  He was not as old as I had expected; he looked to be maybe in his late twenties or early thirties.  He had blonde hair just like his mother’s, and it was buzzed like that in the army.  He had broad shoulders and a wide jaw.  Altogether, he looked pretty decent to me.  I wonder what he’s thinking right now.  I wonder what he thinks about me… I mean, I am the girl who just popped into their house out of nowhere, with a crazy lunatic following me, trying to kill me…  I was jolted from my thoughts when I realized I was staring at Humphrey.  He was looking straight at me.  I smiled nervously.  “What’s your name?” he asked as he turned back onto the road.  His voice was low, like Vin Diesel’s voice.  I smiled to myself at the reminder.  I loved those movies he was in… Fast and the Furious…  One of my favorites.  Back to the subject at hand, Kat.  I swear, I am so ADD…  I am always getting off subject…  “I’m Katarina,” I replied finally.  Humphrey smiled.  “Nice to meet you.  And I’m sure you all ready know my name is Humphrey.  Mom probably all ready told you about me,” he said.

I laughed at his comment, thinking about Millie.  “I’m sorry that I caused so many problems for you and Millie,” I said regretfully.  Humphrey shook his head.  “No; you’re in danger.  That guy is obviously trying to kill you.  I would have gotten rid of him myself, but I probably would have taken it too far.  I do know how to kill a man 30 ways with my bare hands…”  What?  That sounds kind of creepy…  Should I be worried?  He obviously noticed my sudden change in mood, so he explained his last statement.  “I was in the army.”  Oh… I was wondering…  “Why aren’t you in the army anymore?” I asked out of curiosity.  Humphrey shrugged his shoulders.  “Two years ago, I walked over a landmine.  I heard the click, so I knew I would probably be a goner…  I stood there for hours, sweat pouring down my face…  It was terrible,” he said.  I looked him over; nothing was missing.

He saw my confusion.  “The mine was a dud.  But, after I found that out, another bomb exploded 10 feet away from me.  I was thrown back as metal flew all over the place.  Pieces went into my leg and it almost came completely off…” he explained.  I looked at him in horror.  “Oh, Humphrey… That’s so terrible!” I gasped.  Humphrey realized the terrible image he had just painted.  “I’m sorry; you didn’t really need to know that.  I apologize,” he started.  I shook my head.  “No; it’s okay.  I asked…” I reassured him.  We exited the highway and headed back into the town.  Everything began to look more familiar.  “You can call me Jack,” I heard Humphrey say.  I turned from the window back towards him.  “What?” I asked, wondering if I had heard him right.  “I generally don’t go by the name Humphrey.  Only my mom calls me that.  Everyone else calls me Jack,” he explained. 

I nodded.  “Just tell me when you see the motel,” Jack stated.  I frantically searched the road, left and right, looking for that little, dirty motel.  We past so many that looked just as bad as our motel, but suddenly, I spotted the sign.  That was when I realized the sun had almost set.  “There; turn in there,” I replied, pointing towards the parking lot.  Jack turned into the motel, as I searched the parking lot for Sam.  I don’t know why I expected to see Sam still in the exact same spot he was when we drove away.  Who was I kidding?  It had been over 12 hours since I had disappeared.  Who knows where Sam was?  He was probably looking for me; I was looking for him…  I didn’t know what to do.  Jack stopped the car and got out.  I followed after him.  Where was my Sam?  I ran frantically to the front desk of the motel.  “Excuse me?” I asked an overweight man in about his 50s who was eating a sub sandwich that was leaking onto his all ready stained shirt.  He looked up at me briefly, and then turned back to his 1960s television set.

“Have you seen the guy who was with me yesterday?” I asked, hoping to hear good news.  The man shrugged his shoulders.  I rolled my eyes in annoyance.  “Look, he’s missing, and I just wanted to know if you might have seen where he went,” I explained.  The man completely ignored me.  It was so infuriating!  Why couldn’t he just answer the damn question?  “Do you know how to speak?  Or are you just deaf?!” I yelled angrily.  That caught Jack’s attention.   I turned to see him hobbling over.  That was when I realized he was limping… His war wound…   He came into the building.  “What’s going on?” he asked me.  I threw my hands up in the air.  “This guy won’t tell me anything!” I yelled in frustration.  Jack turned his eyes onto the man in the chair.  He seemed to be giving him the look of death.  Suddenly, he reached over the table and grabbed the overweight man by his shirt.  “Listen up, little man.  You are going to tell us exactly where the guy she was with went, got it?”

I swear, that man pissed in his pants.  Suddenly he knew exactly how to talk.  “He, he… he went onto the highway.  He said he was looking for you.  I told him I saw you drive off this morning in that direction…” he stuttered.  Jack let him go and patted his shirt’s wrinkles.  “There, now was that so hard?  Did he say where he might have gone exactly?” he asked.  The man shook his head, a little frustrated, feeling more courageous now that Jack was on the other side of the table.  “I told you; he went on the highway.  That’s all I know, I swear,” he stated.  Jack walked back out to his car.  I followed after him.  “What am I supposed to do now?” I asked, feeling completely helpless.  Jack had no answer for me.  I didn’t really expect him to.  Why would he?  I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes.  “I guess you’ll just have to keep looking for him,” Jack replied.

What?  Was he going to leave me here, alone?  I knew I couldn’t take care of myself… How had I become so dependent on people all of a sudden?  Who was I kidding?  I had always been dependent on someone to take care of me… First it was Sarah, then it was Sam, and now that Sam was missing, I needed Jack.  “You’re just going to go?” I asked, horrified at the thought.  Jack looked at me with contempt.  “I’m not just going to leave you here to fend for yourself, Katarina.  Get into the truck.  We’ll just head out onto the highway,” he stated.  I let out a sigh of relief.  Phew!  I got in alongside him.  “Thank you,” I whispered before he put the key into ignition.  I could feel the tears ready to fall from my eyes.  I just felt so… lost… Mentally and physically.  “I just don’t know what to do.  Everything has just been so crazy.  I just feel like this isn’t real…  This isn’t supposed to be happening to me.  I shouldn’t be running away from a man who’s trying to kill me; I should be at home with my mom…  I should be in my house, in my bed… not on the run!”  I couldn’t hold back the tears anymore.