The cold venom in Tan’s tone made Tess shiver. This man was far more dangerous than Tess had suspected. She had to call the police.
The woman struggled against the ropes, glancing wildly around, and her eyes met Tess’s. They widened. “Help me. Call—” The gunshot’s echo exploded in the stainless steel room and red sprayed from the woman’s head, coating the newly mopped floor. She fell back, her head twisting towards Tess, the life fading from her eyes.
Tess shrieked, and Tan whirled around. He swore and raised his gun, pointing it at her.
Tess ran.
Her feet pounded the bitumen as she rounded the corner of the restaurant and cut across the car park. Dirt sprayed beside her and a pop chilled her core. They were shooting at her!
Only a few more metres and she’d reach the tree-lined footpath. She pushed herself harder and ducked behind a tree as the bark exploded next to her and a second pop followed the first.
What was she doing? She couldn’t stay here. Though her fear wanted to override her feet, wanted her to pull her arms over her head and crouch down and pray she could disappear like she had when she’d had nightmares as a child, it wasn’t possible.
This was a nightmare, but she was wide awake.
She pushed off the tree and ran, her breath coming in gasps, weaving around the trees so Tan couldn’t get a clear shot.
Usually the streetlights were spaced far apart, leaving too much darkness between them, but tonight they seemed much closer together, illuminating her when all she wanted to do was hide.
A car roared to life behind her. She had to get off the road.
Up ahead was an alley between two houses. Her arms pumped as she urged herself faster, the weight of her laptop banging against her back. She charged down the path as the headlights illuminated her. Her lungs burned, and she couldn’t breathe.
Think.
She knew this neighbourhood. The next house had a dog which barked whenever she walked past. On cue, deep woofs sounded on the other side of the fence and the thud of feet as the dog raced along with her.
Tess glanced behind. Salvatore raced down the alleyway after her, his bulky body slowing him down. Fear made her fly.
Think.
The car must have gone around the block, which meant it would come for her from the right. Directly in front, bushland separated her from the highway, and to the left, a bend in the road led around into a cul-de-sac.
The bushland was filled with deadly Australian snakes and spiders which could kill her.
But she faced certain death if her pursuers caught her.
She dashed out of the alley and turned left, sprinting across the road and into the dark trees. A narrow dirt path led to the cycle way which ran along the main highway. Perhaps in the dark, Salvatore wouldn’t see it.
Another glance behind her. Salvatore ran onto the street. He looked right, and she ducked low to the ground and behind a tree. Her skin vibrated with tension as her eyes strained to pick out movement in the darkness. How many venomous creatures were watching her right now? Was a snake winding its way towards her, or a spider lowering itself on its web?
She sucked in oxygen, her breath loud to her ears, but she didn’t dare move.
A car roared down the road, the throaty burble identifying it as Tan’s Mustang. She froze in place. “Where is she?” Tan shouted.
“I don’t know,” Salvatore yelled back. “Might be in the bush or around the bend.”
Tess curled into a ball, picturing Tan looking into the bush. Around her she felt beady eyes watching her from the dark, waiting to jump out and strike her. She bit down on a sob.
“No. She’s terrified of snakes. Check the front yards, I’ll sweep the streets.” The car roared off again.
Tess stayed where she was, trying to breathe quietly, trying to calm her heart rate. She needed to move. After they’d searched the front yards of the houses, they’d search the bush. Tan knew she wasn’t athletic enough to jump a fence into a backyard.
She peered through the bush towards the highway. At this time of night, the traffic was intermittent. She could run across the road into the next suburb, but more bushland lay on the other side, and she wasn’t sure if there was a path through it. Did buses run this late at night? They must. Tan had let her go to an end of year university celebration last year as long as she was home by midnight, and she’d caught the last bus.
Tess didn’t dare check her public transport app yet. The light would be a beacon straight towards her. Tan drove past after going around the cul-de-sac, and Salvatore was several houses away, searching. This was her chance.
Slowly she shifted, crouching still, and slunk down the path. It had rained most of the day, so the leaves were damp, softening her steps. As soon as she reached the highway verge, she moved away from the path so she wouldn’t be seen.
