Chapter 7

My breath caught in my throat and I gasped as Duke pulled away before beginning again soon. I pulled his face away from mine and choked out: "Coshell. Behind you!" He whirled around and held me tight to him, meeting Mrs. Coshell's gaze with pure viciousness. He picked me up with haste this time and wasted no time on affection as I tumbled through the door and onto the bed. Running through the bathroom door, he threw my toiletry bag into the suitcase and his after mine.

"What's going on?" I called to him desperately, a million questions on my face.

"We're leaving. Running. Anywhere." He replied quickly, rushing and pulling things out of drawers and into the suitcase. "She's found us, now that she's most likely wiped out the whole school. She's coming after us," he continued, pain etched into his calm words. He knelt down next to me and took my hand in his, looking straight into my eyes. "Look," he said, panicky. "I don't know what's going to happen to…us." He choked on the last word, but continued. "I just want you to never doubt that I love you, more than you could ever know. And I won't let anything hurt you. Over my dead body." He growled as if the idea of me getting hurt caused him physical pain. His hand formed an iron cage around mine as he led me, creeping silently, to the door. "C'mon," he whispered, shutting the door without a sound. "We're getting the hell out of here."

Chapter 8

"Where are we going?" I whispered in Duke's ear ten minutes later as we made our way onto a crowded trolley. He pressed his finger to his lips to silence me.

"You don't have to whisper," he chuckled quietly. But his tone was still quiet as he continued. "I really don't know where we're going. Anywhere away from here, obviously." He pondered this for a minute, examining my expression with surprising scrutiny.

"So how? Planes? Boats?"

"Neither. Cars, boats, anything like that are to slow. Planes are too easy to track." He looked into the depths of my eyes, and his mouth set into a scowl of frustration. "Why aren't you bothered by any of this?" He shook me slightly.

"I am," I muttered quietly. "Just not outwardly…"

"Why?" he pleaded with me. "I don't understand." He looked at me, his brow furrowing. "You know you can tell me anything…" he pulled me a little closer to speak in my ear.

"It's not like that!" I exclaimed, catching on. "I know I can tell you, but, I don't really feel anything. It's not like I expected this, but I'm not scared."

"Why?!"

"I don't know…I just know that we're together, and that's all I'll ever need."

"You're crazy, you know that?" he playfully flicked me, whispering now, kissing my ear. People were starting to stare.

"Duke," I cautioned him, almost inaudible. I looked at them, but the bystanders shifted their gaze away from my blazing stare. He noticed the direction of my vision, and gently released me.

"Oh!" His eyes shone with a recent epiphany.

"What?" I queried warily.

"Bicycles," he answered simply, grinning at my unfathomable eyes. They were stuck in a blank stare.

"Okay," I responded, my voice reaching a quiet level of hysteria. "Now I'm scared." He laughed at me and gently pulled me off the trolley. He had spotted a slightly worn tandem bike in front of an old antiques shop. The rust-colored, sloppy paint job was chipped, exposing more iron body than paint cover. There was a sign that read, "FREE TO A GOOD HOME," like it could actually tell whether its home was suitable. He sauntered up nonchalantly and gently pressed the tires down, checking the air level. The gracious giver had filled the supply generously. He lightly felt the entire vehicle, his hands running smoothly over the frame. He sat on the seat; it sank slightly, but held. Duke gripped the handlebars firmly, steering the front, making the wheel scratch against the rough concrete. I stood several feet away, watching him closely.

"Oh, come on," he persuaded gently. He held his arms out, an open invitation. My muscles didn't shift a fraction of an inch. His eyes gently smoldered mine, the intensity of the electricity flowing through me shocking my limbs. Apparently my thoughts were clearly written on my face. He responded, his lips cracking into a one-sided smile. "If you don't come, I'll just drag you back," he warned me.

"Why?"

His eyes suddenly flared with an unspoken anger. "What, you think I'll just let you leave with her on the loose?" He gestured like he was going to grab me by my upper arms, but restrained himself. "I don't care if you hate me! I'm not leaving you. Never!" his voice turned husky with emotion. "You're coming with me. And that's that." His tone rang with finality that I couldn't argue with him if I wanted to.

"Okay. I know. I'm sorry." I shied away from his rage meekly. "Fine." I sighed with resolution. "I'll go on that. But don't expect me to be happy about it."

He grinned again. "Did you expect me to?"

Soon we were flying. There was zero traffic, so Duke zoomed in and out of the middle of the street, and I could feel him shaking with laughter as I whimpered and tightened my hold around his waist.

"Where are we going?" I screamed over the roaring wind. It whipped my hair around my head, stinging my eyes as it clouded my vision.

"Don't know!" he roared back at me.

And at that moment, I didn't care where we were going. The sensation was the most wonderful thing I've ever experienced. The cool breeze whipped my hair with what I thought insane speeds. I couldn't see anything with my head ducked in between my arm and Duke's back, but now I peered up cautiously. The flora and fauna were mere blurs of green off the edge of the paved black road in front of us. Duke's feet on the pedals, whirring constantly, pushed the bike forward rapidly. To my immense surprise, his breathing was slightly staggered but he hadn't broken a sweat yet.

A sign caught my attention. It read, "WELCOME TO BARNEGAT, NEW JERSEY." New Jersey? I thought blankly, staring at the gigantic blue sign displaying the lighthouse Old Barney.

"Duke," I said into his shoulder, not having to shout now as he had slowed to a pace at which I did not have to hyperventilate. "Did you know we're in New Jersey?"

He chuckled. "Of course!"

I whacked him on the head and the bike wavered slightly, but we stayed safely on the road. "And…?"

"Okay, look," he reasoned with me. "It's a nice, enclosed town, nice school—"

"School?!"

"Look, no offense, but you look so…high school. I don't. It would be really suspicious if you didn't go to school."

"Fine," I grumbled. "Where are we sleeping?"

He paused for a second. "Well, there's a Holiday Inn close by, and I have all my college money not being spent, so we can stay there." Hotel rooms. Yay.

"Your first day of school is tomorrow."

Wow.

"Are you crazy?" I pronounced each syllable carefully, drawing out my shock. "I can't go. Not yet. I won't!"

"You know, there is a very fine line between brave and stupid. You can't not go when she's coming. I'll make you," he answered simply. I knew this was a lost cause. I tried my best to make my pout look attractive, but he didn't notice. So I occupied myself with studying the little town I would call my prison. It was any other small suburb. Barnegat had one or two main roads with shops in the middle and housing developments on the very edges, one or two neighborhoods braving the outskirts. I bit my lip and decided not to argue, letting the panic build inside my chest until I was drowning in it. I suppressed a scream of undeniable terror. My hair was no longer whipping around my face, but I liked the comforting curtain of it sheathing me, so I purposefully hid behind it like a five-year-old playing hide and seek. Duke laughed and half-turned to face me, his look suddenly serious.

"It's school. It'll be fine. You're being stupid," he muttered the last part quietly, and I wondered vaguely if I was supposed to hear. I pretended I didn't.

That night was when the raw fear hit. It burned my insides, and I couldn't sleep with the lurking doom awaiting me. Duke tried to comfort me, to no avail.

"Go to bed," he instructed me sternly, and gently shoving me in the direction of the bed. I didn't budge, my face contorted into a grimace of defiance. "I really don't want to do this," he looked at me and concentrated. Almost blindingly fast, he whipped me into his arms and jumped onto the bed, taking me with him. He tucked the blankets up under my chin and kissed my nose goodnight. I pouted again, and I could hear his eyes rolling back in his head sarcastically, but climbed in next to me. I curled myself into a ball and he held me there, rocking gently.

"What if they don't like me?" I complained. He laughed and kissed me once, his eyes doing that unfair melting thing again.

"Sleep," he insisted as I snuggled closer. Reluctantly, I sighed and let the darkness close over me.