Chapter Six

11:35 P.M.

Lisa's hands were trembling on the steering wheel. She tried to stop, but couldn't.

"Scared?"

Lisa looked at Jackson and smiled weakly.

"A little," she admitted. She made the turn into the deserted driveway next to the alley. I can't believe I'm actually doing this, she thought.

"Remember what we talked about," Jackson said, "If anything happens, scream." He handed her a gun. "If you have to..."

She nodded. "Believe me, I took about a thousand self defense courses after you. I can handle myself." Despite the reassurance, she herself still felt nervous. She took the gun and stuck it in her purse. "For the record, I hate this. I swore never to look at your fugly face again. Now I have to look at it all the time."

He shook his head. "You don't have to look at me when you're out there," he pointed to the alley. "Try not to, anyway. Just one glance in my direction could give me away."

"Right." Lisa leaned her head against the back of the seat. Here goes, Leese, she said to herself, took a breath, and opened the door.

Much less to her surprise, no one was there. It was just a little under a half an hour until midnight. They wouldn't be here yet.

She nervously reviewed what Jackson had told her. Use the gun if she had to, and if she couldn't, scream, scream, scream. She gave a large shudder. This was too much. This was the third time she was dealing with a life-threatening situation. She looked down the street. No one there. She heaved a long, heavy sigh.

Suddenly she felt extremely dizzy. She shook her head and tried to get rid of it, but it wouldn't stop. What was happening? She fell to the ground.

Then, it passed. She shook her head and stood up. That was the third time today she had felt dizzy. Why today, of all days?

She heard a car drive past. She tensed, but then it passed, and she relaxed. How long did she have to put up with this? She slipped her hand into her purse and pulled out her cell phone. 11:55. He would be here soon. All I want is my family back, she thought, close to tears. I just want my life to go back to normal.

But for everything to go normal, she had to deal with this Bentley character. The one thing she didn't want to do. But it was necessary. If he ever got here...she checked her cell phone again. 12:01. He should be here any minute.

Lisa thought of her husband, how much she loved him...and how much longing she had to marry him. She thought of her daughter, of how she desperately wanted to see Mattie's lovely face again...it was all too much. Too much. Too-

"Hello, Lisa."

She was about to turn around to see who had spoken when a firm hand wrapped itself around her neck. "Don't move," the man said. She could tell that the man's voice was distorted, and she couldn't recognize it.

"Who are you?" she managed to choke out.

"That would be telling, wouldn't it?" the man said. "Now, if you would-"

Without warning, Lisa thrust her arm out and elbowed him. It had the desired effect: the man stumbled backward, giving her enough time to run away. Unfortunately, the man recovered quickly, and was soon at her heels.

Run, Lisa, run...she thought over and over. But the man was too fast. He was catching up to her. She had to do something. Before she could think of anything, she felt insanely dizzy. Not again, not again! she thought. She fell to the ground, head spinning.

The man was there. He put his hand around her waist and pulled her up. As soon as she had recovered, she started thrashing around crazily. Then, without warning, the man put a white cloth over her mouth. An awful, bitter odor filled her nose and mouth, and she fell to the ground, unconscious.

Finally, some action! I can't tell you about the next chapter without giving it away, so you'll have to wait until my next update. Chapter seven is in progress.