The Run (The Running Suspense Collection #1)

by Diane Strong

making contact with a leaf. Her tongue grazes over the leaf, searching for moisture. The subtle dampness only makes her crave water even more.

  The pressure of being face down on the ground causes Cora’s face to go numb. She attempts to lift her head. It hurts like hell but she is able to move it the tiniest bit, rocking slightly side to side. The blood flows back into her left cheek. She rests for a moment. Then with all the strength she can muster, she turns her head to the left and lays it back down on the ground.

  The nausea comes quickly. She begins to swallow, repeatedly trying to stop the oncoming heave. She breathes slowly and deeply, and it passes. Thank you. She feels enormous relief.

  With the movement Cora feels more awake than she has since she woke the first time. Her senses are keen and she feels aware. She can see the road now. It is up higher than her. There are weeds and a ditch that falls to a long flat place where she lays.

  It’s time to do a body check. Until now she has avoided movement since it creates such an enormous pain and rush of nausea. But she needs to know where her body is and what it’s capable of.

  Beginning with her fingers, she moves each one on her right hand one at a time. They are stiff but they move. The left hand is vacant. She sends the message to move and nothing happens. She feels nothing and nothing happens.

  Toes are next. First her right leg. Nothing. Oh, God. Now the left. She pauses, building courage to try. With a deep breath, Cora attempts to move the toes of her left foot. She is instantly punished with a sharp stab in her hip, causing her to belt out a cry.

  The nausea rushes at her and this time she can’t stop it. Her body heaves and with each heave, the pain attacks her and ravages her body. Nothing comes up. The heaves slow and eventually stops, then a rush of endorphins flood her body. Engulfed in pure bliss, she falls fast asleep.

  “What do you mean it’s not working?” Shawn stands at the checkout of Lowes with a cart full of supplies.

  “I’m sorry, Mr. Franklin, the card has been denied.” The teller hands the debit card back to him.

  “Eh, really? That’s so weird. My wife just put money in that account.” Shawn feels overcome with anger toward Cora. She’s making him look bad. The people standing behind him in line shift their weight from one leg to the other.

  “Okay. Look, can you just set these materials aside and I’ll come back and pay for them? I need to figure out what’s going on with this account.”

  “Sure, Mr. Franklin. Not a problem. We know you’ll be back, you’re only here five times a day.”

  “Thanks, hun.” Shawn turns to the people behind him. “Sorry. She’s all yours.”

  Shawn, feeling irritated, walks toward the exit while dialing Cora’s phone. Whenever he runs into obstacles like this, it sets him behind for the entire day. He wants so badly to finish up this job and get home. The phone rings two times and then it stops. He can hear the kids fighting, then a loud thud.

  “Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!” Jamie can’t stop saying ‘daddy’. Overwhelmed with relief, he chokes on his tears and starts bawling into the phone.

  Ella tries to grab the phone from him but he clutches it so tightly, she can’t get it.

  “Jamie? Jamie what’s wrong, honey?” Shawn panics. He knows Jamie’s serious cry. The cry he made when he broke his arm on the playground. Something is wrong and it feels like a cold knife slicing along the side of his beating heart.

  “Daaaaadddyy.”

  “Give me the phone, Jamie! Please! Before he hangs up!” Ella cries now. She’s tried so hard to be strong these last two days and now the emotions flood back and take over her entire body. She shakes with tears.

  “Daddy? Daddy are you there?” Ella fights to keep her voice steady.

  “I’m here, honey! What’s wrong? Tell me what’s wrong?” Shawn fights tears.

  “It’s Mommy…” Ella brakes down before she can finish. The thought that she may never see her mommy again hits her like a storm.

  “Oh God! What about Mommy, honey?”

  “She…” Ella can’t breathe.

  “Calm down, Ella. I want you to calm down. Take a deep breath. Do you hear me? Take a long deep breath. That’s good, I can hear you. Good. Now tell me slowly. What happened to Mommy?” Shawn has come to a stop just inside the exit doors. People who pass him seem concerned.

  “She never came back, Daddy. She never came back! She said she would be back before the movie ended but she never came back! She lied!” Ella yells at her dad, a response to the anger she feels toward her mother.

  Shawn is confused. Cora would never leave the kids and go anywhere. The closest grocery is thirty minutes away. There’s nowhere she would go to.

  “Where did she go, Ella? Did she tell you?”

  “She went for a run, Daddy! Aren’t you listening to me?” Ella feels impatient. She wants her dad to come home now and fix things. She doesn’t want to waste time on the phone with him.

  “Honey, it’s only 9:40, what time did she leave? She normally runs for an hour. I’m sure she’ll be right back.” Shawn is upset with Cora for not discussing this plan before, yet at the same time feels relieved that she’s probably on her way back and perfectly fine. The kids are just overreacting.

  “No, Daddy! No! No! No! You’re not listening!” Ella stomps her feet in frustration.

  “What, honey?” Shawn tries to be patient.

  “She left two days ago!”

  Goliath pulls himself up from his cushion with a grunt and steps outside his doghouse. He walks over to his water dish again and finds it empty. Peering up to the door, he whimpers, then walks over to the mat and lies down.

  Less than a minute later, he gets up again. His thirst makes lying down unbearable. Without water, he’s not hungry. He meanders down the dirt driveway and away from the house.

  Stan, covered in sweat, shovels the last few scoops of red mulch into the long trailer behind his truck. He had meant to take the load up to Simpsonville yesterday but is so backed up, he couldn’t swing it. The house in Simpsonville is still in the building process. The contractor told him not to worry, that the house isn’t even really ready for the mulch. They decided to use the mulch that Jeremy delivered around the barn so it wasn’t a wasted trip after all.

  He pulls the big tarp over the pile and methodically secures it with straps, then goes back into the office. He has a few phone calls to make before he heads out.

  “Oh fuck. No! No! No!” Shawn’s hands shake so badly he can hardly bring up the keypad to dial 911.

  “Nashville dispatch, what is your emergency?”

  “I need to be connected to Simpsonville, Kentucky dispatch right now!” Shawn’s gaze searches the ceiling, his free hand is rubbing his forehead.

  “Yes, sir. While I am connecting you, can you tell me what the emergency is so I can brief the dispatch please?”

  “My kids! My wife! Oh God!”

  People begin to stop and stare at him. One man reaches out and lays his hand on Shawn’s shoulder. Shawn bends over crying.

  “You need to calm down, sir.”

  Ella and Jamie stand in the kitchen, holding each other, crying and staring at the phone. Their dad promised he would call them back as soon as he got off the phone with the emergency people.

  It feels like forever. Jamie has stopped crying. His face is red with mottled white patches and his silence is only interrupted by the occasional hiccup left over from his bawling.

  Ella is stoic. Her breathing is jagged as she holds back tears for her brother. He needs her to be strong right now and she isn’t about to let him down.

  The cell phone lights up and they both jump. Ella reaches for the phone and touches the green button that allows her to talk to her daddy.

  “Ella. Oh, honey. The police are on their way. They’re going to come to the door. I want you to open it for them and let them talk to you. They need you to be strong and try hard to remember everything you can about Mommy.”

  “Like what?” Ella is annoyed.
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  “Like what she was wearing. Do you remember, honey? And where did she go? Did she tell you where she was going running, honey?”

  “Stop it! Just stop it, Daddy. Stop asking me so many questions! Where are you? Why aren’t you here?”

  Goliath walks lazily down the quiet country road stopping occasionally to sniff raccoon urine or a dead squirrel. He is headed to the spring a mile down. The creek that he follows is dry but his canine nose can smell the water that trickles delicately up from between two stones.

  His body feels heavy as he trudges along in anticipation of a cool drink of water. The desire to drink carries him.

  Cora blinks her eyes. The sun beats down between the tall branches. This time of day is the hottest. So cold. She shivers all night, then cooks during the day. Where she had felt so alert before, now her senses are fading. Her breathing has slowed. Her hope of rescue has all but vanished.

  As she lay broken and exposed only to the wilderness, a single tear falls from her eye.

  Shawn runs frantically across the parking lot and climbs into his car. The tires squeal as he speeds out of the Lowe’s parking lot. He doesn’t bother calling anyone at the work site. He just starts driving for the interstate. The car shifts and leans as he makes the last turn to the exit.

  He tells himself repeatedly that he needs to calm down. It will be okay. This is all a mistake. The kids are confused about how long Cora has been gone. They always confuse hours with days and months with years…at least they used to.

  When he hung up with Ella, he promised her he would call when he was on the road. She had kept asking where he was and why he wasn’t there for her. The feeling of emptiness overwhelms him. There is nothing he can do to make it better. All his daughter wants is for him to be there and fix things and he’s five hours away by car. He can’t hop a plane to get there quicker.

  He leans hard into the accelerator and sets the cruise control at 80 miles an hour. He reaches over, dials Cora’s number, and waits for Ella to pick up.

  “Shawn?”

  “Yes! Who is this?” The husky voice at the other end of the line catches Shawn off guard.

  “This is Officer Wellington. I’m here with the kids. We are going to question them now. Can we call you back after we talk to the kids?”

  “Yes! Yes, sir, that’s fine. Tell them I love them and I’m on my way. Tell them I am driving as fast as I can.” Shawn’s voice scratches with tears.

  “I will do that. I need you to drive safely, sir. If you can’t do that, I need you to find someone to drive for you. You aren’t any good to these kids if you’re dead.” The voice is both kind and stern.

  “Yes, sir…”

  Stan locks the office and walks to his pick-up. He pauses to stare at the dent, it makes his heart sink when he sees it. He hasn’t had time to get estimates on the repair.

  After jumping into the cab he pulls his seatbelt across his lean chest. The big diesel roars to life and heads north toward Simpsonville.

  Goliath stands lapping at the fresh spring water for nearly three minutes. He pops his head up when he sees the flag of a white tail deer out of the corner of his eye. He stares at it. The deer stares back, unmoving. Goliath hesitantly lowers his head back down to the water, then shoots it up again when the deer sprints off over the hill.

  The water revitalizes him. He feels strong and alive again. He walks through the water as he drinks more. Finally he pauses, lets his legs buckle underneath him, and allows his body to fall into the water. He lays quietly, halfway immersed in the cool liquid, lapping occasionally, enjoying himself.

  The wind picks up slightly and blows a breeze from the north. Goliath catches a familiar scent. His ears perk. He rises to his feet and his nose searches the air, honing in on it.

  With quickness in his step, he heads off into the woods and away from the beautiful pool.

  “I think she had on her blue tank top, the one with the check on it.” Ella answers questions in a short uncooperative way.

  “Do you remember what color her shorts were?” A kind woman gently asks questions but has desperate posture, like a vulture.

  “When’s my daddy going to get here?” Ella stares directly into the woman’s eyes.

  “She had on her black shorts with the white stripe, Ella! Just tell them!” Jamie snuggles up against his sister on the couch, hiding his face.

  “That’s good! That’s really good, Jamie. Thank you. Now, do you remember what direction she went when she left?” The woman asks in a childish voice.

  “We weren’t watching! We weren’t allowed to go outside! Are you stupid?”

  The last statement catches the female officer off guard. Officer Wellington puts a hand on Ella’s shoulder and tells the female officer it’s time for a break.

  “I don’t want a break! I want my mommy and daddy!” Jamie breaks into fits of crying.

  “Gawd, these roads are tiny. Who would live out here anyway? This is the middle of flipping nowhere.” Stan talks to no one as he tries to keep himself company.

  Stan suddenly realizes he forgot to call has wife to let her know where he’s going. After his heart attack last year, Sara has made him promise to call every time he travels someplace alone. It drives him crazy but it helps her sleep at night, so he makes a strong effort to report to her throughout the day.

  There are only two bars left on his cell phone so Stan pulls over and dials Sara’s number, worried he won’t have a strong enough signal. Part of him hopes he will get her answering machine so he can leave a message and go. Sara tends to talk his ear off when he calls.

  “Hello? Oh, hi, honey. What are you up to?” Sara’s singsong voice answers politely.

  Hope has drained from her along with the idea of ever drinking water again. There is no use hoping, no one will find her here. She has come to accept the fact she is going to die.

  All she wants is for her kids to be okay. They have to be okay. She needs them to be okay. She convinces herself that they were found and reunited with Shawn. There is no room for guilt. Nothing she did was horrible. It just ended horribly. Now all she prays for is to die peacefully.

  The pain has ebbed. It is but a tapping rhythm like a heartbeat. Her tongue feels swollen and it gags her with its mass. She can no longer swallow. She isn’t drooling, there is no moisture in her mouth. Her eyes remain closed. Her tears turn to glue.

  Shawn, at the half way point now, looks at his watch; it’s noon. He has made excellent time but it’s nowhere near fast enough. The bile in his stomach churns a hole deep within him. A metallic taste stings his mouth. There are no tears left to cry.

  He hasn’t heard from the officer so he picks up the phone and dials Cora’s cell.

  “Shawn, this is Officer Wellington. I am so sorry we didn’t call.” He stands in the kitchen staring into the living room at the mounds on the couch.

  “What’s happening? Any sign of Cora yet?” Shawn closes his eyes and waits for the answer.

  “No, sir, I’m sorry.”

  “What about the kids? Are they still asking for me?” Shawn exhales rigidly.

  “They gave us lots of useful information but it really drained them. We knew they needed a break from all the questions. We went ahead and put a movie in…to give their mind a break for a minute. They both fell asleep on the couch.”

  He takes a long satisfied breath. “Oh, that’s great. At least they aren’t awake asking for me. I just feel so bad that I’m not there for them. Oh man…” Shawn finds tears and lets them fall openly.

  “We have ‘search and rescue’ on its way. There are dogs coming in and we have a map of the area. Local and regional law enforcement has already got men out combing the roads for foul play. We’re going to find her, Shawn. You just get here safely so when these kids wake up they have a daddy to hold onto.”

  Cora feels moisture. Sweet moisture. On her cheek. It feels like heaven.

  “Awww.” Whatever it is, it’s forcing her head to move. It’s all over her
face. What? What is it? It stops.

  Cora opens her left eye and her mind recognizes what she sees. Blonde. Hair. Funny long nose.

  When Goliath realizes Cora has moved, he begins lick, lick, licking over and over trying to bring her limp body to life. Lick. Lick. Lick.

  “Aaaww.” Blood rushes to her face and her pulse picks up. Her capillaries fill with blood and her body comes alive just a little. She feels her fingertips coming alive. Her mouth can form no words but her moans tell Goliath that he is a good boy. A very good boy.

  Stan finally tells Sara that he really needs to go. He has so much to do and this trip up to Simpsonville will eat away half his day. If he doesn’t get off the phone with her soon, he’s never going to get home tonight.

  He sets the phone on the console and pulls back onto the road. Not a single car drove by while he spoke on the phone. This place is desolate. He still doesn’t understand why anyone wants to live so far away from anywhere.

  The road becomes more narrow the farther out he goes. Eventually the orange dashes in the middle of the road disappear for lack of two lanes. He drives cautiously but quickly as he has many things to do today.

  Ella wakes to the sound of police radios. She dreamt her mom just served her cabbage rolls, her favorite dinner. She wakes from her warm and safe dream into the cold invaded house she had fallen asleep in.

  “Where’s my daddy? Where’s my daddy?” She calls out to the people she cannot see.

  Officer Wellington pops his head up from his paperwork when he hears her cries. He strides quickly into the living room and kneels down beside her on the couch.

  “Shhhhh. Jamie is still sleeping; let’s let him sleep okay?” He sets a gentle hand on her knee.

  “Where’s my daddy!?” Ella whispers forcibly.

  “I have good news. He should be here in about thirty minutes. Do you know how long that is?” Officer Wellington gets closer to her face and stares directly into her eyes.

  “Less than a movie but longer than it takes to brush your teeth…?” Ella looks to him hopefully.

  “Good girl. That’s right. You are a very bright little girl.” He nods and pats her knee.

  Goliath lies next to Cora panting. His big open mouth is like a huge happy smile, but his eyes tell another story. A worried story. Her body has begun shivering and Goliath shares his heat.

  Long minutes pass with no answers coming to Goliath. He occasionally stands up, whines, circles her still body and lays down next to her again.

  Now he lays quietly, his head resting on top of her shoulder. He closes his eyes, but keeps his ears alert and ready.

  Stan fiddles with the radio trying to get a station to come in. He feels out of connect in this lost and lonely place. He glances down at his watch feeling impatient. The slow roads make him irritable and itchy. Finally he finds a country station that comes in. He turns up the sound.

  The brand new pick-up with a fresh dent in its right front side glides swiftly north of Simpsonville.

  Goliath’s head pops up suddenly. There is noise. He detects movement. His brain becomes alert and he stands erect.

  Glancing up to the road, he tilts his head to listen, then turns again to the road. He hesitates, then drops his head and licks viciously at Cora’s cheek. She comes alive again and he licks harder. His head looks up at the road again, then drops to lick her more. She moves her head back and forth releasing it from the grips of hell.

  Goliath whimpers hard. He licks, looks up to the road, then licks again.

  Brad Paisley finishes his ballad, then the announcer interrupts Stan’s daydream. He quickly comes back to reality and reached over then flicks off the radio.

  Shawn pulls into the driveway unbuckling as he reaches the house. He turns the car off and opens the door in a single motion. He runs toward the house. When he reaches the door, it flies open and Ella jumps into his arms. Jamie comes running from the kitchen, a cheese stick in his hand.

  Goliath drops his head one last time and gives Cora a long lick, then darts off toward the road. The sound gets louder. This is his chance.

  Stan looks up from the radio and catches a yellow streak shooting out in front of his truck. He grabs the wheel and hits the break simultaneously. There is a thud. He has hit something.

  The truck skids to a stop. Stan peers into his rear view mirror and sees nothing. He jumps out and walks around to the back of the truck. Still nothing. He walks purposefully along the road searching the steep ditch and then he sees it. It’s a dog.

  Stan’s heart sinks. He had lost his old Shepard last year and it was the hardest thing he has ever gone through. The thought of killing someone’s pet tears his heart out.

  He slides down the steep ditch and comes to a stop next to the beautiful animal. It breathes, but barely. It starts convulsing. Its entire body clenches tight, its mouth opens in agony.

  “Oh, no. I’m so sorry! I’m so sorry, buddy!” He strokes the dog over and over trying to comfort it as it leaves this world.

  The dog clenches one last time, mouth wrenched open, then relaxes. He is gone. Stan holds his head. He sits there, gives the dog a moment of silence.

  Cora’s blood moves through her body racing to survive. She knows this is all she has. Help me. Her voice has left with the hydration. Her tongue fills her entire mouth, it is swollen and protrudes beyond her lips.

  “Awww.”

  Stan looks up, then around. The forest makes strange sounds.

  “Awww.”

  Stan hears it again. He searches and sees nothing. He stands, pulls up the back his pants and scans the area closer.

  “Awww.”

  The hair on his arms stand up, he turns quickly unsure of what he will find. His eye catches a piece of blue that doesn’t fit. He pulls the brush aside and walks toward it. As he gets closer the picture becomes clearer and he speeds up until he is running.

  “Oh my God, oh my God! Are you…oh my God.”

  Officer Wellington watches as Shawn tries to explain to the kids what is happening and how everyone is out ‘combing the area’ for their mommy. He is impressed with Shawn’s ability to pull himself together for his kids. Kids need that. They don’t process information like we do.

  This will be good in the long haul. Because Officer Wellington knows deep down inside that those kids will most likely not ever see their mother again. After twenty-four hours, the odds of finding a lost person drops dramatically. It is pushing fifty hours at this point. A woman goes missing in these parts, she doesn’t have much of a chance.

  Shawn sits on the couch. Both kids lean up against him as he strokes their hair. He hums and they gaze blankly toward the ceiling. Shawn wants so badly to go out and look for her. But his heart tells him that right now his kids need him more. He has to trust the rescue team, he has to believe there is still hope.

  Ella nods off, her body exhausted from trying so hard to be strong for Jamie. She melts in the comfort of her father’s arm.

  The trill of a cell phone brings Jamie out of his light slumber. His eyes open and stare into the foreign looking kitchen. The man at his kitchen table does not belong. The woman standing behind the man is not his mother. The only thing that keeps him from screaming is the safety of his father’s arms wrapped around him.

  “This is Officer Wellington. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Yes, sir…” Wellington slowly closes his phone and turns to the tangled mound of family sitting on the couch. He stares as they watch him, anticipating. He swallows, tilts his forehead toward them, and smiles.

  The beating sound of a helicopter fills the air as it goes over the house and into the woods.

  Epilogue

  Huge glossy brown eyes bounce to the beat of panting. The shiny white teeth form a huge smile that the dog simply refuses to take off of its golden face. A pause in the panting to lap up a drip of drool is the only thing that takes the smile away. But after just a few closed-mouth breaths the panting resumes and the smile appears again, bigger than ever.

  In
a large gymnasium dog crates are lined up along one side of the wall, the doors all open. Along the other wall are groups of excited families reaching out for dogs as they wonder by. A frail twelve year old boy with spiky hair and a tightly fisted hand sits in a wheelchair with the first family. The second family stands behind a young man in a folding chair that leans out to pet a black mixed breed, the father rubs his hands together nervously. Three other families are gathered around their special someone. They had waited patiently listening as the dog trainer gave instructions. After the instructions were given, the dogs were released.

  “I think this one is choosing you, Cora. It doesn’t seem interested in anyone else. Look at him just stare at you!” An overly optimistic Shawn says as he stands proudly behind the wheelchair.

  Cora tilts her head and looks into the young animals eyes trying to understand it.

  “Isn’t he beautiful?” Shawn prods.

  “Yeah.” A not so sure Cora responds.

  “This is a big day Cora. We’ve been waiting for this. This means freedom for you. He is going to give you back some of the things you lost…your independence.”

  “I know.”

  “We’re really lucky to have him so soon. Most people have to wait a lot longer for their assistant dog.”

  “We are lucky. I know.”

  “Cora, are you okay?” Shawn touches Cora gently on the shoulder, afraid to upset her, afraid to let the darkness into his new, emotionally fragile wife.

  Cora takes a long breath and her mood lightens. After some consideration she seems to give-in to the situation. Her eyes change from dull to alive as if her soul was blooming for the first time in well over a year. “You’re right, this is going to be good. I can feel it now, Shawn. This dog is going to change my life…he’s going to save my life.”

  As a smile spreads across Cora’s face the bulky Golden Retriever lets out a bark and climbs its clumsy paws on her knees. It reaches forward and gives her a long wet lick on her left cheek.

  “Goliath! You know better!” The dog trainer yells from across the large room, shocked by her student’s behavior.

  “It’s okay Goliath…it’s gonna be okay.” Optimism spreads across Cora’s face.

  The End.

  About the Author

  Diane Strong lives in Kentucky with her husband and their two children. She received a liberal arts degree at Itasca Community College, a Bachelors of Science in Psychology and Equine Studies from Rocky Mountain College in Billings, Montana and a Master’s degree in Veterinary Science from the University of Kentucky.

  She writes a small column for the Georgetown News Graphic and homeschools her children. In her spare time she competes in road races, triathlons and adventure races. She is the founder of the Georgetown Run/Walk Club and Intellectual Society. She loves what she does.

  If you liked this story, do me a big favor and tell somebody. Better yet, tell the world by writing a review.

  I hope you enjoyed this short story enough to check out my other works:

  Out and Back (a novel)

  Newspaper Bundle (a collection of columns)

  The Running Suspense Series:

  The Run #1

  Falcon Point #2

  The Other Way #3

  The Rescue #4

  Reservoir Run #5

  Merry Christmas Mr. Saunders #6

  Running Shorts: The Running Suspense Collection

  Reach me at:

  Facebook Page

  www.dianestrong.com

  Twitter: @dianeistrong

  email: dianestrong@ymail.com