The Panic – Part Three

Then she opened her eyes and it began.  The grand view she had grown so accustomed to over the years had just become even grander.  Petra thought it was the most magnificent thing she had ever seen.  Silver shimmers reflecting the sun……beautiful discs spread out across the sky.  She felt safe and truly at home but then she looked down.

 

            “Oh, shit.” she said to herself.  The visual of what Petra was now facing hit her like a ton of bricks.  The cars were bumper to bumper along the highway below, the ocean full of ships and sailboats.  Even more people were walking, huddled together in groups, many carrying large bags and even suitcases with them.  Petra scanned the scene, watching the confusion…….feeling the terror emanating from the masses below.

 

            “The only thing I can do now, she thought, is go back to the house and wait.”  It would be the safest place to hide out until whatever happened…………..happened.  She was just relieved to have somewhere to go, knowing as long as she stayed away from the crowds, she would be safe.

 

As Petra pulled into the driveway, her relief quickly faded.  Three men were standing outside the house.  Two of them were vaguely familiar to Petra.  She knew they lived further up the mountain in a small cabin, close to Mr. Redding.  Her Dad had told her they had done a couple of odd jobs for him around the house a few years back and that they mainly lived from a garden and whatever they hunted.  Petra knew her Dad meant well but sometimes his judgment about people overshadowed his giving nature.   She made eye contact with them as she swiftly geared into reverse.

 

           “Young lady, you’re gonna need to get outta the car now,” shouted the man she had never seen before, who was carrying a rifle.  Petra knew instinctively that she had no choice but to defy anything he said to her so she kept one eye on him and one eye on her rearview mirror as she backed a u-turn out into the road to make her way back down again.  She was hidden by trees at this point and knew she had to floor it in order to escape from his view.  At the same moment she slammed her foot down, she heard the gunshot……and then another.  Her tires had been shot out.

 

            “I said get outta the fucking car you stupid bitch!”  All three men were now walking quickly toward the jeep.  Petra kept the gears in drive, ducked down and hurled herself out of the passenger seat.  She hit the ground hard and rolled into the still thick bushes that lined the side of road, gating the entrance to the dark forest of redwoods. Then she started running faster than she ever thought she could.