Free In the Unlikely Event... by Saxon Bennett Page A

opened into the old observatory-turned-meditation room.
    Gloria and Donna each grabbed a side of the chair and tiptoed toward the door. Chase didn’t think carrying a person in a chair while tiptoeing was a good idea, but under the circumstances she held her tongue. Gitana pushed on the exit door slowly to avoid making noise. They all held their breath as she eased it open. Donna backed out the door, looking over her shoulder so she could see where she was going. Gloria followed her lead. Bud lingered to listen to what was transpiring in the center of the library.
    “What the fuck?” Lacey said.
    “She’s escaped,” Chino said.
    “In a chair?” Lacey said.
    “That woman is capable of anything. You go that way and I’ll go this way.”
    Gitana grabbed Bud’s hand. “We’ve got to go,” she whispered.
    They went through the door to find themselves in the middle of a meditation class. The “ooommms” from the class masked the clattering of their footfalls across the hardwood floor. Good thing the meditators had mats, Chase thought, or they’d have hemorrhoids from sitting on a hard surface for hours on end—it was a medically documented fact that too much sitting caused the condition.
    “Excuse me, pardon us,” Donna said, as they shuffled their way through the classroom and to the exit on the east wall of the room, which opened onto a Zen garden. The garden was artfully arranged with several smooth, round, granite stones and a stunted juniper tree trimmed to resemble a bonsai. The even strokes of a rake had carved rows across the surface of the sand. Their footprints destroyed the serenity of the garden. Bud dragged a rake behind them.
    “Bud, do you really think this is the time for being persnickety?” Gitana said.
    “I’m covering our tracks,” Bud said.
    Chase turned around in her chair. “Don’t talk to your mother in that tone of voice.”
    “Perhaps we could have this family discussion elsewhere,” Gloria said. She was sweating from the effort.
    Chase regretted having that cheesecake yesterday. She would have abstained had she known she was going to be carried across a field. Donna tripped on a rock and they nearly dropped her.
    “Gitana, you and Bud go get my car and we’ll meet you on the bypass. Bud, dig in my pocket for the keys,” Donna said, as they stopped for breath and the car key removal.
    Bud complied and they both took off running. Bud still had the TM900 on her shoulder, and Chase knew that she’d never be able to watch that scene without getting motion sickness.
    Chase kept glancing behind her. She sniggered. Lacey and Chino hadn’t spent much time in the library or they’d know there was a back exit door.
    They reached the bypass as Gitana and Bud sped into the empty dirt circle that marked the end of the road. The dirt cloud and spinning of tires alarmed Chase, who reprimanded Gitana. “Do you know how dangerous it is to drive fast on gravel? The tires slide over the top of the gravel and create a hydroplaning effect.”
    “Do you want to be recaptured?” Gitana said as she got out of the driver’s seat so Donna could take over. “And God-only-knows what she’d give you for reading material after this shenanigan.”
    “Well, no, of course not. What the fuck?” Chase said, alarmed as Donna and Gloria tipped the chair on its side and shoved it in the backseat.
    Gloria patted her ankle, the only part of her that was accessible. “No worries, buddy. I’ll keep you all posted on the activities here.” She shut the back door.
    “Chase, I thought as a family we would use the letters WTF instead of the F word,” Gitana said.
    “Please, can’t we discuss family politics after we’ve completed the mission?” Donna said, her voice laced with exasperation.
    Poor Donna, Chase thought. She was feeling generous toward her until Donna took off at high speed and motion sickness kicked in. “I’m going to puke,” Chase said.
    “Hold on,” Bud said, digging around in