Free 3 Days by Krista Madden

understand, and then, finally, I heard their footsteps heading away.
    I let out a huge breath, slowly. This was my second night of being in danger, and I was doing it alone. It felt like I was the only person on earth. I had one more day to go. If I didn’t get to Blaine in time, I didn’t know how I would be able to face this entirely on my own. That was the only thing keeping me grounded the idea that when I got to him, Blaine would be there to protect me. Until then, I had to keep myself alive. Blaine loved me .
    ***
    I didn’t sleep the rest of the night, even though I needed it badly. When the sun started to peer over the horizon, I began to fish through my bag. I had one bottle of water left and a stick of beef jerky. Breakfast . Thankfully, the small quantity wasn’t a problem due to my lack of appetite. It’s amazing how little food you crave after fearing for your life each night.
    Capping off the bottle of water, I stuffed it back into my bag. Slowly, I pushed open the door to the shed, flipped the kick stand up on the bike, and pushed it out into the open grass. Mounting the bike, I pulled the helmet over my head and slipped my shoulders into the straps of my bag. I was so close to Blaine, I could feel it. It was like a force was pulling me in his direction.
    The rest of the trip was a blur. I decided to get back on the interstate, fearful of the gruesome scenes I might encounter on the back roads. Today, I was more at ease on the dirt bike. Not like my wobbly self, yesterday. I welcomed the quick breeze that blew through my sweatshirt as I sped down the interstate. As I traveled farther and farther, I began to notice more vehicles on the side of the road. Abandoned with, I had assumed empty gas tanks. The sun was higher in the sky by the time I neared Blaine’s town. Almost there , I told myself. Pulling into town, I passed Lingo’s. In a quick glance, I saw it had been pulverized. An instant memory of the diner owner, from two nights ago, flashed through my mind. I pushed the memory to the back of my thoughts, hoping that the owner of Lingo’s had not suffered the same fate.
    Rounding the corner onto Blaine’s street, my heart began to race. Every house in the neighborhood looked like it had been hit by a hurricane. All the windows were busted out, doors ripped off their hinges, and garage doors looked like they had been driven into head on. Instantly, I knew. This street had been hit by the Intruders. No, Blaine !
    Increasing my speed, I passed my old house, and pulled into Blaine’s driveway. Removing my helmet, I noticed his truck was not there, and there were no other cars parked in the driveway. Panicking, I jumped over the crumbled threshold, and ran throughout Blaine’s house, calling, “Blaine! I’m here. Hello?! I got your letter, I’m here .” I searched every room, but there was no answer, the house was empty. With the awareness that I would continue to be alone, I sank down against the wall at my back and cried.

     

Chapter 21
    I cried until my eyes ran dry before picking myself up off of the floor. The silence in the room made my ears hurt. And then I heard it, the sound of several feet shuffling over broken glass. Suddenly, I couldn’t breathe, my stomach was in my throat. Footsteps were moving through the house, slowly, above my head. I remembered where I heard footwork like that before, the Intruders. On the brink of hyperventilating, I searched the room for a place to hide. To my right, on the wall, there was a door to a tiny closet. Hitting the floor, I crawled into the closet and folded myself into a ball at the back corner after quietly closing the door. There was absolutely nothing for me to hide behind. I could only pray that the Intruders would get discouraged before deciding to look inside. It was then that I remembered I had left my backpack right outside the door. STUPID ! There was no time to go back out and grab it as I heard the padding of footsteps coming down the