Morfman shoved the door of the El Agave restaurant open with his
free arm. A white plastic bag containing chicken nachos was swinging back and
forth, cutting into his hand. Rushing up the street he felt an odd, prickling
sense of someone too close, yet glancing over his shoulder he saw little out of
the ordinary. Quickly turning down a side street, he felt better moving among
the shadows of his poorly lit neighborhood.
“Kid, he’s gonna see us if I take the turn,” Ancho
said as he braked, looking in the rear view mirror at the young passenger.
“Do it or you’ll lose him!” the skinny, dark haired
girl said peering over the seat to watch the man’s progress.
Slowly edging the cab around the corner Ancho
watched this intense kid focus on the man with the bag of food. “Watcha doin’
followin’ this guy anyway?” he muttered as he inched along the dark street.
“None of your business...” she snarled, suddenly throwing
open the back door of the cab, stumbling as she launched herself from the vehicle
into the street. No one took her seriously, not even if it was their job to
listen, she thought. Vaguely, in the darkening distance she could still make
out the swaying white food bag. She moved quickly, sneakers soundless, disguising her progress from shadow to shadow.
Morfman could see his building and quickened his
pace; edgy that’s what he felt. Maybe it was just hunger, but he could feel his
anxiety rising and sweat was clinging to his forehead. He was almost at a jog
when he ducked around the closest corner, deciding to double back and wait.
Ancho couldn’t believe this kid, jumping a fare!
Grabbing his keys out of the ignition, he slammed the cab door and followed the
kid. Pounding heavily on the pavement he thought he saw her ahead crouched next
to a building. Out of breath, pushing himself, car keys held tight in his
sweating palm, he lurched ahead another fifty feet. He practically fell upon
her and she screamed; punching and kicking at him as he tried to grab her
shoulders. His car keys fell to the sidewalk as the toe of her red converse hit
his groin.
Morfman heard screaming, his stomach seized. Not
again, he knew that kid had tracked him down. Relentless she was, amazing her
determination to claim him, very creepy actually. He left the food and took off
at a run; angling away from the commotion on the corner. Spotting an abandoned
cab, he yanked the door open, jammed his pocket knife into the ignition and the
engine roared to life. Throwing it in reverse, he careened over the curb, onto
the main road and hit the gas.
Ancho rolled on the sidewalk as the kid calmly
walked away from the crowd. He watched her stomp that guy’s bag of Mexican food
to mush. Disgusted he crawled to his knees, snatched up his keys and saw his
cab was gone.
Well, that's the snippet of a short story. Feel free to leave comments or suggestions. Today, it is snowing and in the teens for temperatures, thus I am fueling the creative fires.
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