On the Run by M Zeigler (short story to read TXT) 📖

defiantly with my eyes closed and nose towards the sky. “Alright.” Barrette grunts, next thing I know I’m being heaved over his shoulder.

“Put me down! Barrette I swear I will knock you senseless!” I howl defiantly smacking his upper back as he strides towards the store. “Bonnie, you are no match for me and you know it. Now stop throwing a tantrum. We need to find something presentable for the party, and you need to find something to wear to the awards show.” Barrette replies just loud enough for only me to hear him.

“I already said I’m not going with you to that award, you seem to forget we are not a couple. Darn you! Put me down!” I reply sounding like a cat in a fit. An elderly couple sitting out in front of the store looks at us adoringly and sighs. “Don’t you miss those days, honey? Being young, wild, and in love?” The wife says to her husband taking his hand kindly.

“I hate you.” My huffy response is given after Barrette manages to get me into the store. “I know you love me, darlin.” Barrette replies then smacks my rear before releasing me to the floor, the women standing at their respective cash registers giggle and blush as they look at Barrette. All except for one that is, she gives a dangerous look as she’s reaching for her cell phone to send a text message.

Huh, maybe she recognizes Barrette and isn’t a fan? I console myself so I don’t go into a stage ten freak out, I’m already at a level three panic attack just being in the store as it is. No sense in going entirely insane over a simple non fan. “How about this?” Barrette calls me to attention, looking to the left of the aisle I see him towering over a women’s clothing rack and holding up a longer than floor length dress.

“How about no.” I reply taking in the neon pink rose lace design with glittery things sewn around the collar and sleeves. “Bonnie, quit being difficult.” Barrette snaps at me as he lowers the dress so I can see his less than happy expression.

“Fine, you can wear a pink glittery tux then.” I retort carefully walking over the tiled floor being careful not to step on anything that could even be remotely dangerous. Like dried gum, or one of those foam bands they use to hold silk and satin garments on their hangers.

“You are not going to die.” Barrette sighs, he sounds dismayed by my nervous antics but he doesn’t realize my mother tried to shop here on her below poverty budget and every time I stepped into any one of these stores I ended leaving either in an ambulance or with a wad of paper towels on one of my limbs stopping the bleeding until I got to the emergency room for stitches.

“Go find a suit, I’ll figure this out on my own.” I say to Barrette accusingly, making it very well known I’m not a happy person. He rolls his eyes at me as he lumbers over to the men’s department without commenting on my attitude. I scroll through aisles of rich person clothing that is over the top for prices, I mean honestly who would even pay this kind of money for a shirt that looks like a mountain lion got it’s claws on the garment.

Giving a depressed and dismayed head shake I step into the area of the women’s section that sells more high class ritzy dresses. The first one that catches my eye is probably the only dress I truly love, though I would never openly admit that. A tag hangs on the front of it that reads Jeanne Barlow, the price on it outrageous, honestly I can understand why. The collar is one of those around the neck cuts that is almost shaped like a diamond, but the collar bone area is heavy with sterling silver molded into a delicate looking lace, the metal splits in the middle so low that it comes down to the belly button, easily showing off a lot of cleavage and skin. Vibrant bands of tiny blue crystals in various shades are sunk into the metal making the dress even more elegant, from the bust down to the waist the dress is made of form fitting silk that fans out loose but hangs at the knee. From sides of the knees back the dress hangs down to where it’s just barely touching the floor at a point.

Deciding that this is the dress for me, I check the size and drape it over my arm, behind the blue gown there is another that is identical except this one is black and crystals are clear but still blindingly shiny. Barrette isn’t going to let me out of here without having two dresses in hand so I grab the black one as well figuring I’ll just argue with him later and give the second gown over to Heather who deserves to go with barrette far more than I do.

With both dresses over my arm I start towards the men’s department, I enter the fitting rooms there without really even caring what anyone has to say about it only to find Barrette standing in front of the mirror arguing with a black tie. He looks incredibly handsome wearing the black tux he picked out but it’s not at all his style.

“Looks good.” I say draping the two dresses over a tie hanger; he turns to look back at me just as I’m reaching up to his tie. A few quick steps later it’s tied perfectly, he looks down at the tie then at me confused. “Just because I’m a bad girl doesn’t mean I haven’t had my days as a well to do person. Michael used to have a considerable amount of money.” I inform as I straighten the collar of his suit. Barrette remains silent as I continue buttoning the overcoat, then fasten the buttons on the sleeves.

“I’m trying to imagine you wearing an elegant top notch dress and actually behaving like a civilized human being.” Barrette informs, I give him a sad smile suddenly feeling depressed on how I turned out. “You’ll see soon enough, I should have been someone entirely different. But life has a way of extinguishing the fire burning within.” The sad words leave my lips as I turn for the dressing room door taking the two dresses with me.

Standing outside the open doorway of the dressing room I scan the store looking at all the formally dressed people strolling about. Even though I’m out of my norm I sense that something in this store isn’t quite right, someone or something is up and I have a gut instinct it’s all aimed at Barrette and I.

“Barrette you need to hurry-

“Ah! Barrette!” I scream out when I feel a sharp pain in my side, it’s the distinct feeling a cold steel blade piercing skin. “Bonnie!” I hear Barrette shout as I swing around swiftly punching at the person who just stabbed me.

The person who I punched is none other than Michael, my evil heartless step father, Barrette bursts through the doorway to see Michael on the ground holding his face that is busted up worse than I imagined it would be after his and Barrette’s first introduction. Barrette pauses to look back at me as I am yanking the knife from my side; it’s one of the many hunting knives I left at Michaels when I ran away. “This is not good.” I say in a shrill voice, this one knife is probably one of the most dangerous ones that I own. The top edge of the blade is serrated as well as the lower side at the base, I always kept this particular knife sharper than a surgeon’s blade, this was my prized fighting knife. I know what damage it can do an d I just got stabbed through the ribs with it, the pain and amount of blood tells me that there is a considerable amount of damage done to me.

Faster than you can blink Barrette takes the knife from my hand and slams it into Michael’s stomach, in theory it’s not a lethal strike, it should just be painful enough to keep Michael down but what Barrette doesn’t know is that Michael was shot through the stomach in his younger days and nearly died. Most of his stomach is missing, so what little bit was just severed with that blade is enough to kill Michael within minutes.

“AH! Someone call the police!” The older woman who commented on Barrette and I earlier when we entered the store is the one who is screaming. Barrette looks at her briefly offering his apology; he then looks at my bleeding side. Fast thinking instincts kick in with him; he takes one of the shirts off the nearest rack and presses it to my ribs as he lifts me up off my feet. I clutch both gowns in my hands but away from the now pooling blood as Barrette full on runs for the door.

Just as he is placing me in the passenger’s seat I feel the world around me start to fade away until darkness entirely consumes my vision. Is this death? I’ve passed out from blood loss before, but it was different, I was seeing flashes of light, I could still hear everything around me.

Here and now, I can’t hear anymore, I can’t see Barrette; I can’t even feel the heat of the summer sun beating down on my skin. There is nothing but cold and darkness all around me, I think that maybe I should be scared right now but I’m not. If this is death then I am not scared, in fact I am grateful, I will walk with the horsemen death into the afterlife.

“And I heard as it were, the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, come and see, and  I saw, and be hold a white horse.” I can hear myself talking the intro to a Johnny Cash song. “Bonnie wake up.” I hear a man’s voice calling out for me to wake, my eyes slide open and I look around.

I’m in a familiar place, a safe place, a location I have not been to in many years. I’m sitting in a little flowered clearing that was far back in the woods outside Michael’s house. I used to go there to collect myself, and escape whenever Michael attacked me. But construction workers had cut all the tree’s down and destroyed the tall lush grass to put in houses.

Standing in front of me are three people, my grandfather, Grandmother Parker, and a blurred form that I cannot really pin point who he is. All that I know is this person has an ominous dark glow surrounding him, in theory I should be fearful but I am not. Whoever this is wouldn’t be allowed here if my grandfather felt he was a threat.

“Bonnie, this is death; this is what awaits you at this point in time.” My grandfather says to me then looks to my grandmother who then looks at me.

“There is a war at hand Bonnie, if you choose death you will find peace and sanctuary where you will hurt no more.” She speaks; she takes a deep sad breath though almost as if she knows that I’m willing to accept death.

That is until the shrouded form releases my grandmother’s hand and steps forward to speak. “This is your one last chance to make a choice between being selfish and helping someone else. From your first days you’ve always taken the suffering in place of someone else, we’ve glimpsed the future Bonnie, if you leave earth now the path that Barrette will take will lead him to where I went, straight to hell. If you choose to return you may be able to return onto him the grace he gave to