Saving Grace

"My plan does not include you." I jump again and this time turn down the side of the house. The police sirens are getting closer.

"Tough shit, I just burned the people I'm working with so I'm stuck with you." She sounds displeased.

"I'm sure they'll understand if you go back now and tell them I escaped." I look over the bushes and see black figures walking across the street in the direction of my house. Do they not hear the sirens getting closer? They probably don't care. It wouldn't be a surprise if they had people in the force working for them.

"You think they'll let me live if I told them you escaped from under my nose?" She's looking over my shoulder.

"Try and take the gun and I'll make sure you never walk again." I threaten under my breath.

She sighs, "I was only thinking about it."

She knows I'm serious about my threat and I will follow through with no hesitation. My shooting has gotten so precise that I know just where to shoot along the spine to make a person live in a wheelchair for the rest of their life. I've also mastered knives and happen to have one in my bag. Slicing her quad should be enough to get her to stop following.

I dig in my bag for the car keys and start running once I have them.

I unlock the driver's door and throw my bag in the backseat before putting my seatbelt on. There's a knocking on the passenger side door.

"Open the door." Her voice sounds muffled but I pretend not to hear her.

The current bane of my existence.

"Get lost." I turn the car on.

"Grace, if you don't open this damn door, I will kill you with my bare hands." She's yanking on the handle now.

"I'd like to see you try!" My eyes fall on my side mirrors, making sure I'm clear before pulling out. I shouldn't be surprised to learn that she knows my name but it's unnerving. Just how much information do they have on me? Why now?

What the fuck is going on?

"They're coming!" She's banging on the window now. I'm sure she'll break it if she's desperate enough.

I peek over my shoulder and see the figures comingfor us. Their guns pointed in our direction.

"Fuck!" I bang on the steering wheel and lean over to unlock her door. She jumps in without hesitation.

I pull out within seconds and drive away from the bullets chasing us.

******

"Go south!" She points to the approaching exit. She removes her face covering and wipes the sweat on her chin.

"I'm going north!" I snap back.

"You have to go south! They'll know you're going north." She hits the center console when I drive past the exit.

"I have a plan!" No cars are following yet. I'm on the highway and I just need to make it two more exits down. That's all I need to focus on now.

"You're going to get us killed." She lowers her tone and throws her shirt off.

I briefly look at her. She has short blonde hair. It's almost white against the midnight sky. The street lights briefly give me a glimpse of her. Her face is square, her body pure muscle and her whole demeanor yells 'pissed-off at the world'. She's wearing a tank top and a bulletproof vest.

"You should have stayed with your friends." The exit comes up and I take it. My eyes keep veering to the rearview mirror. No one is following.

"They're not my friends." She tugs her vest off and opens the glove compartment. Some napkins fall out and she takes a handful and holds it against her rib. It takes me a moment to notice the blood.

"Did you get shot?" The car silently moves through the backroads. There are no lights back here, no reason for anyone to be driving around here at this time of night unless they have property here.

She gasps as she applies pressure on the wound. "Just keep driving."

I turn off the road onto an unmarked path. It is a very bumpy ride and she starts cursing when her fingers are painted with blood. That is a lot of blood.

She visibly relaxes when I come to a complete stop and jump out of the car. I take the duffle bag out and switch shoes. The sun is starting to rise, I need to hurry.

"I think you should stay here." I tie up my hiking boots. There are three miles of hiking before getting to my next destination. She won't make it with that big of a hole on the side of her body. "Here, I can leave the keys with you if you want to drive yourself somewhere safe."

The blow catches me completely off guard. She hits me in the back of the head and I see stars behind my lids. I turn and we're both throwing punches, grabbing hair, and eventually start rolling around in the grass. We fight for dominance, each running out of air to breathe, and fighting through the burning protests of our muscles. She manages to straddle my legs and pins my hands on each side of my face. My eyes trail up to her face, this is the first clear view I have of her.

Her short hair falls over her forehead and her striking green eyes are digging into my skull. She has harsh features, and some scars on her face probably from previous fights. I stop kicking enough to catch my breath. She has a fresh cut above her brow.

"Stop fighting." She's breathing hard as well.

My teeth grind in anger and I manage to headbutt her bottom lip before she pulls back completely. Her head flies back but she doesn't let go.

"You're such a bitch." She shakes her head and looks back down at me. I see the blood dripping down her lip. She spits it next to my face. "Play nice, Grace." She licks her busted lip.

"You just hit me." I buck under her but she doesn't move an inch.

"That was for stealing my gun and trying to shoot me with it. And then trying to leave me stranded!" Her fingers dig into my wrists. I can taste her anger but she's holding back. Why? A blow to the head is a good start, but I can tell she's the type to keep going until she leaves someone in a coma. Why is she going easy on me? Does she think I'm weak?

My anger returns and I manage to push her off me. I reach for the gun in my waistband but I see it in her hands. At least she's not pointing it at me.

"I don't appreciate you taking a cheap shot when I turn my back." I go back to grabbing my bag and putting my hair up with a hair tie. I take out a water bottle and take a large gulp. Fuck, I really wasn't expecting my Saturday to begin this way.

"Oh, I'm sorry," She frowns. I watch her go back to the car to grab her vest. "I don't see you bleeding from your lip." It's starting to swell too.

"This is where we part ways." I don't bother waiting for her response before starting the hike. I can't stay here losing daylight hours with someone who is impulsive and highly annoying. Just how long have they been tracking me? I never thought I would have to worry about things like this after all of these years. I thought that life was behind me. I knew deep down one day this could happen but I always hoped it wouldn't. I always wished that I would get to live my life in peace and forget about the rest. I was doing so good too. I was trying to live a normal life.

Yet, she knows my name.

"You're going to need me around if you plan on taking them down." She is following me again.

"I don't plan on taking them down." I skip to miss a puddle and nearly fall. I ignore her hand on my back to help me balance.

"So, what? You're just going to move again and start a new life?" She leans over and moves a branch out of my way. "Look how great that turned out." Was this trail always so shit? How long has it been since I've been here? It's been far too long. I don't remember the hike being so grueling. My lungs are protesting again.

She continues to try and assist me whenever there is an obstacle in our way and I keep slapping her hands away. Who does she think she is?

"I was doing fine." I take my water bottle out again. The sun is up now and it's starting to feel hot. It's times like this when I wish I chopped my hair off. It's just in the way now. But that was the old me with short hair. I wanted a new beginning with a new style. So much for that.

"You were seconds away from dying before I showed up." She grunts. She's applying pressure to her wound again. Her hands are dried with blood and there's a red blotch on her shirt.

"I had it under control. I had a pl-"

"Yeah, a plan, I know." She interrupts me. "Might as well loop me in if I'm coming with you."

"I don't think so." I slow down a bit when I notice her limping.

"Care to share some water at least, buddy?" She holds her hand out.

I roll my eyes but hand it to her. I take advantage of her distraction to lean down and roll her pant leg up. Just as I suspected, she has a leg injury too. The bullet barely grazed her but it must be uncomfortable to walk on. I open my duffle bag and pull out the first aid kit. I had to subconsciously know all of this was bound to happen. Otherwise, why would I have a duffle bag with money and a passport ready? Average people don't have that.

I want to yell in anger.

I just want to be normal.

"With my own gun too." She gives me an accusing look.

"I thought you moved out of the way in time." I clean the wound and patch it up. "Take your shirt off." I stand, holding the rubbing alcohol in one hand and a bandage wrap in the other.

"I'm fine." She's weary.

"You're losing blood and I'm losing daylight. I can't waste my time worrying about your injuries if we're making it out of here alive." My tone is serious.

I want to leave her behind and have her deal with her own injuries but if I've learned anything about her in these last few hours is that she is stubborn and she will follow me no matter what I say.

She sits on a tall rock and pulls her shirt up enough for me to see the wound.

"You got stabbed?" It's worse than I thought. "I need to stitch this."

"Yuppie." Her head falls back in defeat. She takes this moment to catch her breath. She's in more pain than she's letting on.

"Hold this." I give her the alcohol and the bandage. I take out my sewing kit. It's hard to ignore her piercing gaze as I work my way around her cut. Halfway through, when she looks like she's about to give into the pain, I give her some medicine. She moves around, trying to get away from the needle but I don't hear a word from her as I continue sewing.

"What is your plan?" Her tone isn't as aggressive as before.

"Who are you working for?" I look up at her and pour alcohol on her stitches.

"For fucks sake!" She jumps but I force her to stay seated. She hisses through the pain. "Haven't you learned you can trust me by now?"

"I know you turned on those people who tried to kill me. How do I know it isn't all part of your plan? That you're just trying to get me to trust you so you can finish the job?" I stand after putting the rest of the supplies away.

"You caught me." She lowers her shirt and takes another sip of water. "I stabbed myself, saved your life, and am willing to follow you to whatever end because I want to kill you."

I snatch the bottle away and continue walking.

***

We're two miles in and I'm feeling less resolved than before.

What is my actual plan? I don't think running and looking in the other direction will help anymore. I don't know what they could want from me. Everyone in their world knows my mother is dead. That she hasn't been heard from in over a decade and she left me with nothing. Weeks after her disappearance I learned of an inheritance left by my grandparents from her side but nothing more. No letter, no explanation. Just unanswered questions and a lot of unsolved feelings.

Then the calls started, the unexpected visitors, and ultimately the threats. All just to get to her. Maybe they suspect I know something they don't. But when it comes to my mother's disappearance, I am just as in the dark as they are. They never did believe me though.

So, I did the only thing I could think of and packed my bags without looking back. I followed my mom's lifestyle, making no friends, never staying in one place for too long, and always staying alert. I thought I could make a life here. In this sleepy little town where nothing bad happens. How did they find me? I haven't done anything to call attention to myself.

"Who's looking for me and why?" I slow down to let her catch up to me.

She has her hands in her vest, sweat is pouring down her face. She says nothing.

I offer her my water bottle but snatch it away before she can take it. "Answer the question." I already know what she's going to say, I just need to hear it.

"Don't be coy," She takes the bottle anyway and drinks. "We both know you know more than you let on."

We continue walking.

"Who, little ol' me?" My face is deadpan.

She smirks. "Sarcasm doesn't suit you."

"Do you know what turning your back on The Golden Circle means?" I move the duffle bag to my other side.

"Do you know what having a target on your back means?" She counters.

"How long have you guys been following me?" Better to go along with it and try to make an ally out of her. If she's going to kill me, I won't go down for lack of trying. If she doesn't, then good for me, I guess. It doesn't hurt to use her for information.

"A year now." She looks over at me, "They had me track you for a while."

They found me and I stayed long enough for them to gather all the intel they wanted on me. I should have kept moving. But that would have just meant I would have had to keep running. I'm tired of running. I don't want to follow in my mother's footsteps anymore. I don't want any of this.

"You're not what I expected." She goes back to staring straight ahead. I don't bother saying anything else but she continues. "I thought I was going to rush into your room, carry you out of there, and take you to my safe house down south." She snorts. "Fat chance of that happening now."

"You thought I was a damsel in distress?" I raise an eyebrow.

"I thought the guys were fucking with me." She stares at me from the corner of her eye. "I'm relatively new to this part of the business. I knew nothing about you and this whole year you have lived a pretty quiet and secluded life."

"You had no idea who I was?" I stop walking and watch her reaction.

Is she fucking with me?

"I still don't know." She stops walking too.

"You don't know why you're doing it but you're willing to save me?"

Just as well, she stalked me for a year with the intent to kill me.

She shrugs. "As I said, I really thought you were going to be different. Imagine my surprise when you're fighting like a fucking savage and shooting me with my own gun."

I roll my eyes and continue walking. "Get over it already."

She snorts and follows close behind. "How could you do it?"

I look up and see the small cabin come into view. Finally! I don't think I can walk another mile. I've let myself get too comfortable with my domestic life. I can't let that happen again. Especially now that I know I'm being pursued. I can never let my guard down again. It is going to be a bleak future.

She snatches my hand and steps closer to me until I'm staring up at her.

"How could you pretend to be this lifeless robot who lives every day exactly the same? No complaints, just complacency." The curiosity oozes out of her green eyes. "You never went out of line, never punched anyone in the face, always kept your head down." She moves in even closer. "When just beneath the surface there is this dangerous side of you just waiting to come out and play?"

"I'm not that person anymore." I step back. A branch brakes under my heel.

"There's no point of lying between us." She pushes a curl out of my face. "I know you can snap a neck with those delicate fingers of yours just as easily as you pull out weeds from your garden."

I push past her and hurry up the hill to the cabin.

***

"Do I have enough time to shower?" She kicks her shoes off and removes her vest and shirt. Her gray sports bra is completely drenched.

"Make it quick." I move around the cabin gathering all of the canned goods, water bottles, and emergency kits I've hidden around. My brain is fogging up and I feel the adrenaline leaving my body. I had maybe two hours of sleep before being rudely awakened by those gunmen. I pop two ibuprofens to help with the hangover threatening to kick in. I briefly think about Alice and curse.

I use a cloth and bucket to clean myself as the shower runs in the small room. I need sleep. Once I have enough space between me and them, I will sleep. Most people in this lifestyle will push their limits and think they can function on a few hours of rest without being affected but I know better. I think best when I give my brain enough time to rest and recover. Even if it is just for a few hours, I need to give myself time to reset. At least the next part of the hike won't really need my full attention. I can run on autopilot while I work out the details of my next move. The shower stops and I rush to get some underwear on. I manage to put on my bra by the time she comes out with just a towel around her waist. I push my underwear past my hips and ignore my blush.

She whistles. "I should have known there's more to you than those shapeless suits you wear."

We both dress silently, she asks for spare undergarments and I give her some but note it will be tight on her. She has more muscle mass than I do and is taller.

Once we finish, I toss her a bag full of materials. "I thought we could split the load. It's going to be a long walk."

"We're walking again?" She groans but starts putting her shoes back on. I made sure to set out a fresh pair of socks for both of us.

"I have a car stashed near the highway, but it's in the opposite direction of where we came." Moving away from the table I point to the weapons I've gathered. "Take your pick, just remember you'll have to carry it."

My choice of guns, knives, and everything in between is already secured in my bag.

"You trust me with a weapon?" She walks over and picks up a few.

"Just know if you point one at me, you better not miss." I cross my arms.

She smirks and lowers her gaze. "You're kind of hot when you talk like that."

"Grow up." My cheeks heat up in response and I give her an extra burner phone I had hidden under one of the floorboards. We scarf down some power bars and water in silence. "Do they know about Alice?"

She looks surprised by my question. "What about Alice?"

"She's the only person I talk to outside of work." I feel the blood rushing to my face again.

"Wait, did something happen between you two?" Her tone is teasing.

"Should I be worried about her?" I say through clenched teeth.

"I honestly don't know." She stands and gathers her things. "They could choose to pay her a visit in case you decided to try and hide there."

Damn it. This throws a wrench in my plan. How can I skip town and leave without making sure she's safe? I wouldn't put it past them to kill her just for the hell of it. Or worse, use her to bait me out of hiding. This is exactly why I never bothered to make any real friends.

How could I be so stupid?

"That is probably one of the most interesting developments about your fake life that I've learned about so far." Her shit-eating grin annoys the hell out of me. "You have a thing for her."

"I have to warn her or at least make sure she's safe."

We walk out of the cabin at the same time.

"You could be running right into one of their trap." She says, thoughtfully.

"I can't just leave her like that." I start walking toward the other side of the hill.

"Just lead the way, you know I'm not going anywhere." She shakes her wet locks out of her face. The sun shines down, making them glisten.

"What's your name?" I stop staring and walk ahead.

"Charlie." She says and she moves a tree branch out of my way.

***

"You've got to be kidding." With her hands on her hips, Charlie moves to the front of the old, tan sedan and knocks on the hood. "This car will fall apart before we can even push it down the road."