Ready Or Not... Here I Come!

Jill sat in Mike’s office grading papers when the lights went out. He would’ve been there with her, but she insisted that she could get it done faster without him there to distract her. He left her reluctantly, telling her to text him when she was finished. Jill sighed as she stood, and felt her way to Mike’s desk. She found a Mag light in the bottom drawer and switched it on. She was about to sit back down at the table when the distinct sound of stiletto heels broke the silence in the hall. She made her way to the door, opened it, and stepped out into the dark hallway.

“Who’s there?”

Jill moved the beam of light back and forth attempting to illuminate the dark hallway. She stopped when the light glinted off a metallic surface. She turned to face the direction the glint came from, and raised the flash light. A tall woman with blonde hair and blue eyes stood before her brandishing a gun. “Laura?”

“Hello, Jillian,” Laura moved forward, taking slow deliberate steps so that her heels tapped out a rhythmic beat, which contrasted Jill’s pounding heart. “I want to offer my congratulations on your engagement. That’s quite a feat you know. Michael never was one for ’til death do we part’.” Laura raised the gun and pointed it at Jill. “Too bad death will part you before you even say the vows.”

“Laura, please be reasonable.” Jill argued.

Jill’s words made Laura pause long enough for her to heave the flash light in her direction. The heavy metal clattered on the floor. Laura fired into the darkness as Jill took off running in the opposite direction. Jill ran in a zigzag pattern so that it would be even harder for Laura to aim. Laura picked up the discarded flash light and used it to light her way. She checked Mike’s office first. She looked in every nook and cranny a small woman like Jill could squeeze into.

“Very smart, Jillian!” She called when she reentered the hall. “You know not to trap yourself! Guess you learned that from Aaron!”

Jill slipped into the stairwell before the light hit her. All Laura saw was the door swinging closed. Jill rushed down the stairs two at a time nearly falling twice. She heard the door above her burst open as Laura charged through and heard the gun go off a few times as the woman fired blindly down into the stairwell. Jill burst through the door on the ground floor into the warm night air. She took a moment to get her bearings, figuring it would take Laura time to make her way down the stairs; especially in those impractical shoes. Jill took her shoes off in Mike’s office while she was grading papers. She took another moment to give herself props for not making that classic horror movie victim mistake. The campus pathways were lit well enough to indicate that she was on the opposite side of the building from the parking lot. Jill cursed at that, and again when she realized she left her purse in Mike’s office. Maybe if I double back? Then she remembered that the doors would be locked. I need to find someone with a phone. She looked down the walk way, and saw no one. She dove into the darkness when the double doors behind her burst open. Laura emerged panting. Jill watched Laura scan the walk ways. Then flinched when Laura fired off a few shots into the opposite direction of where she was hiding.

“Come out come out, where ever you are!” Laura screeched.

This isn’t safe, Jill realized. She could hit an innocent student. Jill took a step forward, and let out a shriek when a large powerful arm banded around her waist, and pulled her back against a hard male body. A large hand covered her mouth, cutting off her second shriek.

“Quiet!” A harsh voice whispered in her ear. “She’s looking right at us.”

Jill froze as Laura aimed the gun at them. The gun made the unmistakable clicking sound of an empty chamber. Jill sagged against the body behind her in momentary relief. Her anxiety returned when she recognized the smell of her ex’s cologne. She turned her head to look up at him when he removed his hand from her mouth.

“Aaron?”

“She’s reloading.”

He lifted her into his arms, and made a dash for the parking lot behind the building. They could hear Laura behind them shooting and shouting. When Aaron reached his truck he wrenched open the passenger door, and pushed Jill into the front seat. He was just hoisting himself into the driver’s seat when a bullet smashed through his rear window, whizzed between him and Jill, and lodged itself in the roof. Aaron started the truck, and executed a stunt turn that you would only see in the movies, forcing Laura to dive out of the way. He peeled out of the parking lot, and used the hands free set to call Mike.

“Aaron? What’s going on?” Mike’s voice came through the speakers.

“Your psycho ex just tried to put a bullet in Jill,” Aaron announced. “I’m bringing her to your place.”

“I’ll be here,” Mike stated. “I’m calling the police.”

“Good idea.”

They were interrupted by Jill’s hysterical laughter.

“Really, Jill?” Aaron gaped at her. “I fail to see how this is amusing.”

“I’m being rescued by my psycho ex from my current boyfriend’s psycho ex who’s trying to kill me,” Jill continued to laugh herself to tears.

“I’m not sure whether to take that as a compliment or an insult,” Aaron admitted.

“She’s in shock,” Mike informed him. “I wouldn’t take it either way at this point.”

Mike was waiting on his front porch when Aaron pulled into his driveway. He opened the passenger door, and lifted a hysterical Jill from the seat. The three of them went into Mike’s house to wait for the police.

Word Count: 1,000