A chase

A chase
“Is that you Cal?” Myra asked, looking up from her phone as she heard movement at the front door downstairs. 

He had said the mall was ten minutes away. That meant twenty minutes to and fro, excluding the time it would take him to shop.

How was he back so soon then, when it was just about eight minutes since he left?

She glanced back down at her phone to confirm, it was indeed, just around eight minutes ago he left.

Just then, her phone began to ring, and her heart stopped when she saw it was Greg calling. 

He had stopped trying to reach her for a while now when she ignored all his previous attempts. 

Why then was he suddenly calling her now?

And by this time of night?

She ignored the call as she dropped her feet from the bed and sunk her feet into the fur house slippers. 

She would go see why Cal was back so early. Did he forget something?

Her phone began to ring again. She stared down at it to see it was Greg. 

She looked away, and was pushing herself off the bed with her hands when she heard his voice through the phone, startling her so badly. 

“Get out of the house now.”

“What?” She turned her eyes to the phone, realizing her fingers must have answered the call by accident. 

“They are there to kill you, and take Nova.” Greg was yelling now over the phone, and Myra’s trained body jumped into action before her brain could fully process the words. 

She did not know who THEY were, but the thought of Nova sleeping alone on the floor below and anyone taking her, almost made her blind with panic. 

Oh God! 

She wished she still had access to a gun. 

As she vaulted down the stairs in a pyjamas bottom and tank top, she could hear the front door shaking and knew, whoever those were, were trying to break in.

She almost fell into the room as she pushed the door to Nova's bedroom open, scooped the sleeping child into her arms, and began running out again, her phone still in her tight grip. 

Outside the door, she suddenly froze, not sure where to turn. 

She could hear the loud noises from the door now, loud noises that woke Nova up, who looked around in disconcerted shock. 

“Shhh.” Myra placed her hand over her mouth as she almost started to cry. Thankfully the little girl went quiet. 

Without another second of hesitation, Myra vaulted down the stairs, headed towards the laundry room, hoping the side door was there because that's where it was in other houses like these.

But it was not. 

And before she could turn, she heard the sound of the door bursting open in front. 

She was sweating and shaking now. 

She could not risk fighting whoever those were, not with Nova in her arms. 

They were here to take the little girl away, so it would be very easy to shoot her dead, and snatch the girl away.

She was a good fighter, but not against someone who had a gun. Especially when she had none. 

“Nova,” she whispered, her hand still over her mouth. “Please don't cry or talk, do you understand me?”

The little girl nodded, her eyes wide with fright.

And Myra's heart shattered because no child should have to witness something like this.

“Callaghan!” She heard a thunderous voice that she would recognize even in her sleep.

She froze but quickly pressed her hands tighter around Nova's mouth, who had begun to whimper from the fright.

“Nova, please.” She pleaded. 

From what she heard just now, her father was just outside in the hallway. 

Going back was out of the question, because even now she could hear his heavy footsteps dragging on the floor outside. 

She winced. 

He walked like a drunk person. 

Was he drunk then? If he was drunk, that would make him even more dangerous. 

She hugged Nova tightly to her chest and redialed Greg, but his line was out of reach.

She frowned, but did not pause to think before she dialed Cal. 

“Honey.. I”

“My father is here.” She whispered harshly into the phone even as her father's voice rang clearly from the hallway, closer now, as he opened the door just next to theirs. 

From the noises she heard upstairs, she knew whoever he came here with was checking the rooms on the floor above. 

“A child for a child, Callaghan. I never gave you my daughter. She is mine! But you can keep her, the little bitch. I will take yours so she can do what my girl failed to do. Then we call this even.” 

“Oh Jesus.” She heard Cal exclaim on the phone. 

“I know you are in here somewhere.” She heard him step out of the room now, closing the door behind him. 

And Myra felt blood pounding in her ears because she knew he was coming here next. 

“Bring your girl to me, and no one gets hurt.” he said, and she suddenly became aware of a metal object dragging on the floor, as his footsteps drew closer. 

Was the man holding a club?

“Can you get to the laundry room?” Cal was saying frantically at the same time. “There's a latch there that can get you to the Den and then out to the street.”

Myra did not even respond as her eyes quickly scanned the room, and fell on the latch she believed he was talking about.

She ran to it, pulled the square blast door back, and jumped in roughly because her father was by the door now. 

She clung to Nova as her body fell all the way down, grazing her skin on the wooden steps, bumping against the staircase. 

“Myra!” She could hear her father’s voice above now, and knew he must have found the door. 

She landed on the floor and quickly curled her body into a ball to cushion her fall and protect Nova. 

At that moment, she heard them begin to shoot at her in the darkness as Nova started to shriek now. 

She ran fast, Nova still in her arms and clinging to her chest. 

She reached her left hand out to the wall, guiding her in the darkness till she touched wood. 

She hastily felt around, yanked the door open, and she felt cold air in her face.

That was when the real chase began.

“I'm outside, I'm outside.” She said, screaming into the phone, and running in the dark street with Nova in her arms. 

She had no idea how long she could run for like this. 

But she knew she would drop dead before she let that sick man she called father come anywhere close to Nova.