Prey
Kani’s bag dropped from her shoulder as she raced down the steps, stumbling and falling into a stranger as she was pulled around the corner and into the long corridor that led to the parking lot.
“Stacey, what’s going on?” she gasped, but Stacey wasn’t answering. She smashed into the gate by the station, pushed and rattled it until the latch gave way, and they tumbled into the high grass in the field by the tracks. The morning sun was burning off the moistness on the stalks, but the pinpricks of water were enough to give Kani a chill.
They ran faster than they could see ahead, dancing over rocky patches and quick dips in the terrain, finally coming to a stop in a small indent in the ground near a dead tree.
Stacey pushed Kani close to the ground, peered over the grass nervously.
“What’s going on?” Kani asked, and Stacey hushed her quiet.
“I’m in trouble, Kani,” Stacey whispered with a trembling voice. “So much trouble. I don’t know what else to do. I’ve got to run.”
“What’s wrong? Is it your step dad again? I swear to god, if he hit you again, I’m going to—”
“No! No, it’s not him. It’s not him. It’s… god, I don’t know how to say this. It’s not him.”
Kani grabbed Stacey’s hand and squeezed, brushed blond locks from her friend’s swelling face. For a moment, Stacey seemed to flinch at the contact, ready to fight, but she calmed, her breath slowed, and she nodded, bit her lip.
“I owe money.”
Kani nodded.
“Okay. Money. How much money?”
“Twelve thousand dollars.”
Kani nearly choked, shook her head.
“Excuse me? What?”
“Twelve thousand. I know. I know, but—”
“Stace, seriously… how is that even possible?”
“It’s not what you think.”
“Oh sure,” Kani said, almost laughing at the thought. “I’ll bet it’s perfectly reasonable. Sometimes you just can’t resist those new shoes, and—”
“I’m being serious, Kani!”
“Really? Because seriously, I don’t know how you can possibly owe anyone that much money. That’s insane!”
“It’s… complicated,” Stacey offered, and started to cry.
Kani took a sharp breath in, shook her head.
“Okay, can’t you go and tell whoever it is that you’ll pay them back as soon as you—”
“It’s the mob,” she said, quieter now. “The Italians. I owe them the money.”
Kani nodded, peered over the grass. No one around. Another train raced out of the station, rattling the air.
“They did this to you?” she said, motioning towards the bruises. “That’s what this is about?”
“Yeah,” Stacey nodded. “When I told them… when I told them I couldn’t do it anymore. I couldn’t—”
“Couldn’t what? Hold on, I’m not following. What exactly is going on?”
Stacey whimpered, put her face in her hands. Kani rubbed her back softly, face not nearly as sympathetic as her touch.
“I was trying to get away,” Stacey said, so quiet she was barely audible. “I needed to get away from him, but I needed money.”
“You can stay with us, you know—”
“No! No, I can’t do that to you guys. I can’t do it, and he wouldn’t let me. He’d make your life a living hell, Kani. You have no idea.”
“So what, you’re going to disappear? Just up and leave me?”
Stacey looked at her friend, tears in her eyes.
“I don’t want to, but…”
“All right, fine. So you borrowed twelve thousand.”
“No, I borrowed half a million.”
Kani’s breath left her. She grabbed Stacey’s chin, turned her face up so they were making eye contact.
“You what?”
“It’s… it’s complicated. I pay it off as I work. But when I’m done, Kani… when I’m done, I’ll have millions of my own! I can get away…”
“You can get away anyway, Stacey,” Kani said. “You know it, too. Your mom would understand. This is all just a fantasy to avoid—”
“It’s not a fantasy,” Stacey cried, putting her head down.
“Not anymore it’s not,” Kani nodded, went back to rubbing her friend’s back. They stayed that way for a moment, just the sound of the grass waving around them, a train pulling through the station.
“So what. You owe twelve thousand out of half a million. You must be raking it in. Why not ask for an extension or something?”
Stacey started crying harder.
“It’s not the way it works,” she sobbed. “It’s all or nothing. All or nothing…”
“Listen,” Kani said. “We need to go to the police, see if they—”
“No!” Stacey yelled, then cursed to herself. She grabbed Kani’s arms, squeezed tight. “We can’t see the police. Please, Kani, you need to help me. We can’t go to the police.”
Kani watched her warily. A phone started chiming, and Stacey pulled hers from her pocket, checked the address. She shuddered, turned it off, put it away.
“Who was that? Was it them?”
“No,” Stacey said. “I don’t know. Listen. Can we go somewhere safe? Someplace we can hide for a bit? Can you do that for me?”
Before she could answer, a loud voice boomed out from the distance, and though Kani couldn’t understand the words, by Stacey’s reaction, it was clear they’d been found out.
They scrambled to their feet and ran through the field as the shouts got louder, more persistent. There three voices Kani could pick out, and a fourth coming from ahead, to their right. Stacey stopped suddenly, took in the options, and took off again, to the left, towards the river off in the distance.
“Stacey,” Kani gasped between strides. “Call the police. Please…”
Stacey just kept running. They arrived at the edge of an embankment, a long concrete slope going down to the river’s edge. Dark figures were closing in fast.
“We’ve got to jump,” Kani said. “Can you make it?”
“I… I think so…” Stacey breathed.
“Jump far so you clear the sides. The water should be deep enough. I can’t see the bottom.”
“Okay,” nodded Stacey.
Kani backed up, tightened her fists, and filtered out the shouts, the panic in Stacey’s voice, the sound of her own heart. She slowed her breathing, heard her heartbeat, made it calm… calm…
She took off, foot touching the edge of the concrete, and threw herself into the air, legs still pumping as she flew. For a moment she thought she might even clear the river, land on the other side, and she inhaled a hopeful breath, a smile on her face.
But then she hit the water, and choked as it filled her lungs, and struggled to bring herself back to the surface. She splashed there, sputtering.
“Hurry!” she shouted up at Stacey.
Stacey nodded, took two steps back, and then started to jump.
“Wait!” Kani yelled, but it was too late. Stacey barely cleared the edge, landing badly on her left foot, then tumbling down the concrete slope and landing in the water on her back.
“Stacey!” Kani shouted, and splashed over to where she’d gone down. She dove under the water and saw Stacey floating, face twisted in pain, not trying to get back to the surface.
Kani grabbed her by the arm and started to pull, but Stacey shook her head, eyes wide with fear. She tried to pull free, but Kani was stronger, pushed her to the surface.
Just as Stacey’s head made it up, she was suddenly pulled clear of the river, out from Kani’s arm. Kani yelped underwater, swam up herself, and pulled in as much air as he lungs could manage.
A hand grabbed her hair and pulled her until her shoulders were out of the water.
“What’s this?” asked a man she couldn’t see, his voice thick and saucy, an Italian cadence in every word. “Just getting in the way, yeah?”
The only thing she could see was a tattooed arm close to her face, and the barrel of a gun touching her forehead. Nothing else would focus.
“Don’t need you,” continued the man. “Good thing you’re already in the river. Saves me some haulin’.”
Kani closed her eyes as the safety clicked off.