Part 11 (1/2)

”He's still behind us,” Chloe moaned.

”Maybe I'll get in the right lane and he'll pa.s.s me and annoy someone else,” Emma said, turning on her right turn signal and pulling into the right lane.

A moment later, the car pulled behind them, blanketing their car in the bright white glow of its headlights again.

”What a weirdo!” Chloe said, looking back at the car.

”Maybe they're turning. Let's get back in the left lane,” Emma said turning on her left turn signal and merging deftly back into the left lane.

Chloe watched as seconds later the car pulled into the left lane behind them, ”Okay. That's definitely weird. Do you think they're following us?”

Emma glanced over at Chloe, obviously frightened. ”Are you serious? That's really creepy! What do we do?”

Chloe looked back at the car again and then looked over at Emma, ”I don't know, but I don't want to stop.”

”Do you think its Kate?” Emma asked.

Chloe felt shock run down her spine. She thought Kate was a little insanely jealous about Jake, but would Kate go as far as following her home, trying to scare her and Emma? She thought back to the mini-golf course that day and the feeling that someone had been watching her and Jake.

”It definitely could be,” Chloe started, ”Wow, she's really insane if it is her. Or, do you think it's the killer?”

”I don't know,” Emma said, voice rising in panic. ”But if it's Kate, I'll kill her.”

”Okay, breathe. This is definitely weird, but we need to stay calm,” Chloe was trying to think rationally.

”Stay calm?” Emma said, turning right down a street toward Chloe's house.

”Don't go to my house!” Chloe said loudly, causing Emma to jump.

”Where do I go?” Emma asked.

”Turn left here,” Chloe said, pointing at a street that was rapidly approaching.

”Okay,” Emma said, turning the wheel sharply in order to make the turn.

”Just go straight for a second,” Chloe ordered, ”Let me try and think.”

”Okay,” Emma said, concentrating on her driving.

Chloe looked back and the car was definitely still following them. She tried to make out any details of the car or its driver, but nothing could be seen over the bright glare of the car's headlights. It looked like the car was a dark blue or black, but Chloe couldn't be sure, as much as she tried to get a good look at it around the glare of the lights.

”Chloe...” Emma said, suddenly, anxiety and panic thick in her voice.

”Hold on,” Chloe said, still trying to get a better look at the car behind them. She had almost been able to glimpse a license plate, ”Can you turn left again, Emma?”

”That's the problem, Chloe! We're heading toward a dead end!” Emma was panicking.

”What?” Chloe said, turning back to the road.

True to Emma's word the road stretched on for a few blocks, littered with dead end signs and in the immediate distance Chloe could see the road dead end at a cliff, that lead right into the ocean. They were heading straight for it.

Chapter 14: The Take Charge Girl.

”What do we do?” Emma asked again, in full panic mode.

”I don't know!” Chloe said, equally scared.

The car was rapidly approaching the end of the road and the cliff beyond. The car behind them was still following them, almost pus.h.i.+ng them forward despite themselves.

”I have an idea,” Chloe said as they approached the cliff, ”It might be dangerous, but I don't know what else to do.”

”Okay,” Emma said, ”I'm definitely open to ideas.”

”You need to stop and reverse, right now!” Chloe yelled.

”What?” Emma asked, even as she slammed hard on the breaks.

The car behind them careened into them, the bright headlights suddenly extinguished with a loud shattering crash as the two cars collided with each other.

The airbags in Emma's car exploded. Chloe's head was cus.h.i.+oned from hitting the dashboard, but she felt a cloud of dust fly into her eyes as her face hit the airbag, her seat belt restraining her from flying out of her seat completely from the impact.

It felt as if minutes had pa.s.sed when Chloe sat up, rubbing her eyes, and looking around the car, blearily. She couldn't make her eyes focus completely. They hurt from the dust that had flown in her face. Her whole body ached from the force of trying to resist the impact.

Chloe looked over at Emma, ”Are you okay?”

Emma sat up, dazed. ”What happened?”

”You need to pull forward and then reverse,” Chloe said.

”I can't reverse,” Emma said, voice oddly calm, as if she was in shock. ”Should we call the police and report an accident?”

”Are you crazy? The maniac in the car behind us might already be running up to the car with a shotgun. We need to get out of here now!” Chloe yelled. ”Snap out of it!”

Emma immediately put the car in drive, pulling forward in a large jerk as the two cars separated from where they had impacted one another.

”Reverse!” Chloe yelled.

Emma s.h.i.+fted gears and pulled the car in reverse, yelling, ”Call the police!”

Chloe reached for her purse, which had fallen under the seat when the two cars collided. The contents of her purse had spilled out all over the floor. Chloe felt around blindly in the darkness for the metallic square that was her phone and finally wrapped her fingers around it.