PURSUIT

My heart hammered in my chest as I sprinted across the field. Sweat
coated my body,
my lungs burned and my breath came in sharp, ragged bursts. I looked
behind me and
in the moonlight I saw him running just as hard, bearing down on
me.

He was a big man, over six feet tall and heavily built but fit judging
by the way he
thundered after me like an angry bull.

I plunged into the woods that surrounded the field, leaves slapping and
branches
slashing at me. The ground in the woods was uneven and I struggled to
stay upright as
I raced headlong through the trees, dodging trunks and jumping over
roots.

A quick glance behind revealed my pursuer, a black silhouette
barrelling through the
shadows of the trees, still chasing me, but slowed a little by the
uneven terrain.

The ground dipped sharply and I lost my footing, sliding down a steep
slope, the
undergrowth grabbing at my feet. I slid down the hill feet first, skin
scraped from my
hands and elbows as I tried to resume control of my descent then I
landed at the
bottom of the hill on my rear end, my clothes dirty and torn and stuck
with twigs.

I sat there for a moment wheezing, the muscles in my legs throbbing,
until somewhere
above me I heard my pursuer tumbling down the hill towards me so I
quickly got to
my feet and ran.

I was completely exhausted but I could not let him catch me. Fear
flooded my system
with adrenaline and fuelled my escape.

I soon broke out of the trees onto a gravel path that trailed alongside
a fast flowing
river. I could barely hear the bubbling, rushing water over my frantic
breath and my
furious heartbeat that thundered in my ears. There were no lights on
the path but in
the moonlight I saw the man, still behind me, tearing down the gravel
track after me.
Why wouldn't he stop? Why wouldn't he leave me alone?

I skidded on the track and turned to run over a foot bridge that
spanned the river. My
pursuer was on the bridge an instant later. He was faster on the flat
ground and would
soon be upon me. If he caught me I wouldn't stand a chance as he was a
good four
inches taller than me and looked like a bear next to my slim frame so
once across the
river I launched myself into the trees on the other side, praying my
lithe, nimble
figure would keep me ahead of him on the rough ground.

Once again branches sliced painfully across my face and arms but I was
making
definite headway, my lead was growing. Then suddenly I broke free of
the trees and
found myself running across the concrete of a road that ran through the
woods. Round
a bend in the road I could the headlights of an approaching car
illuminating the trees
but instead of stopping I ran straight across the road and into the
trees on the other
side.

My pursuer broke from the trees a moment behind me and ran straight
into the path of
the oncoming vehicle.

I heard the thump of the impact followed by the screech of rubber
burning against
tarmac and the tinkle of broken glass. I stopped running and in the
darkness of the
trees I turned to watch.

My pursuer lay still in the centre of the road while a hundred yards
away the car sat,
the brake lights glowing red. I waited and watched but for a long time
nothing
happened. My pursuer was clearly hurt but what was the driver of the
car doing?
Were they calling for help? Were they hurt?

After about a minute I heard the car shift into gear and then it pulled
away, quickly
gathering speed, leaving the scene of the accident behind. Running from
him just as I
was.

My first impulse was to run, to get as far from there as possible but
instead I crept
back to the edge of the road.

I looked up and down the road but saw no more lights and I could hear
nothing but the
natural sounds of the woods. My pursuer still lay in the middle of the
road, he hadn't
moved.

I stepped cautiously out of the trees into the road, my head swinging
from side to side
as I scanned the road in both directions. Positive we were alone I
walked to my
pursuer. I could hear his breathing when I neared; it was small and
weak, barely
audible. A pool of blood glistened black in the darkness and grew
slowly. I looked
into his eyes that stared blankly up at the stars in the sky and I knew
he would not
survive.

I reached into my jacket and pulled my knife from its hiding place, the
silver blade
shining in the moonlight.

I bent down to my pursuer, lowered the knife and placed it in his right
hand, closing
his fist around it then I got back to my feet and ran into the
trees.

The following day I discovered my pursuers name: Jerry Andalo. The
newspaper
story told of how he had stabbed a young woman to death the previous
evening and
had been hit by a car while making his escape.

Mr Andalo's girlfriend insisted that Jerry would never do such a thing.
He was a kind
hearted man who wouldn't hurt a soul. She also maintained that he was
not carrying a
knife when he left her house to walk home the previous evening but
given the fact that
the police found him with the murder weapon in his hand and no one else
had been
seen in the area they were certain they had found their killer.

I put down the newspaper, greatly relieved, and went to fetch my jacket
for my trip
into town.

I had to go shopping for a new knife.