Burning Up

Ruthless

Keep right. Keep right. Keep right.

My thoughts were on re-play, my eyes fixated to the road as I sped down the undivided highway.

It was dark by now, the night closing in faster than I'd expected and without the familiar yellow glow of the street lamps, I felt lost in the darkness.

I gasped as a motor bike sped past me, unused to being overtaken on the wrong side.

"Get it together Mila." I snapped at myself, shaking off my momentary panic.

"Keep to the right." I repeated, sure that as long as I repeated my mantra, there was no chance that I'd get confused and speed into oncoming traffic.

My senses were on high alert, and I shuddered at the memory of the police car that had passed me just moments before.

It had been the strangest sensation, a combination of the rawest fear and adrenaline accompanied by an exhausted sense of acceptance.

First, the lights had filled my rear view mirror, a blinding blue and red, shocking me from my stupor.

We'd driven in silence for a moment, as if both I, and the cop, were assessing each other; like a lion and a gazelle standing parallel at a watering hole.

"Shit." I'd muttered, turning down the music, my eyes fixated to the speedometer.

I hadn't been speeding. I was sure of it.

Then, their siren began to blare, the noise startling me so bad that I swerved slightly, my palms sweaty on the wheel.

'Maybe I have a tail light out?' I thought.

Yet there was no flash of headlights, no loudspeaker announcement. No indication that the officer wanted me to pull over.

"Please. Please. Please." I had muttered, forcing my foot to remain steady on the accelerator as the car drew closer.

I hadn't noticed at the time, but there were beads of sweat forming on my forehead.

The lights sped past me.

I let out a sob of relief.

Even now, my heart hadn't stopped thumping in my chest. The encounter was still too fresh, too real, the risk too high, for me to push it from my mind.

"In 500 yards, take the next exit."

I jumped as the automated voice filled the car.

I'd been driving for over an hour, following my phone's map blindly as it took me down the highway that lead out of town before steering me off at the fifth turning and leading me onto a darker, less popular road.

I was growing uneasy, the pit in my stomach expanding as I ran through all the possible ways that this could go wrong.

What if this was a trap?

I scoffed at myself, quickly realising how stupid I sounded. This wasn't some action film. I wasn't worth anything to these people, in fact I meant nothing to them. I was just some random girl caught up in the wrong mess. They were after the drugs. Not me.

"Take the next exit."

I checked my mirrors, confident that no one was behind me, before flicking on my indicator and taking the turning.

This road was slimmer than the last. Bare on each side with nothing but miles of fields and darkness to surrounded me.

"Continue on for 5 miles."