Being a former track star and decent soccer player, running was nothing new, but he was moving faster than he ever had before. Shawn was literally running for his life. He couldn't even feel his toes touching the ground; he might as well have been flying. He gave no thought to the specifics of his movements. All he could think about was surviving.
There was a faint noise behind him, a voice yelling indistinct aggressions. It had to be Mr. Goldstein, who, Shawn quickly concluded, must have been chasing him. He was in no position to turn around to verify.
Left, go left, he thought, sharply darting sideways instantly. The house he approached had a low enough fence. He scaled it without even blinking, landing on his feet and maintaining his speed. Within seconds he was across the yard and over another fence.
Shawn stopped for a second. He wasn't tired at all, but he needed to stand still long enough to think. He could remember seeing Mr. Goldstein with a shotgun when Beck kicked the door in. Shawn spun around and fled immediately. Something exploded behind him as he dashed diagonally across the driveway and flew down the sidewalk. Everything after that was just a blur of lawns and houses as he attempted to put as much distance as possible between himself and the old man.
A vibration in his back pocket brought Shawn back to the present.
"Yeah."
"Man whatchu mean 'yeah' what happened?!" Shadow was noticeably angry and confused.
"I don't know man, I don't know. I mean, we- we- we uh, I don't know it got crazy." Shawn's adrenaline was starting to wear off. Now he realized his heart was thumping. He tried to breathe deliberately to calm himself down.
"What was that noise, Bump?! I heard something loud and then Dro hung up! What happened?!"
"Hey! You tell ME what happened! Nobody was s'posed to be home! Why you screaming at me?! Why?!" Shawn was yelling at his phone, shaking a clenched fist at it as if Shadow could see him. "Look man it all happened too fast. All I know is Beck kicked the door in and Goldstein popped him."
"Aw, man, Goldstein popped him?!" Shadow echoed in disbelief. "And you left him there?"
"Whatchu think, I'ma stick around and wait? Beck froze up when he seen the gun. I ran." Saying those words aloud reminded Shawn that he was too quick to act on impulse. He shouldn't have abandoned Beck and Dro. He shouldn't have taken off so quickly.
"What happened to Dro?"
"I ain't got a clue bro, I swear. I was gone so fast I ain't have time to think about none of that." The aggression in Shawn's tone subsided. "I just ran." Now he began to think about how the entire venture was a bad idea in the first place.
"Where you at now? I gotta come scoop you and Dro before the laws show up."
"I'm right down the street. I'm uh, right here off uh ... hold on." Shawn really had no idea how to describe where he was at the moment except to say he was in someone's backyard. He looked around for an indication. "I know I'm still on Goldstein's street, what's that, Red River Lane?"
"Yeah that's Red River."
"Wait, nah, I'm on the next street cuz I cut through a yard. Hold on I know what I'ma do." Shawn activated the location on his phone and paused. "This is 7730 Canadian River Way."
"Huh? You teleported or something?"
"I was on automatic." In his hasty escape, Shawn had gotten at least four blocks away from Mr. Goldstein's house.
"Aight well I'ma pull up at Red River and Sabine to come get you. Cool?"
"Bet." Shawn returned the phone to his back pocket. Now that he could focus again, he noticed just how nice this yard looked. It was spacious and well-kept. There was plenty of manicured grass. Finely trimmed hedges lined one of the fences. On the far side there was a beautiful pool flanked by elaborate decorations. It was huge and it had unique markers that showed that the water was several feet deep. The scenery was breathtaking.
Something felt funny. Shawn placed his hand over his abdomen, feeling a rip in his black hooded sweater. He moved his fingers around inside the hole and examined them to discover a little bit of blood. He must have gotten caught while going over one of the fences. It didn't look that bad and Shawn still couldn't really feel it yet, so he shrugged it off. He calmly walked toward the opposite end of the yard, intending to go over the fence and casually make his way up Canadian River Way to Sabine. A low rumbling caught his attention and he looked behing himself.
Oh look, a dog, Shawn thought as he made eye contact with a German Shepherd. Whatever you do, don't run. The dog barked and Shawn quickly forgot his own good advice. He sprinted across the yard, unwittingly inviting the dog to come after him. Unlike when he ran from Mr. Goldstein, Shawn ran away from the dog while facing him, barely looking ahead to clear his path.
Shawn was an excellent athlete. Regardless of his temporary lapse in judgment, he would have no problem outrunning the dog long enough to get out of the yard. He just had to shoot straight across at full speed and go over the fence like he did before. Nothing else stood between him and freedom, but it's hard to move straight forward when you're looking back. Shawn looked ahead and found himself about to crash into a round table. He attempted to hurdle the table and tumbled directly into the pool.
Plunging clumsily into the water, Shawn sincerely wished he would've learned to swim.
