\u201cHe hurt me! I can\u2019t believe he hurt me!\u201d<\/p>\n
Yeah, well, believe it, Lisa Meyer thought, as Vikki blubbered in the passenger seat of the Dennis family\u2019s brand new Jeep. Vikki was still cradling her arm, which seemed, at various times, to be hurting in different places. Drama queen, Lisa thought. Lisa had no patience for drama, at least not for the manufactured, adolescent kind. This moment was fraught with plenty of drama all by itself. It was all she could do to focus on the task at hand. <\/p>\n
She knew it must be David\u2019s car directly behind her, driving erratically. He knew his way around the maze of Bel Air better than she did, and he would have caught up with them by now if Lisa hadn\u2019t ignored every stop sign in Bel Air and sped like a maniac. She also knew, sooner or later, that whether David caught up with them, or whether she rolled the Jeep through careless and reckless driving, both she and Vikki would end up just as dead.<\/p>\n
Vikki, on the other hand, didn\u2019t seem to know much of anything beyond her own pain. \u201cWhy did he hurt me? Why?\u201d she moaned in anguish for the umpteenth time. That proved to be the final straw for a harried Lisa, who had just skidded over a curb and almost popped a tire in an attempt to avoid a jogger.<\/p>\n
\u201cLook, will you shut up?\u201d Lisa yelled. \u201cI\u2019m trying to drive here!\u201d<\/p>\n
Vikki recoiled as if she\u2019d been slugged in the stomach. She drew in a sharp breath and then turned her head histrionically, refusing to bear any further indignity.<\/p>\n
Fine. The Queen of Sheba can hate me all she wants, Lisa thought. Just as long as she lets me drive.<\/p>\n
David\u2019s car was never quite able to overtake them, but it wasn\u2019t for lack of trying. He got close enough at one point to nudge their bumper, which threw Vikki into a loud paroxysm of panic.<\/p>\n
\u201cShut up, already!\u201d Lisa barked. Now David was trying to pass them on the left, and the road was barely wide enough to accommodate a single car, let alone both. As the road narrowed quickly, David swerved his car hard enough that he would have hit them if Lisa hadn\u2019t punched the gas going into a sharp right turn. She took out a mailbox on the corner, but she was now a car length or two ahead of him. Except the mailbox collision had made Vikki squeal again, and Lisa would have hit her if she hadn\u2019t been clutching the steering wheel for dear life.<\/p>\n
There was another car ahead of her, which she managed to pass on the left, barely, and sped on ahead. David\u2019s car came slamming into the other car and sent it fishtailing off to the side of the road. David\u2019s bulky Buick weathered the blow, but it had lost a few seconds, which allowed the Jeep enough time to turn the corner without being seen. Any moment now, he would come bearing down on Lisa, who now faced a terrifying, split second decision.<\/p>\n
The Jeep was careening toward the south Bel Air gate, which emptied out directly on to Sunset Boulevard. Sunset, as was to be expected on a Friday night, was a bumper-to-bumper barrier of automobiles, and, at the speed she was going, there was no way she could merge into the traffic without plowing into the side of a solid wall of cars.<\/p>\n
I can\u2019t do that, Lisa thought. Even if I could get in somehow, he\u2019d expect it.<\/p>\n
What wouldn\u2019t he expect?<\/p>\n
Knowing she had no other choice, she made an impossible left turn, tires screeching, directly into the oncoming traffic, at a tight enough angle that she found herself driving on the grassy shoulder and praying that David wouldn\u2019t be able to follow. She miraculously avoided a head-on collision, but they only made it about half a mile up the embankment before the Jeep rolled over and hit a tree. Thankfully, the front of the car took most of the blow, and, while the girls were now upside down and Vikki was out of her wits, their seat belts had kept them relatively unscathed. Lisa had the presence of mind to look behind them.<\/p>\n
David\u2019s Buick was nowhere to be seen.<\/p>\n
\u201cCome on!\u201d she urged Vikki, as she fumbled around to release her belt. She didn\u2019t know how much time her little stunt had bought them, but she sure wasn\u2019t about to waste any of it. Vikki was screaming louder than ever, her sobs punctuated by tiny squeaks in between breaths. Lisa was somehow able to block it out as she reached over her shrieking banshee companion to pry open her door, which she had to kick with all her might to get it fully ajar. Then she crawled over Vikki and, fumbling to unbuckle her seat belt, too, managed to release her and pull her out of the car onto the grass.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy arm!\u201d Vikki\u2019s volume had gone down, but she had lost none of her intensity. She was crying real tears now, Lisa knew. But she didn\u2019t have time to care.<\/p>\n
\u201cCan you walk?\u201d Lisa demanded to know.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy arm!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not talking about your arm. Can you walk<\/span>?\u201d<\/p>\n Vikki\u2019s face was a mess of tears, spittle and mucous. She was incoherent. Lisa dragged her to her feet and draped Vikki\u2019s good arm over the back of her shoulders.<\/p>\n She suddenly heard horns honking wildly, and she had a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach that they were signaling the approach of two more headlights plowing up the side of the embankment.<\/p>\n If they stayed here, David would get them.<\/p>\n Lisa and Vikki ran into the slow-moving traffic and managed to cross Sunset between the cars. When they got to the other side, Lisa looked back and expected to see David Chakiris\u2019 eyes blazing with fury in the reflection of the oncoming headlights.<\/p>\n He wasn\u2019t there. But Lisa knew he would be, soon.<\/p>\n With Vikki in tow, she scurried toward the lights of the UCLA campus, running through the landscape and staying off the road. I want to live, she told herself. That\u2019s not what David wants.<\/p>\n That thought kept her focused as she forged ahead. \u201cSo the real question is – what are you going to do now?\u201d Walthius asked. They were marginally closer to the freeway, but Jeff was sure they\u2019d have been there sooner if Walthius hadn\u2019t decided to take a shortcut up to Wilshire Boulevard, which was, if anything, even busier than Santa Monica.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not going to get home anytime soon, that\u2019s for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m serious,\u201d Walthius said.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah. So am I.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHa ha.\u201d Then, in a voice of concern, Walthius asked, \u201cYou gonna to tell your parents, then?\u201d<\/p>\n Jeff shrugged. \u201cI don\u2019t know. I haven\u2019t figured it out yet.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ve got a lot of options, you know,\u201d Walthius offered. \u201cYou could sign up for the NBA.\u201d<\/p>\n Jeff grunted.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat?\u201d said Walthius.<\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t just sign up <\/span>for the NBA.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cStop and think for a second,\u201d Walthius countered. \u201cI don\u2019t know basketball, but I\u2019m pretty sure if you show up at a Lakers game and fly the ball down the court without dribbling once, they\u2019ll sign you up pretty quick.\u201d<\/p>\n Jeff considered this and then asked \u201cWhy basketball? Why not football? Or baseball? Lots of interest in baseball.\u201d His voice wandered off at the last sentence as he started looking around the back seat. He was starting to get hungry.<\/p>\n \u201cLot of cash in baseball, too,\u201d Walthius agreed. \u201cAnd you\u2019d save a lot of money on steroids.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGood to know,\u201d Jeff said as he scoured the floor to find any more food. He struck gold, or, at least, green. There were two more Granny Smith apples in a plastic grocery bag.<\/p>\n \u201cYou going to eat these?\u201d Jeff asked, apple in hand.<\/p>\n \u201cHelp yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n Jeff took a bite of an apple and looked out the window. Baseball. I could be a baseball star. Or football. And I wouldn\u2019t even have to go pro. I could be a Topanga Titan and consign Stallion Cornell to the second string, both on and off the field.<\/p>\n He felt a rush of wild excitement as he dared to name his deepest desire.<\/p>\n I could date Vikki Dennis.<\/p>\n All of a sudden, this was getting good.<\/p>\n \u201cNah, it\u2019s no good,\u201d Walthius said.<\/p>\n Jeff chuckled and took a bite of his apple. \u201cNo good, huh?\u201d he said, not convinced. \u201cAnd why not?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s the Peter Parker temptation,\u201d Walthius said simply, and Jeff, like any comic book aficionado, knew exactly what he was talking about. Spider-Man had started out trying to get rich, but after his selfish behavior led to the death of his uncle, he decided that he had to use his powers for the greater good.<\/p>\n \u201cWith great power comes great responsibility,\u201d Jeff quoted.<\/p>\n \u201cLook to the classics, my friend.\u201d<\/p>\n Yeah, great, Jeff thought.<\/p>\n Except Peter Parker had never met Vikki Dennis. David surveyed the wreckage of the Jeep, but he knew even before he looked that the girls had escaped. He thought, for a moment, that they might have tried heading up toward the Sunset Strip, but they would have had too far to travel. That would have made them easy targets. That might have been what Vikki would have done, but the little blonde girl was smarter than that. It had already taken him at least five minutes to figure out that Lisa had made a crazy left turn. Smart girl. He found himself, in the midst of his wrath, filled with admiration for her.<\/p>\n That would make her death even more satisfying.<\/p>\n He looked across the street, which is where he was certain the girls had gone. How long a head start did they have? How soon before they were out of his reach? Best not to take any more chances.<\/p>\n As soon as he decided on his dark purpose, his hand swelled out to meet the task it had been given. Without thinking, he grabbed one of the slow moving cars and flung it out of the way, end over end, as if it had been a Matchbox toy. That got him out on the street, into the first lane. He yanked another car out of the second lane and pitched it into the opposite direction. Four more lanes of Sunset, four more cars. Two flung left, two flung right. He cut through the traffic like a knife through butter, leaving another scene of automotive carnage in his wake.<\/p>\n There, he said to himself as he reached the other side and smelled the smoke rising from the wreckage behind him. He watched his hand shrink again, its task completed.<\/p>\n That ought to make up some lost time. \u201cWell, then what about your civic duty?\u201d Walthius asked.<\/p>\n Why does he care so much? Jeff thought to himself. He picked a piece of apple out of his front teeth. \u201cI didn\u2019t know I had a civic duty,\u201d was Jeff\u2019s answer. As far as he was concerned, the conversation was essentially over. He wondered if it was typical for teenage boys to plan their own weddings. He didn\u2019t care about the caterer or the guest list – Vikki could pick the colors and everything, but, still, he wanted to have the ceremony outdoors, early summer, maybe late spring\u2026<\/p>\n \u201cOf course you have a civic duty,\u201d Walthius said. \u201cThink about it. Some fanatics got a hold of some hostages? People hijacking planes or blowing things up? You’ll have all the bad guys on the White House lawn in twenty minutes, and you let the Secret Service have a go at them.\u201d<\/p>\n Jeff raised his eyebrows. This made sense. And it was helpful besides. No doubt about it. Maybe he could squeeze some heroing in while Vikki was off working \u2013 she\u2019ll be all the more impressed when he got back\u2026<\/p>\n \u201cYou like that, huh?\u201d Walthius asked. \u201cAnd I\u2019ll bet the reward money would be pretty sweet.\u201d<\/p>\n Why does he keep talking about money? Of course Vikki would be impressed by that, too, Jeff thought. Power. Money. Either one alone would be helpful. Together, he\u2019d get the girl for sure.<\/p>\n As a dreamy smile crept over his face, he looked over and saw Walthius shaking his head.<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t even think about it,\u201d Walthius scolded.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat?\u201d Jeff protested. \u201cYou just told<\/span> me to think about it!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re not thinking about it the right way.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t know what way I\u2019m thinking about it!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou think Steve Rogers would do it like that? That he\u2019d be willing to be a government stooge the rest of his life?\u201d<\/p>\n Again with the comic books, Jeff thought, exasperated. Steve Rogers had volunteered for an experimental super soldier serum and became Captain America. At the end of World War II, he was frozen in an iceberg and, after being de-thawed, went on to fight crime freelance, including battles, at times, with his own corrupt government.<\/p>\n Jeff took a leisurely bite of his apple. \u201cSteve Rogers doesn\u2019t exist, Walthius.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou know what I mean.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSure,\u201d Jeff said, humoring him, realizing that all this thinking about Vikki Dennis might require him to freeze himself in an iceberg before too long. Not enough people were on the UCLA campus on a Friday night, Lisa thought. A crowd was the only way to hide. Either that, or a building. Except none of the buildings were open this long after dark.<\/p>\n They were moving much more quickly now since Vikki had picked up the pace and toned down the weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth. It was probably because her arm, which had no doubt been at least bruised in the fall back at David\u2019s house, was now seriously broken and misshapen. She was in real pain, and she couldn\u2019t afford the energy to sustain her previous performance.<\/p>\n \u201cJust a little farther,\u201d Lisa implored, even though Vikki\u2019s stride was longer than Lisa\u2019s, and the shorter girl had to scramble to keep up.<\/p>\n Yet Vikki\u2019s eyes were starting to glaze over. I\u2019ve got to keep her moving, Lisa thought. She\u2019s going into shock.<\/p>\n \u201cHow\u2026 how much farther?\u201d Vikki asked, her voice tiny.<\/p>\n \u201cJust until we can get to the village,\u201d Lisa said. \u201cIt\u2019s our best chance.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWestwood Village?\u201d There was a note of muted panic in her voice. She thinks it\u2019s too far, Lisa thought. And she\u2019s probably right.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s the only place where we can find a crowd of people,\u201d Lisa reassured her, trying to sound as soothing as possible.<\/p>\n \u201cThis sucks,\u201d Vikki sulked.<\/p>\n Lisa nodded. \u201cIt sucks big time,\u201d she said, all the while trudging forward. \u201cI\u2019m warning you. You simply cannot be in this for the money!\u201d Walthius scolded.<\/p>\n Jeff was almost done with the apple. \u201cAnd why not?\u201d he said languidly, tossing the core to the floor of the car. Vikki wouldn\u2019t tolerate this kind of slovenliness after the wedding. Oh, Vikki, Jeff thought. Don\u2019t try to change me, baby.<\/p>\n Walthius sniffed.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n He sniffed again.<\/p>\n \u201cI said what!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI think you know.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cJust for the sake of argument,\u201d Jeff said, \u201cpretend that I don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMoney will destroy you if you go down that road. Peter Parker learned that on his first day.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s no such thing as \u2013 \u201c<\/p>\n \u201cRight. I know. \u2018No such thing as Peter Parker.\u2019 But you were the one who quoted him.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c \u2018Cause you\u2019re the one who seems to think there\u2019s a reason for everything,\u201d Jeff said.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s right.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, who gets to decide what the reason is?\u201d Jeff was agitated now. He wasn\u2019t about to let Walthius become the homewrecker of a perfectly good fantasy. \u201cWhy do I have to be the role model who fights badness all the time? What if I choose to be a, a – football star, or something? What if that\u2019s how I want it?\u201d<\/p>\n Walthius thought for a moment.<\/p>\n \u201cYou are<\/span> here for a reason,\u201d Walthius said, \u201cand I don’t know what it is, exactly, but I do know this much: it’s not to score touchdowns.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGlenn Ford,\u201d Jeff noted, recognizing the reference. \u201cPa Kent. Superman: The Movie. 1978.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGood job,\u201d Walthius said.<\/p>\n Jeff scoffed at him. \u201cI passed again, did I?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t say that,\u201d Walthius said, scowling. \u201cYou\u2019ve still got a long way to go.\u201d The girls passed a handful of people along the way, and none of them volunteered to help them, despite the fact that Vikki clearly needed medical attention. She was starting to weigh heavily on Lisa\u2019s tiny frame, and Lisa wasn\u2019t sure how much longer they could maintain forward motion. They were passing rows of well-lit apartments, which was not, in Lisa\u2019s mind, a good thing. It made them more visible than when they had walked past the dimly lit running track. Lisa would have stopped to rest, except she knew that Vikki was being propelled by pure inertia now. If they stopped, she would pass out, and this would all be over.<\/p>\n Lisa kept scanning behind her, praying not to catch a glimpse of David, or, at the very least, to see him before he saw her. She did her best to stick to the shadows. Part of her brain was telling her that surely they were safe, that David had lost their trail and given up.<\/p>\n Her gut told her otherwise, so they kept moving forward toward Westwood Village.<\/p>\n \u201cHe hurt me,\u201d Vikki muttered to no one in particular, no inflection in her voice. She was on autopilot now.<\/p>\n \u201cI know, honey,\u201d Lisa said, sympathetic for the first time. \u201cHe hurt a lot of people.\u201d And he\u2019s far from being done.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cHehurt me! I can\u2019t believe he hurt me!\u201d Yeah, well, believe it, Lisa Meyer thought, as Vikki blubbered in the passenger seat of the Dennis family\u2019s brand new Jeep. Vikki was still cradling her arm, which seemed, at various times, to be hurting in different places. Drama queen, Lisa thought. Lisa had no patience for ... 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