Lottery 1
Jerard Paxton was twenty eight years old. He lived as best as he could to get by growing up. He was in and out of wayward youth homes as a teenager. He wasn’t a bad person, he just ended up in bad situations. Which is how he ended up here.
Jerard was sleeping at a flop house on the outskirts of Carson City, Nevada. The girl he had been with for the past two weeks, dead beside him from an fentanyl overdose. Where did she even get the money for drugs? He knew how she got it, the dealer downstairs. Her body was bruised and banged up, probably from trying to climb up the stairs and into the attic hideaway spot. There was dried blood coming from her scalp, where she hit head repeatedly on the roof beams. She looked like a victim of abuse, someone who had died from their beating.
Jerard ran downstairs to the dealer to confront him, the dealer pointed his gun at Jerard. Jerard grabbed the gun pushing the barrel away from his face. There was a struggle, and the gun went off killing the dealer. He panicked, grabbing the gun with his prints on it, and ran out of the house.
He started walking down the back roads, the farm roads, the roads with no cameras. Maybe he could make it to California before he was picked up by the cops. Then on to Mexico.
Aston sat in the car weighing his options. He could wait until Christine got the money and then have her hand it over to him. If she truly loved him, it would be no problem. However with that reporter in her ear all the time, chances weren’t looking good on that option.
He started the car. There was really only one viable option. Aston drove to Christine’s mother. He would say he was picking up the kids for a treat. The timing on all this was bad.
He had no trouble picking up the kids for ice cream and a movie. As he sped down the highway, he spoke out loud “Call Christine.”
The crowd of people was pushing in on all sides, trying to see the commotion. Christine’s phone vibrated wildly in her pocket. She pulled it out and looked at the caller I.D., it was Aston. She looked nervously at Shaniqua, her hands began to shake uncontrollably.
The Emergency Medical Team had arrived and were loading Lucy on a stretcher. The airport was pure chaos.
Christine’s phone vibrated frantically.
Shaniqua set her hand on Christine’s arm, “Are you going to be ok by yourse…” she noticed the caller ID. “Don’t answer it. Go home, take your kids, and go hide somewhere safe. Turn the phone off so he can’t track you. Meet me at the KKRY station Friday at 6pm. I have to follow Lucy.” She turned and chased the medical team out of the airport and got in the ambulance.
Christine sent the call to voicemail, and ran to her car in the parking lot. Her unsteady hands dropped the keys. She crumpled and started hyperventilating. As she began to control her breathing she calmed a little. She had to pull it together for the kids. She regained her strength and unlocked the car door. After she slipped inside she locked all the doors, and stared ahead for a few moments. What had her life turned into? She started the car and drove home.
She arrived at her mother’s home to find out Aston had taken the kids for ice cream and a movie, she lost control. The blood seemed to drain from every part of her as she collapsed to the floor. The world went dark, in more ways than one.
Lucy woke up and looked over at Shaniqua.
Shaniqua took a deep breath in slowly, then as calmly as she could she conveyed the news of Steven’s empty apartment.
“They have him.” Lucy almost whispered.
“But no word on ransom yet.” Ms. Paston sat back in the chair.
“What do we do?” Lucy looked at the wall, and tried to focus her thoughts.
Shaniqua’s phone began to vibrate. She glanced at the caller I.D. it was Christine, she answered on speakerphone.
Christine’s voice was barely recognizable through the sobs and gasps of air. “My kids… my kids…” was the only thing that could be made out. Her mother grabbed the phone as Christine fell unconscious to the ground again, “I did not know, I’m sorry.” she replied and hung up.
Lucy and Shaniqua looked at each other in shock.
“Go! Now! Go!” Lucy exclaimed and motioned to the door.
Shaniqua was already halfway out of the room, before she hung up the phone. As she ran through the hospital hall towards the elevator, her eye saw someone suspicious walking towards her. Without hesitation, whether it had been a real or imagined threat, she found the emergency stairs and took them to the parking garage.
Her heart pounded as she started the car and sped to the exit. She passed the toll booth and the alarm went off. As she looked in her rear view mirror, she noticed the car behind her had done the same and was following her.
Shaniqua did her best to loose the pursuing car on the freeway, but she was not sure if she had succeeded when she pulled into the suburban neighborhood. She knocked on the door and went inside the house.
Christine was still on the floor, her mother was now near hysterics.
There was a loud banging at the front door.