No Exit by Taylor Adams 2

She kept running, heaving steps, the air stinging her
throat, her calves burning, her joints aching. The kidnappers’
Astro van coming closer.
She wished she’d never stopped at this stupid rest stop.
She wished she’d never left her hometown for college last
year. Why can’t I be like my sister Devon? Who was perfectly
happy waiting tables at the Cheesecake Factory in Provo?
Who vacuumed Mom’s house every Sunday morning? Who
had “Strength in Chinese” tattooed on her shoulder blade?
Why am I like this? Why do I always strike out on my own and
estrange people? Why am I out here, miles from home,
running for my life in a frozen parking lot in Colorado, while
Mom gets treated for pancreatic cancer—
The Astro van was now thirty feet away.
Twenty.
Ten.
“And when we catch you, you little bitch, I’ll make you
beg for that Ziploc bag—”
She hit the Astro’s driver door with her palms. Snow globs
slid off the bumpy glass. Ashley’s lanyard still dangling in the
lock, where she’d left it. She opened the door and glanced to
the Wanapani building. She could twist the keys in the
ignition, right now, and attempt an escape. And maybe she’d
make it. Maybe she wouldn’t.
But it would be a death sentence to Ed and Sandi.
Thinking a move ahead, she knew the brothers would then
have no choice but to murder them both for the keys to Sandi’s
truck, so they could chase Darby down and kill her on the
highway.
No, I can’t leave Ed and Sandi.
I can’t get anyone else killed tonight.
She wavered there, gripping the door for balance. Her
knees were slushy; she almost collapsed inside. The ignition
was right there, close enough to touch. The steering wheel was