The stairs creaked as Amber Ross hurried down them. She plopped down on the bottom stair and put on her running shoes, quickly tying them as Percy, her grandmother’s cat, came slinking out of the shadows, purring loudly as he rubbed against her bare legs.

“I suppose you want me to feed you?” she whispered, as she walked to the kitchen, trailed by the meowing cat. Amber fed Percy and looked at the glowing blue clock on the microwave. She still had plenty of time to fit in a run before school started.

The kitchen light flipped on, and Amber blinked against the bright light that flooded the room.

“Off for a run?” Amber’s dad, Will, asked, as he reached past her and flipped on the coffee pot.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got time,” Amber said, “Why are you up so early?”

Her dad had lost his job at the community college just shy of six months ago. They’d lost their house three months ago. Both of those developments were why they had ended up where they currently were … living with his parents’, Don and Phyllis Ross.

“I’ve got a job interview.” Will offered, as he grabbed a mug out of the cabinet.

“Good.” Amber said, feeling a bit guilty that she couldn’t manage a more celebratory tone. She let her eyes wander over him. He looked tired, beat up from all of the crap that life had thrown his way since his wife, Amber’s mom, had received the cancer diagnosis more than two years ago. She’d been gone for a year now, and Amber’s heart still reeled every single time that she thought about her for more than a few seconds. Still, as much as her mom’s death had been wrenching for her, it had hurt just as much to watch her dad’s entire life fall apart too.

“It is good,” Will agreed, as he ran a hand over his stubble, “It’s time to get my shit together,” he winked at her, “We don’t want to live with your Gram and Gramps forever, do we?”

“We do not,” Amber grinned, “Hey, maybe you should come with me, old man,” she poked his stomach, “You haven’t been on a run in months, even with Grandpa.”

“Yeah, I’ve slacked off. I know I have. Next time, sweetheart. I promise.”

“Fine, but I’m going to hold you to it.”

“Amber, be extra vigilant,” her dad’s words stopped her as she loped towards the front door, “I saw on the news that another runner was killed just last week. That makes three now.”

“Don’t be such a worry wart,” Amber rolled her eyes, as she turned to face him, “I’ve got my cell phone, my whistle,” she pulled it out of her jacket and shook it in front of him for good effect, “And, even the mace.”

“Just be aware of your surroundings,” Will looked pointedly at the cords that hung around her neck, “And no headphones, either.”

“Fine,” Amber heaved a dramatic sigh, “No headphones, but, seriously, you worry way too much, Dad. You should worry about your job interview, instead.”

“Having a quick cup of joe, and then I’m heading to the shower.”

“Bye, Dad.”

**********************************************************************

The air had a new chill to it as Amber stepped off the front porch. Pools of light spilled down from the streetlights still, but she knew the sun was just about to rise.

She took off, her feet crunching the dried leaves that had piled up on the damp ground, sending an earthy smell up to her nose as she sucked in a restorative breath. It felt good to get out, to stretch her legs and lungs, to get away from all that was wrong with her life, even if for only the time it took to wear herself out from a run.

She quickly reached the intersection at the top of her block and jogged in place while she waited for the light to turn. She knew that her dad would want her to head for the well lit running track at the city park, but she hated going there because it was always busy. On a whim, she decided to head a few blocks over to the small business park instead. As she expected, most of the businesses were still locked up tight, their windows dark and their parking lots empty.

Amber ran, her legs eating up the asphalt as her mind emptied of everything save for the burn in her lungs and the screaming muscles in her thighs. She was grateful that her father had encouraged her in this activity, as his father had encouraged him. She was certain that if it hadn’t been for running, she wouldn’t have made it through the last several years.

A car drove past, and Amber watched as it turned into the driveway a hundred feet in front of her. She slowed down to almost a walk while she watched the car pull into a slot near the door. Only when the car’s occupants got out and entered the building, did she start running again.

“I must be turning into Dad.” she hissed, annoyed with herself for being so anxious. She ran until she reached the last cross street in the business park, and took a left. Her lungs were on fire, the pain all consuming, and she reveled in it. Until something changed. At first, it was a nape of the neck feeling, and then, slowly, Amber became aware of the fall of running footsteps, and the urgent whisper of labored breathing. Someone was coming up behind her … quickly.

An actual squeak formed, unbidden, from deep in Amber’s throat, as she felt for the whistle that was tucked beneath her jacket. As she pulled it out, the realization came to her that no one would hear it, not here, with the backs of empty buildings on one side, and a tangle of woods on the other. Why had she came this way? What good was a damn whistle if no one could hear it?

The footsteps were drawing ever closer, even as Amber’s pace picked up in outright panic. Her phone, she remembered. She had her cell phone. With fumbling fingers, Amber managed to unzip the outer pocket that she had tucked it into and grasped it, gratefully. She would call the police. That was what she would do. She would call the police and they would send someone out. All she had to do was tell them where she was, and they would come and save her. Only, what if it was too late when they got to her? She darted a glance behind her. A man, she was certain that it was a man, a tall, foreboding man, was running after her. Even as fast as she was running, he would certainly overtake her in minutes. Her heart skipped a beat. Her phone wouldn’t save her. And then, she remembered the can of mace that her dad had insisted that she carry with her. She had put it into the zippered compartment toward the bottom of her leggings. She would have to stop running in order to get it out.

“Fuck!” Amber groaned. She didn’t want to die. She didn’t want to leave her dad like her mother had left them. Would she have enough time to get her hands on the mace before the man caught up to her? She didn’t know. The only thing she knew was that she had to try.

Amber stopped running. She bent over and her fingers flew down to the zippered compartment that held the tiny can of mace.

“Amber? Amber, is that you?”

Amber gasped. She raised up and turned to look behind her.

“Hey, I’m Lucas, from 5th hour. Mrs. Maroney’s class.”

Amber’s mouth dropped open. Of course she knew him. He was the boy that she’d had a crush on all year. She smiled at him, tentatively.

He was breathing hard, and his hair was damp and sticking to his reddened face, but he was still cute.

“I saw you run past my house, and I was kind of shocked that you’d go out running by yourself with those women being killed and all …”

“Yeah, I know, that’s why you scared me.”

“Oh man, I am so sorry about that,” Lucas reached for her, and Amber jerked away, awkwardly, “Sorry,” he shook his head, “Sorry. I … hey, I just, I saw you out running and thought, you know, maybe I could run with you and sort of …”

“Protect me?” Amber offered, as she vacillated between feeling awful about how she was reacting to him, and terrified that he was the potential murderer.

Lucas nodded.

Amber studied him. He was looking at her like a hopeful puppy, and she felt herself softening. After all, she knew him, sort of. And, honestly, just five minutes ago, she would have safely declared that she wanted to know him a whole lot better.

“I was just on my way back home, actually.” she said.

“I could walk you home, if you’d like.”

Amber shrugged, “I guess that would be okay.”

“I was hoping you’d say that,” Lucas placed his arm around her shoulder, “Come on, I know a short cut we could take. It’ll shave a couple minutes off our trip.”

As Lucas walked her along, leading her to a barely noticeable path that cut down into the woods, alarm bells started jangling loudly in her head. Amber stopped still, forcing Lucas to stop, too.

Lucas turned to look down at her, “Seriously, I’m not leading you to your doom, Amber,” he smiled gently, “This path cuts straight out to the main road.”

“I’d rather not.” Amber stepped around him and started walking. She remembered the car’s occupants. She wondered if she could reach the building that they had went into.

Suddenly, she felt Lucas’ hand clamp down on her shoulder and she jerked away from him.

“Amber, look, I can see that you don’t trust me, and I get that,” Lucas walked past her. He turned around so that he was facing her, but he kept walking backwards away from her, “That’s fine. I can understand that. I’ll just go. I never meant to scare you.”

“You don’t have to do that, Lucas. You don’t have to stay with me.”

“Yes, I do. I’d never forgive myself if something happened to you.”

As they neared the business where the car was, Amber could feel herself relaxing, and she allowed herself to appreciate the fact that her crush was walking backwards in front of her, in an effort to protect her.

“So, you run, too?” she asked him.

“Looks that way,” he said, with a quirky smile, “Maybe we could go for a run together sometime.”

They reached the main road, and as traffic zoomed by, Amber stepped up her pace so that she was even with him, “I would like that.” she said.

They continued to chat until they reached Amber’s house. She noted that her dad’s car was already gone and she sent out a silent prayer that he would ace the interview and get the job.

“Thanks for walking me home,” Amber looked up at Lucas, hoping that she didn’t smell sweaty, “It was nice of you.”

Lucas shrugged, “I feel like I kind of ruined your run.”

“No, you didn’t,” Amber twisted her lips, “Well, you did, I guess, but that’s okay, because it was nice to finally get to know you.”

“I’ve been meaning to talk to you at lunch, but …”

“That’s right, we do have the same lunch period,” Amber tried to act surprised even though she was fully aware that Lucas had lunch the same time as her. She had to force herself not to stare at him the entire time she was in the cafeteria. Still, he didn’t need to know that, “I’ve seen you a few times.”

“Maybe we could sit at the same table and get to know each other a little more.”

“I would like that.” Amber’s heart was beating as fast as if she were running.

“Awesome. Okay, see you later, then.” Lucas reached out and ran his finger softly down her cheek.

Amber watched him leave. She felt all melty inside all of a sudden. Weird how the right boy could do that, she thought, as she moved towards the house. She still had to get a quick shower and eat something before she left for school.

Amber let herself in quietly. She assumed that her grandparents were still asleep and she didn’t want to wake them. As she started up the stairs, though, the sound of running water coming from the kitchen gave her pause. Curious, she turned and went back down the stairs. She walked towards the kitchen, smiling as she heard her grandpa cheerfully humming.

“Grandpa?” Amber stepped into the dim kitchen. She stopped just inside the door and gasped as her eyes spotted him washing a sharp hunting knife in the sink. He stopped when he heard her.

“Amber, you gave me quite the start just now. I thought you were still upstairs getting ready for school.” He sat the knife on a kitchen towel.

“What are you doing?” Amber asked him.

“Oh, I was just cutting some meat,” he smiled benignly at her, “For dinner later.”

Amber nodded, but her eyes swept the kitchen. There wasn’t any meat on the counter. She noticed the dark stains that covered the front of his form fitting running shirt.

“You went running?” she asked, trying to keep the fear out of her voice.

He looked down at his shirt and his forehead creased, “I did, but just for a bit. I, uh, I had to get that meat cut for your grandmother, so I came on home,” he looked back up at her, “I should shower.”

“Okay,” Amber tried to keep from trembling. She stepped aside as her grandfather came around the island, “I’m, uh, I’m just going to get a drink of water and then head out for school.”

“Have a good day, Amber, dear.” He seemed in a daze as he walked out of the kitchen.

She waited a moment, and then peered around the corner, watching to make sure that he went up the stairs. The second she heard the bathroom door close, she bolted for the refrigerator, hoping and praying that she would find bloody, cut up steak inside, but there wasn’t any.

The sound of distant sirens nearly brought her to her knees. It couldn’t be what she thought it was.

A stream of sun lit the sharp blade of the knife that rested on the counter. With numb fingers, Amber reached for it, but stopped when she spotted a long, blonde hair coiled around it’s base.

She managed to hold back her scream as she raced for the front door and kept running until she couldn’t run anymore.