Erik - Chapter 30

Suddenly I heard the car stop and a car door open and then I heard Erik cursing, first in French, and then in another language that was not English.  Did he get bogged down?  Is that why he's swearing?  He must be furious to be swearing like that!  And I'll bet he's swearing in Croat!  Serves him right!  All I need is just a little more time to make it to the forest-Lord, help me get to the forest!  Help me get to safety! I prayed as I ran along the edge of the hedgerow, looking all around as I ran, trying to find the forest that I knew lay beyond the fields.
Finally, as the hedgerow curved around to my left, I saw the forest in front of me, beyond the clearing that was between the forest and the hedgerow.  I quickly ran across the clearing and as I did so, I could hear Erik shouting at me in the distance, "No!  Don't go!"  Not knowing if he was trying to warn me about the clearing or if he was trying to get me to go back to him, I continued to run, trying to follow a narrow pathway that zigzagged across the clearing.  As I reached the half-way point, I heard him call out, "Roberta!  Don't go!  Don't leave me!"  Sensing that he was closer, I tried to run even faster, but the small thorny bushes kept pulling at my skirt and the path I was on had long since become a river of mud, and I found the going quite slippery.  Trying to keep my balance and avoid the thorn bushes at the same time, I slowed my pace only a little as I tried to make my way to the safety of the forest.

Unfortunately, Erik seemed to sense that I was slowing down, for he picked up his own pace.  As I slipped once again, I heard him call out, "You won't get away from me!  You'll never escape me!"  Getting up once again, and losing one of my shoes in the process, I ran even more quickly along the muddy trail, and just as I made it into the forest, a bolt of lightning flashed across the sky and as I quickly turned my head, I could see Erik was not very far behind me.  Good God, he'll never give up! I thought as I fell to my knees and crawled behind some bushes.
It was a good thing I decided to crawl into the bushes, for I heard Erik running along the narrow foot path.  "Where are you?  Damn you!  Come back here, Roberta!" he called out as he passed by the bushes where I hid.  I quickly laid flat on my stomach as I heard him pass me.  I remained very still and put my left hand over my mouth to quiet my breathing as I heard Erik slow his pace to a slow walk.  "I know you're here, Roberta!  You haven't gone very far-you couldn't have!  Now, come out!" he said as he stopped and looked around.  I stayed right where I was, as he began to first walk over to where I was hiding, and then turn back to walk on the foot path.  "You couldn't have gone very far, so I know you're around here somewhere, Roberta!  Do you really think I want it to end this way, hunting you down like a wild animal?  If you come out now, I'll make sure your death is painless-there will be no suffering," he said quietly as he walked along the foot path, heading away from me and going deeper into the forest as he did so.

I laid where I was at for some time before I got up on my knees and continued to crawl forward, dropping down onto my stomach and lying still every time I heard a noise coming from the foot path.  Good God, he still means to kill me!  God have mercy on both of us! I prayed as I made my way forward.  Suddenly, I heard footsteps on the path beside the bushes.  I quickly dropped onto my stomach and laid still as I heard Erik exclaim, "Damn you!  Where did you go?"  Then, hearing a twig snap behind me, he exclaimed, "So, there you are!  Well, you had your chance-now I'm afraid you'll have to suffer!"  As he ran to where the twig snapped, I quickly got on my knees and crawled away from him.  Realizing that it was only a false alarm, he exclaimed, "Damn it, Roberta!  Where are you?"  I dropped to my stomach yet once again and laid still while he continued to walk back and forth on the foot path.  As I laid in the bushes, I could see Erik through the foliage, and noticed he had donned both his wig and his mask, but I also noticed that both his jeans and his black shirt were dripping wet from the rain, and that the legs of his jeans were stained with mud, no doubt from the trek across the open field as well as from the mud on the foot path.  As for myself, I was also covered in mud, so much so that I was indistinguishable from my surroundings, which was just as well for I had no wish to be detected by him.

I continued to watch Erik as he paced back and forth on the path.  Then suddenly, I heard him say very softly to himself, "I saw where she went in here but there's no sign of her on the trail and the bushes are too thick to get into!  She must have double-backed and gone back to the house.  Yes, she must have done that-all her things are still there!  After all, how far can she go without money and identification?  That must have been where the bitch went!  Well, that makes things easier for me-I'll just kill her there!"  I then watched him walk back the way he had come originally.  After he had gone, I let out a sigh of relief.  Thank God, he's gone!  Thank you, Lord!  But, he'll be back shortly-no doubt more angry than before, so I'd better keep moving!  Best to stay in the bushes-otherwise he'll see me or see my footprints in the mud on the trail!  Thank you, Lord!  Lord, have mercy on this poor sinner! I prayed as I resumed crawling through the bushes.

I continued to crawl through the bushes for some time before I got brave enough to get up and walk over to the foot path.  I had lost my other shoe somewhere in the bushes and by now, my pantyhose had shredded, so I removed the pantyhose and buried it in the dirt among the bushes.  No sense advertising that I'm here! I thought as I finished burying the pantyhose.  I then carefully walked on the foot path.  My feet were bare by this time, and the gravel hurt my feet.  As I walked along, I heard water running and then as I came to a small clearing in the forest, I saw a small river in the distance.  I also noticed that the path seemed to go uphill.  I decided to stay on the path anyway, which was a good idea since it began to grow dark.

At long last, just as the sun was going down, I reached a small foot bridge that crossed the river, which by now had become a small stream.  I must be near the headwaters of the river, but I wonder which river!  Is it the mere?  One of its tributaries?  Who knows!  I don't know the area around here.  I'm going to have to find some shelter-it looks like I'll be spending the night out here!  God, and in all this rain and mud!  Better this than the house, though!  I can't believe Erik would do this!  And all because I found out who he really was!  As far as his assault on Christine, he's paid his debt to society, but those other murders!  Poor Carlos-he was a skirtchaser and an asshole but to end up like that!  And the other prisoner-I know he rearranged Erik's face, but to kill him!  Erik could have had plastic surgery to correct his face, and from the looks of the area around his jawline, I'd say he did indeed have surgery, but let's face it!  It's not his face that makes him a monster-it's his explosive temper!  And to kill those people like he did!  But, I guess when you cross the line, it's pretty easy to kill again, but still...It's bad enough to answer for one murder before God Almighty but to answer for three and then three attempted murders as well!  Doesn't he believe in God's Divine Justice, or has he lost his faith along with his sanity?

I continued along the foot path until it was almost too dark to see.  I then found a flat place by a large pine tree and sat down on it to rest.  I leaned my head back onto the trunk of the tree and tried to sleep but found I was unable to do so.  I was cold and wet and even though it had stopped raining, the evening had grown cool.  In addition to my physical discomforts, I kept seeing Erik as he looked shortly before I fled the house.  I saw the bruises that contrasted sharply with the sallow pallor of the rest of his face but above all, I saw the look of black fury in his eyes.  Oh, how I wished I had never seen that painting of Christine!  A man's past should remain private.  Why didn't I let sleeping dogs lay?

At the first sign of dawn, I roused myself and got back onto the foot path.  Within a few minutes, I found myself in an open field and after a few minutes more, I found myself on a dirt road that paralleled yet another hedgerow.  I stayed on that road until I came to a paved country lane that first went east and the went in a northeast direction.  I was able to go at a faster pace on the paved surface and after a time, came to another bridge that crossed yet another small river.

I decided at that point to clean myself up a bit.  In the clear morning sunshine, I could see that I was one large muddy mess.  I then climbed up and the back down a small embankment and relieved myself on the side of the embankment before making my way  down to the bank of the river.  I took off all my clothes and sat down in a shallow part of the river and washed off all the mud that had caked on my arms and legs.  Then I washed my clothes as well, starting with my underwear.  After wringing the dirty water out of each piece of underwear as much as I could, I put on my panties and bra.  Then I washed the shirt, scrubbing the dirtier parts on the front and sleeves as much as I could.  The shirt was a little cleaner, but was still quite dingy.  I had lost the wire that Erik had tried to use on me somewhere in the forest but quite frankly, I was glad it was gone.  I washed the skirt as well, but it too was pretty dingy, and indeed, all of the clothes made me feel cold and clammy in spite of the sun which had come up and now shone brightly in the cloudless sky that Sunday morning.

I climbed back up the embankment and got back on the road and followed it and by noon, I had come to the town of Parthenay.  I was glad I had taken some time to clean myself up and by this time, my clothes were nearly dry.  Just as I neared the outskirts of Parthenay, I heard a car honk behind me.  I stopped and looked behind me to see a small blue car stop.  A young woman put her head out of the drivers' side window and called out in French, "Do you need a ride?"  I gave a sigh of relief, nodded my head and walked back to her car.  She leaned over to her right and opened the passenger door for me, saying as she did so, "I can take you as far as Saumur-I'm on my way to visit my parents."  Then, as I got in, she exclaimed, "Mon Dieu!  Were you in an accident?  You look terrible!"

I shook my head and said, "No, no accident.  I do appreciate the ride, though.  Saumur will be fine."
Shaking her head as well, she put the car in drive, saying, "Well, if you're sure you're all right."
"I'll be all right now.  I ran into some trouble earlier last night but I'll be all right now," I replied, and then added, "By the way, my name's Roberta."
"I'm Chantal," the driver replied and then added, "Where are you from?"
"Originally?  From the United States," I replied.
"Really?  What brings you to France?  Are you staying long?" she asked in reply, a little more at ease because I was speaking in French.
"Forever, I hope.  I became a French citizen earlier this year," I replied.
"No kidding!  Well, what do you think of..." she began to chat amicably and before I knew it, we were having a lovely conversation which ended reluctantly when we reached the town of Saumur.  After we crossed the Loire river, she pulled over to the side of the road and said, "This is as far as I can take you.  If you stay on the road and go north about a kilometer, you'll find another road that takes you to Tours, but I'll admit it'll be the scenic route because it follows the Loire.  If you're not in a big hurry and you like chateaux, you'll see a lot of them on the road as you go along."

"Thank you.  I wish I had some money to pay you for your trouble," I replied.
Chantal shook her head and said, "Don't worry about that-it was on my way anyway.  I just hope your troubles are behind you!"

I smiled and said, "I believe they are!  Thanks for the ride.  Au revoire, mademoiselle!"  I then shook her hand, got out of her car, and waved at her as she got back on the road and turned left onto one of the side streets of Saumur.

It was indeed a scenic walk, but it was also a long one as well.  It took me over an hour to walk from Saumur to the next village, and from there, almost another hour to walk to Saint-Patrice.  From there, it was a short walk to Saint-Michel-sur-Loire and then another short walk to Langeais but from there to Cinq-Mars-la-Pile, it was a twelve kilometer walk, and just as long a walk from there to  Saint-Eteinne-de Chigny.  However, it was only a short distance from  there to Port-de-Luynes and from there, it was only ten kilometers to Tours.  However, all in all, it took me over six hours to walk from Saumur to Tours, and by the time I got to a gas station on the outskirts of the city of Tours, my bare feet were quite sore.

I decided to use the restroom at the first gas station I came to, and at first, I was going to ask the attendant could use the station's restroom but decided to try the door to the restroom first.  I found the door to the small room unlocked, so I went in and flipped the light switch on.  When I saw myself in the mirror, I was shocked.  My hair was matted with pieces of dried mud still clinging to the ends of my long hair, and while my clothes were cleaner than they had been when I was crawling through the bushes, the front of the shirt and skirt were still stained with mud.  My God!  No wonder Chantal thought I had been in an accident!  I look horrible!  Let me wash the mud out of my hair and off my face, and maybe I'll look better.  After I finished rinsing my hair in the sink and washing my face using the bar of soap I found next to the sink, I did indeed look less unkempt.  Just then I decided to use the soap and wash the shirt as well.  After scrubbing the stains with soap, I rinsed the shirt in clear water and wrung it out, and saw that it did look a little better.  I was going to do the same with the skirt when I heard voices coming from the other side of the wall that separated the restroom from the rest of the gas station.  Curious, I put the shirt back on, wet though it was, and cautiously opened the door to the restroom, walked out of the little room, and peeked around the corner.  There, parked at the gas pumps was Erik's car.  I quickly pulled my head back and leaned against the wall.  My God, he's here!  What do I do now? I thought to myself as I grabbed my skirt to keep it from flapping in the wind which had come up suddenly.  Finally I heard Erik come out of the building and after a few moments, I heard his car start up.  After another moment, I slowly leaned my head over and peeked out of the corner only to see the car drive away.  I breathed a sigh of relief before I, too, left the gas station and made my way into the city.

As I walked along the road into the city, all kinds of thoughts swirled around in my head.  Erik's hot on my trail, and at this rate, he'll soon find me!  Where do I go?  What do I do?  Do I go to Paris?  What about the Fontaines?  No, they're in Brittany, according to Erik.  What about Michel and Jacqueline?  No, she said they're going to the Alps.  Is there anyone else who can help me?  What about Mme. Renard?  I need to see her anyway about Brad's letter...which is in my purse back at the house!  Damn!  Well, I'm not going back there for anything!  Erik can just keep my things!  I'll just have to tell her what the letter says.  I'll have to tell her a lot more than that!  Oh, God!  Why didn't I go with the Fontaines like I had thought of doing?  Camping in Brittany could be no worse than what I've gone through the past two days!  Oh, God, my feet are so sore!  Please get me a ride to Paris-I don't think I can go much further! I prayed as I walked along the side of the road.

A few minutes later, as if in answer to my prayer, I heard a large truck honk its horn at me as it drove by me.  Oh, great!  Another rude truck driver! I thought to myself as I walked along the side of the road.  A few trucks had passed me on the road to Tours, and while they had honked at me, they kept going.  This one was different.  I noticed that he stopped a little further up the road and seemed to be waiting for me.  Oh, Lord!  I don't like the looks of this but my feet are hurting me so.  I don't think I have much choice.  Protect me! I prayed as I slowly walked toward the truck.  "Hey, madame!  Need a lift?" the burley young truck driver called out to me after opening his passenger door.  I merely nodded my head, for I was nearly exhausted after over twelve hours of walking.  "Well, get in.  Where are you headed?" he asked cheerfully but after seeing me slowly climb into the cab of his truck, his voice changed to one of concern.  "Mon Dieu!  Did you fall into the river?"

I smiled wearily, shook my head and said, "Non, monsieur, but it's a long story and I just want to get to Paris."
"Really?  And what business do you have there, madame?" the truck driver asked, sounding a bit peeved at my reluctance to converse.

As for myself, I found his question to be impertinent, to say the least.  "It's really none of your concern, monsieur.  About how long will it take you to drive to Paris?" I asked.

"How do you know I'm going to Paris?  For all you know, I may be driving us to Amsterdam!" the young man replied.

I smiled again and said patiently, "I don't think so!  Touraine Transportation Company is well known in the Paris area for hauling everything from food to textiles."

"You seem to know a lot about our company.  Is that where you're from-Paris?" he asked in a kinder tone of voice.

"Originally, no.  I'm American by birth," I replied wearily.

"Really?  What brings you here?  When are you going back?" he asked as he drove along on the road as it turned left and went in a northeasterly direction.

"That's another long story, and as far as for going back to America, I became a French citizen a short while ago, so there's no need for me to go back to America," I replied.

"Really?  Then I guess you haven't heard what your...the American president is trying to do.  She's trying to get the French government to ship back all the Americans that have made their way over here," he said as he changed gears.  I turned to look at him, and after glancing at me out of the corner of his eye, he added, "But as for me, I don't think she'll be able to get Le Pin to do anything.  As far as I'm concerned, as long as you Americans speak French and eat in French restaurants instead of McDonalds while you're here, I don't care what you do!  President R is just asking for more international trouble, if you ask me!  You know what she did with some of your fellow Americans-those of Cuban descent, I mean?"

I nodded my head and said, "She sent them all back to Cuba in the first month of her administration -all two million of them!  And she even offered to build the prisons to put them in, just to get them out of the country.  And she didn't even blink an eye when Castro shot all of them!  She never forgave them for being anti-Castro, nor did she ever forgive them for voting against her in the last election, I guess.  God only knows what she'll do with her opposition once she gets us back!"

"I don't think that will happen to you.  Le Pin's only sending back the ones who aren't French citizens, and there's not too many of them either!" he replied, and then added, "We'll be in Paris in about an hour.  Why don't you get some sleep-you look like you could use some!"

True to his word, in just over an hour, we found ourselves driving on one of the main thoroughfares in Paris.  "Where do you want me to let you off at?  I have to take this load to Gare du Nord," the driver asked.
"Is Gare de l'est too much out of your way?  I can make my way home from there," I replied.
"Gare de l'est, it is!  By the way, I was only kidding about falling into the river," the truck driver said as he glanced at me and my bare legs.  While I had been able to wash the mud off my legs, I had been unable to do anything about the scratches from the bushes that ran along the length of my calves.
Self-consciously, I pulled my skirt over my legs as much as possible and replied, "It really is a long story, and I don't want to talk about it."

"Suit yourself," he replied, and then added, "Were you able to get any sleep?"

I shook my head and said, "No, but I was able to rest my eyes a little."

"Well, it shouldn't take much more than thirty minutes to get to gare de l'est .  The traffic is pretty light tonight," he replied as he turned onto another of the major thoroughfares that crossed Paris.  Traffic was indeed light that night, probably because it was a Sunday evening but also because the weather had cleared and many Parisians were enjoying the clear, warm evening outdoors at the numerous cafes that we passed.

"I never knew Paris could be so enjoyable during the summer," I said softly, more to myself than the truck driver who had been generous enough to give me a ride.

"Well, you're certainly dressed for it!" he replied dryly and then added, "We're making better time than I thought we would.  Do you want me to drop you off at the front of the station?"  I nodded, and he continued, "I'm not sure just how close to the station I'll be able to get to, but I'll drop you off as close to the front as I can."  Within a short time, we found ourselves at the gare de l'est.  As we pulled up across the street from the train station, the truck driver said, "This is as close as I can get.  The authorities won't let heavy trucks beyond this point."
"Merci.  This will be just fine.  I only wish I had some money to give you for your trouble, monsieur..."

"Christophe, madame, at your service," he replied, extending his hand for me to shake.

"And I'm Roberta, Christophe.  Thank you again for giving me a ride," I replied as I shook his hand.  I then opened the passenger door of the cab and descended the step of the ladder on that side of the vehicle and carefully stepped onto the pavement.  He closed the passenger door behind me, honked his horn, waved to me, and drove away.  I waved back, and then carefully made my way to the sidewalk in the growing darkness of the evening.