Hunted by T.M. Bledsoe Page A

overtime.  That was why all the parents had invaded the game field to keep an eye on their kids, because they were imagining all the horrid things that might happen to them.
    Making it to the front gate, Lanie exited the cemetery with a heavy sigh, again glancing behind her and expecting to see someone coming after her.  Again, there wasn’t a soul in sight, and she felt relief sweep through her.  But, despite not seeing some shadowy, looming figure skulking about, that feeling kept on, sending gooseflesh rising up along her arms and pushing her to walk just a tad faster than she ordinarily would have.
    Deciding she should head for home and put some speed behind it, Lanie hung a right outside the front gate and started down Aster Street, hoofing her way along the wrought iron fence and past the stand of woods that ran next to the cemetery.  There was a dirt road cutting through the center of the woods, a little rutted lane that led down to what used to be the caretaker’s cottage back behind the cemetery.  The cottage hadn’t been used for decades, though, and now the cottage and the lane were both overgrown by trees and bushes.  As she hurried past the dirt road, Lanie glanced down it, thinking that anyone could be lurking behind the dense scrub and vine covered trees, which sent another ripple of fear through her.
    However, as she looked down the dirt road, it wasn’t a person that her gaze fell on, but there was definitely something there, about halfway down the road and off to the left, barely visible through the cover of shrubs and weeds.  It was something that caused Lanie to stop and take a harder look.
    With a jolt, she realized that she might actually recognize the glimpse of color she was seeing through the thick vegetation.  With her heart suddenly thudding in her throat and her breath coming a bit quicker than it should have, Lanie waffled for a few seconds before deciding to head down the dirt road. 
    She knew it might be a bad idea, but she had to check, just to make sure she was seeing what she thought she was seeing.  She had her phone ready to go.  She could hit a button and have her dad on the line in a matter of seconds.  She’d be perfectly safe.  Right?  Right, she assured herself as she veered off the sidewalk and her legs carried her down the shadowy lane.
    Her shoes made a slight crunching noise on the dirt that sounded like shot gun blasts in the silence, making Lanie cringe, but she kept going.  She’d be perfectly safe.  The street was right there in plain view, it was broad daylight…she would be fine.  Just fine.  Anyway, she only needed to be down there for a second, just to check things out.
    As she approached the shape hidden just off into the woods, she kept her gaze sharp, checking out the area along both sides of the road, making sure that someone wasn’t waiting to lunge out at her as she passed by.  She didn’t see anyone crouched behind the bushes or the tree trunks, so she crept onward toward the glimmer of color, her heart thudding hard now.  The closer she got to the thing, the more certain she was that she indeed did recognize it.  It was when she was finally looking into the woods, directly at the shape, that she felt her insides clench hard.
    There, hidden in the shrubs on the side of the lane, out of view of the street, was an enormous faded yellow car that could have seated at least half a dozen people. 
    This was the car she’d seen in the lot just down from The Pub.  This was the car she’d assumed belonged to the handsome, weary young man she’d bought food for.
    For a frozen moment, Lanie couldn’t decide what she should do.  She could call her father, who would probably come and have the car towed away, but then whoever owned the car might be in trouble, especially if they were actually so desperate as to have to sleep in it.  She didn’t want to do that to anyone, most especially not to the young man from The Pub.  But, what if the car