Run For Your Life

    His foot came down in the puddle, sending up a geyser of water and mud that splashed and spattered all over his clothes. Well it was no use worrying about keeping clean now. If he paused for a moment they would catch him.

    His ears caught the sound of his pressures’ footfalls hastening after him. Were they gaining on him? He could not risk looking back, if he did not make it soon,  it would not matter how well he had run.

    Now his feet pounded the pavement as his aching muscles propelled him onward. Rounding the corner Wilder careened off the wall of the ally then tried to break into a sprint to make up for the speed he had lost. His breathing was starting to come harder now but still steady, at least he wasn’t gasping yet.

    Wilder hoped he could make it home, he desperately wanted to be with his wife and kids. He had to let them know how much he loved them. His memory took him back, it was only two months since he had thought he would lose them forever. Since then had come some of the best times of his life, it had been hard but things had started going well. 

The big problem had been trying to leave the organization that had been so important to him. The boss had not understood why he would ditch such a promising career. The organization had tried to make him stay, first with promises and lately with threats.

Even when he thought they had made a clean break by moving to this small town in Colorado, the organization had reached out its long arm trying to snare him and bring him to heel. Earlier today they had contacted him using the carrot and stick approach that was all too familiar. He was not so worried for himself, it was his family he was worried about. He could not fail them, not again. 

Feeling his heart pounding Wilder tried to concentrate on his running. He strained his ears trying to listen for sounds of those who followed him. How could they run so silently?

His thoughts turned to Jone, his wife of eight years. She was the one who first saw the snair he was getting into with the organization. How they were demanding more and more of his time and devotion. Their relationship had suffered, they had found themselves going from endearments to bickering. It had started to seem that they couldn’t have a conversation without it becoming an argument.

They had tried to hold it together for the kids but that had been a losing battle. The final crisis had come when she revealed she was expecting the daughter they had both wanted so badly. The fury he had felt had shocked him . He had yelled about her trying to control him and stalked out the door. Stomping down the street he had fumed about it all being her fault. That thought had stopped him.  This had been his dream, what was he upset about?

He had crept back into their apartment to find her sitting on the couch, hugging the boys as she cried.  That sight had gone through him like a hot knife. How could he have done this to her? 

The days and weeks that followed had been a constant struggle to win back Joan’s trust. First with soft words and vows of change. What do you want me to do? He had pleaded. She tried him with small tasks day after day but he could tell that these were not the thing she really wanted from him. Finally he grabbed all his courage and went to the head of the firm and there he had tendered his resignation on the spot. The storm of words that had been unleashed was like being hit with so many stones. Coworkers who he had considered friends turned on him, making rallying accusations. They condemned him as a traitor, a sellout, and charges of malfeasance were leveled at him.

He had started his own business making content  for the voracious public media. Working from home, he had started finding ways to have his wife and kids as part of everything. The response had been overwhelming, demand for what he produced went off the charts. Each thing his family did seemed to turn to gold. It had not all been clear sailing, the organization had roiled the waters making some customers disappear. Files had been lost, malware seemed to be targeted at him by name. But the sheer happiness that he found in his home was worth more than his former employers could ever offer him.

He was taking one ragged breath after another. His heart pounded and his chest heaved. There was a stitch in his side but now he could see his haven ahead of him. The little house with a hedge around the yard hung like a vision before him. Wilder could see his sons in the window dancing with excitement as they watched him coming.  Somehow he found the strength to pick up the pace. But now he could hear the jangling of the medallions worn by those who were chasing him. It seemed he could feel their hot breath welling up around him, stifling him and draining the last drop of energy he possessed.

Just as he was sure they  were upon him, Wilder dove through the opening in the hedge and collapsed on the grass, gasping great lungs full of air. His pursuers leaped upon him, licking his hands and face. Their bodies wriggled with pleasure as the puppies expressed their joy. Bounding from the house his children came and joined the happy tangle of limbs. The giggles and yelps produced a joyful cacophony. Looking up through the tears in his eyes he saw his radiant wife. This was the crown to the joy his heart felt, Jone was more beautiful than he could take in. It didn’t seem possible that one person could be as happy as he was. That was the secret though, it took all of them to make this much happiness.