Driving Mr. Panic(VERY SHORT STORY)

Driving Mr. Panic(Short Story)

It was a normal Saturday. The taxi smelt of air fresheners and coffee, the start of any normal day. I looked around. 

No one seemed to need a cab. I prepared myself to drive off. Something hits against the car door. 

I shout out, terrified of even the slightest noises. 

I calm myself down only for the door to slam open. The sounds of gunfire hit seem to fill the air.

“Follow that car!” The man yells. 

I look at him in confusion. He looks like any normal person, except he looks a little tired. 

“What car?” I say, trying to calm my nerves. 

“That one!” He says, pointing in front of me. A car speeds off, driving towards the bridge.

I step on the gas, a little nervous. Sure, I was probably not supposed to be driving as fast as I was, but when you get nervous you choose between life or death. 

Or fleeing. 

Fleeing is a good option. 

I look back at the man. He has opened the window and is digging through his oversized pockets. He then pulls out a gun.

“Don’t shoot!” I cry, letting go of the car wheel. The car swerves, driving past a red light. The man quickly reaches for the wheel and spins the car, heading towards the car again. 

I try to breathe, the panic attack settling in my throat. 

The man puts his hand out the window and begins to fire. 

I grab the wheel again, foot still on the gas pedal. I can’t seem to move my foot, fear making it frozen in panic. 

“Make a turn!” The man yells.

I obey his words, driving closer and closer to the car. I can hear people mumbling inside. 

I can barely make out the words. 

The man suddenly opens the door.

“ARE YOU CRAZY!!” I yell, trying to remain calm. 

The man puts his hand out and reaches the door. 

He opens it and I catch a glimpse of the people inside the other car. 

People with guns. 

I swerve the car as the man jumps to the other car.

I can hear sirens approaching, police officers storming the area. 

“What are you doing?” I yell at him. 

I jumped back from the other car and landed, a duffle bag in his arms.

“WHAT IS THAT??” I yell, trying to breathe. 

“You know,” The man says, “You’re panicking a lot.”

I stop the car. 

Police officers walk towards the taxi and the other car.

“You have the right to remain calm,” One of the officers says.

I scream out the panicking finally getting to my head. 

The man watches them pull me to the side. An officer puts a pair of cuffs on him. 

“Crap,” he says, watching the people of the other car get pulled away with him. 

I have really bad panic attacks. 

Even from the smallest of door slammings to the sound of something hitting the floor I feel the fear scaring me. I am nearly afraid of everything. I’m even afraid of being afraid!!!(Which makes panicking, about 1000x worse) 

But not only being scared is a curse, but not being brave is a real bummer. So being stuck in a prison cell with a bunch of tall men who just had guns and a man who had a gun in his long pockets wasn’t very settling. 

“Stop screaming!” A man barks. 

I close my mouth instantly, tears running down my face. 

“Are you okay?” The man says, smiling. 

Rage fills my blood as I open my mouth. “No, I’m not okay! I am freaking out right now!!” 

“Wanna cup of water?” He says. 

“No, I don't want a cup of water!” I yell, “I wanna go HOME!!!”

“STOP CRYING!!” All the criminals yell at once. 

I choke, trying not to continue crying. 

The cop opens the door, a few other cops walking into the cell. 

“Can I go?” I say softly, hoping for a chance to leave the cell of maniacs. 

“Nope!” The cop says, “You're going to court for assistance in a high speed robbery.” 

“But I didn’t help him!” I yelled, “If he had a gun to my head and told me to drive, would that be a crime?”

The cop thinks for a second. “Did he?” 

My mouth drops as the man starts bursting out laughing. 

“And you were the one who entered the car,” the cop asks the man behind me. 

He stops laughing and nods. 

“What’s your name?”

“Mi no speak ingles.” he says.

The cop grabs him by the arm and the other cops drag him away. 

Hours pass by and they end up dragging us all to court. 

“GUILTY!” The jury cries. My eyes widen, the thought of me going to prison being unbelievable, and hard to accept. 

“I can’t go to jail!” I yell, trying to keep myself from bursting out in fear. The man smiles, getting up from his chair. “About time you all caught me,” he says, “I was getting bored.”

“I CAN’T GO TO PRISON!!” I scream as the cops drag me away.

About a minute later I’m in a padded cell with the maniac who opened my taxi door. 

“Hey!” He says, “The taxi gal!”

“Don’t let me in with this freak!” I yell, banging the door. “I’m not insane!!”

“Anyone associated with this man is not only a criminal but insane them-self.” A voice from outside the cell says.

The panic settles in and I can’t help myself.

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-”

“SHUT UP!!” Nearly everyone in the building yells.

I stop yelling, trying to breathe. 

The man starts jumping. 

“What are you doing?” I yell as he launches himself from one side of the room to the other. 

I hear a crack as he lands. 

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING??” I repeat, watching blood fall from his mouth. 

“Hurt yourself if you wanna get out of here!” he yells.

I watch him lie himself on the ground, choking on his own blood. 

My eyes continue to widen.

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-”

“I’m faking it!” He yells, clamping his hand against my mouth. 

“MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!” I yell.

He lies back on the ground. 

I look around, deciding if I really wanna get out. 

I throw myself against the wall, head first.

Something makes a loud cracking sound and I fall to the ground, clutching my head. 

“And now you scream,” the man says.

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” 

Five cops rush in, grabbing us both by our arms.

“Get a medic, quickly!” One of them says,

They rush towards the doors, leading us outside.

The man smiles and launches his arm into the cops chest. They fall back and he starts running. 

“Hurry!” The man says, grabbing my arm. 

We ran quickly, my head pounding. 

“I’m scared!” I cry.

“You're always scared,” he says, “Try not to be scared for a minute.”

I scream, a car driving in front of us, nearly running me over. 

“That was not a minute.” He says. 

We ran off, heading towards the bus station. 

“Thank you for driving me!” The man says, putting a couple dollar bills in my hand. 

“WHERE ARE YOU GOING?!!” I cried. 

“Sorry kid,” the man says, “But I gotta go.” 

He steps on the bus, waving back.

I frown.

His eyes suddenly widen and he mouths something, pointing behind me. 

I turn only for something to go over my head. It smells like potatoes.

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

TO BE CONTINUED SOONER OR LATER