Street Life

I remember the day like it was yesterday. It all started on a chilly evening. Just an hour ago, the sky had been decorated with bright red orange hues. Now, it was like a dark blanket had covered the Earth, with no stars to be seen. The icy wind whipped through the truck window, leaving goosebumps on my arms. 

My partner, Claire, sat in the back of my Google truck. She held a massive camera in her arms, adjusting the lens when needed. Her headset rested perfectly in the middle of her head as she clicked away. My job is pretty simple. I’m the driver and Claire’s the photographer. She’s been my partner ever since I decided to become a Google Street Driver. We take pictures of various locations for the company ‘Google’. The pictures that are taken go on programs such as ‘Google Earth’ and ‘Google Maps’. 

The streets were filled with jagged cracks and stagnant potholes. The vague streetlight glow was the only source of light. Graffiti covered the buildings, giving the dull, eerie city a pop of color. It was the type of place you didn’t want to be during the night. Suddenly, my eyes averted to the side of the street. Under the faint glow of the streetlight I could see a young girl. Her long, brown curls glistened under the yellow light and her mouth was turned into a fearful smile. I immediately knew something was wrong.

     A silhouette of a person was visible, hidden outside of the light. I saw the girl mouth a few words towards the dark figure and turn to walk the other direction. I whispered to Claire to stop taking pictures as I slowed the truck down. I remember wondering why the mysterious girl was out so late in this dangerous city. I was about to stop and ask if she needed a ride home when a large hand pulled her into the darkness, out of the glow of the streetlight. An ear-splitting scream pierced the air. It was immediately muffled.

     Frantically, I whirled my headlights toward the spot where the young girl had been standing. I immediately saw the figure wrestling the girl to the ground. I reached into my pocket to call 911 when the figure turned around and pointed at me. Pointed at me, like I was next. His gaze only lasted for a split second but it felt like hours. My heart raced as my stomach turned to ice. Then, the figure picked the young girl up and disappeared into the darkness.

“Claire! Claire!” I shouted. “We have to do something!” There was no response. I looked back into the truck. Her camera and headset laid sprawled on the floor. Claire was gone. I still remember how my mouth had immediately gone dry as I frantically looked around the streets. Where had she gone? Suddenly, a hand smacked my window. My heart stopped for a moment before I realized it was Claire. I quickly got out of the truck.

“Gosh Claire, you almost gave me a heart attack,” I hissed. “Elijah, we have to go follow that man before it’s too late,” she exclaimed. When I hesitated, Claire grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the direction the figure had gone in. This wasn’t a game. This was life or death. I stopped. “Claire, we can’t just go out here unarmed by ourselves. It’s too dark. We need to call the police.” Claire put a finger to her lips. We heard a loud trunk thud on the other side of the street. We quickly ran towards the direction of the noise. As we ran, a beat-up, red car came into view. We stopped and hid behind a bush as a fat man got into the red car and started the engine. Claire looked at me as I struggled to see the license plate. This would help give police a helpful lead.

However, Claire had a different idea. “We have to get him. Let’s go back to our truck and chase him down.” She stated this like it was the practical thing to do. “No Claire! We can’t just go off on a wild goose chase by ourselves! That’s going to get us killed.” Claire looked at me with daggers in her eyes. Her mouth was pulled into a frown. “Well that girl is going to die if we don’t do something about it. Feel free to stay put and watch Elijah because if that’s what you're going to do I’m leaving you behind.” I shook my head. “Fine, I’ll go with you but only on one condition.” I paused. “You cannot go running off by yourself again or you’ll get us both killed.” Claire opened her mouth to speak, but then closed it and nodded. We quietly darted back to the Google Street truck. Claire stopped me before I could get into the driver’s seat. “I drive,” She insisted. Irritated, I reluctantly turned to the passenger seat. 

Claire started the engine and drove to the other side of the street where the red car had been. It was gone. I groaned and pulled my phone out to call the police. All of a sudden, Claire lurched around a sharp corner, knocking my phone out of my hand and my head against the seat rest. I glared at Claire, who had a wild look in her eyes, and turned my attention back onto the streets. There was the red car in front of us, speeding up faster and faster, away from our truck. 

The red car rounded into another corner up ahead as Claire followed it. The adrenaline rush at this point was so high, that I hadn’t even noticed that the man in the red car had led us into a dead end. I remembered seeing a tall wall at the end of an alley get closer and closer as we drove faster. Suddenly, the red car stopped. Claire smashed the breaks, making my head crash into the seat once more.

All of a sudden, Claire stormed out of the Google truck towards the red car. “No, no, no, no, no! What is she doing?” My head whirled as I opened the passenger door to stop her when the fat man got out of the red car. In his hand was a shiny, metallic object. A gun. 

It all happened so fast. The ringing gunshot. The pressed face of the fat man. The soft thump as Claire fell to the ground.