Julia only drove a few miles down County Route 542 before she saw the blockade. Slowly, she pulled to the side of the road and stared as officers dragged a long orange barrier across the road. Police cars sat before it and beyond, and as she watched, a large black van passed her.
Even with the engine running, she could hear the helicopters. Leaning forward for a better look, she saw three darting across the night sky, spotlights shining down onto what she thought must be the Pine Barrens.
Julia had no idea what to do. She needed to keep going. To find him.
A tap on the window startled her. She turned to see an officer standing outside the car. He motioned for her to lower her window, which she did, slowly.
“Can I help you, ma’am?”
“Just trying to get home,” she said.
“I can’t let you pass. You can—”
“Okay, thanks,” she said.
Without rolling the window up, she let go of her brake and rolled slowly past the man. Her hands shaking, she made a three-point turn that felt like it took hours. She tried not to screech her tires as she sped away.
Julia was so concerned that they’d stop her that she never once looked in the mirror. If she had, she might have seen the black sedan follow her back the way she came.
Julia wasn’t even sure she was out of the officer’s sight when she reached the intersection. A narrow road made a sharp left. Without a thought, she killed her lights and took it. Speeding up, she went maybe a quarter of a mile and stopped, careful to take her foot off the brake once the car stopped so the taillights wouldn’t give her away.
Im close, she texted.
Julia stared at the screen, once again waiting for those three dots. Knowing they would not appear. Since she tried to call Michael and there was no answer, she had lost hope that he was even seeing the messages. Yet she sent one, nonetheless, for there was simply nothing else she could do.
Shaking her head, she opened Google Maps. Using the arrow, she found her location. Immediately, she noticed the road she had just turned onto crossed a road that could take her back to 542 and maybe in behind the blockade. She had to try.
Putting the car in drive, she followed her map, turning onto a narrow road. Out her window, she saw moonlight sparkling off the ripples of a pond. To her right, the tall trees of the Pine Barrens rose up toward the stars. She saw a small brick building up ahead. Oddly, a bright light shined behind it, casting the pump house in an otherworldly glow.
Julia squinted. In the shadow cast by the building, she saw a car. As she got closer, light reflected off blue and red lights atop the hood. Her breath caught, but she kept moving forward. When the door opened and an officer stepped out, she knew it was over. Julia knew she had failed.