All He Has Left(11)

Still, he had to do something. He couldn’t just sit there.

Jake started to knock loudly on the car window, trying to get the attention of the young officer outside. At first, the guy didn’t turn around. So Jake pounded even harder on the glass. Finally, the officer turned back with a furrowed brow. Jake started frantically waving him over. The officer made his way to the car and opened the door a crack.

“What is it?”

“I think I’m going to be sick again,” Jake lied. “I might vomit and didn’t want to do it in the back of your car.”

“Yeah, I appreciate that. Get out.”

Jake pushed himself out of the vehicle. “OK if I go over there?” He motioned toward the grass up the sidewalk.

The officer nodded. “Just keep it off the sidewalk.”

Holding his stomach, Jake stumbled up the sidewalk away from all the police cars and medical vehicles. The officer watched him for a moment. Jake faked a few gags, as if something were coming up any second. This made the officer turn away, clearly not wanting to watch someone throw up. Jake could feel his adrenaline soaring. If he had any chance at getting to his daughter, this was his moment. He had to run like hell, and right now. Planting a foot in the pavement, Jake suddenly took off down the sidewalk as fast as he possibly could.

He heard the officer shout, “Hey, wait a second!”

Jake didn’t slow down. He kept running. He wondered if the guy would start shooting at him. He was only being detained and not arrested. How far would they go to stop him from getting away? He had to take that chance. At the next street corner, Jake darted to his left. He took his first peek over his shoulder. He spotted two officers running down the sidewalk after him. Then his view was blocked by the house on the street corner. He heard police sirens again. Others were likely getting into police cars to pursue him. Jake knew he needed to somehow get off the main streets and find his way into the shadows of the neighborhood. But he couldn’t just secure a hiding spot and stay put. They would eventually find him. He had to keep running. The next few minutes were critical. The longer anyone had eyes on him, the more likely he’d be caught.

Jake turned down another street, pumping his legs as fast as he could. He had fortunately gotten himself back into good shape over the past few months since he’d had the free time to run and exercise without a real job. This was paying off for him now. Another peek over his shoulder. The two officers were still back there, but he was gradually losing them. Unfortunately, he couldn’t outrun police cars and radios. He cut through a front yard to get to the next street, then raced down a steep hill. The slope almost caused him to face-plant on asphalt. The sirens were getting closer. Sounded like a swarm of them, coming from different directions—he couldn’t be sure.

Then a police car suddenly swerved into the street directly in front of him, blinding him with bright headlights. Jake cursed, darted into someone’s driveway to his right. He had to get off the grid right now, or this would be over before he even got started. The house was a two-story gray stone number with a side garage. Jake swung open a wooden gate to the backyard, hoping no one was out there grilling or something. Barely slowing, Jake hustled through the backyard and found himself staring at a kids’ playscape in the back corner. Right beyond it was a wooden fence. Jake could hear the police car skid to a stop right in front of the house. More sirens were coming up the same street. Sprinting toward the playscape, Jake bounded up the plastic slide and, without even looking, jumped over the wooden fence into someone else’s backyard. He tucked before landing on his face but still came down hard on his left shoulder. He rolled clumsily a couple of times before pushing himself back up again. The house had a pool in the back. He could see lights on inside the home and a couple of kids roaming about. Hurrying around the pool, Jake found a backyard gate that led to a driveway. He flung it open, ran up the driveway, got himself back onto another main street. He’d created some momentary clearance.

Peering over to his right, Jake spotted a sign that said WALSH BOAT LANDING. He realized he was running along Lake Austin Boulevard, which butted up against the river. Cutting away from the street, he sprinted through a grassy park area and down toward a boat dock. He hopped a metal railing, caught a toe on the pavement on the other side, and took a tumble where he hit his head hard. He could now hear sirens on Lake Austin Boulevard behind him. Had they spotted him? Pushing himself back up again, he stayed low as he hurried out onto a dark and quiet boat dock. It was late. No people around. No boats currently tied up. There was no other place for him to go unless he jumped into the water. So that’s exactly what he did. He sprinted down the length of the boat dock and dived headfirst into the frigid waters of Lake Austin.

He held his breath as long as possible, swimming as far away from the dock as he could, before he finally came up for air. He barely lifted his head out of the water before going right back under. He could hardly see a damn thing in the dark water, but he just kept on swimming. Another quick breath and then back under the water. He kept doing this until he thought he might pass out before taking his first full moment to catch his breath.

Lifting his head out of the water, he turned to take a glance back at the dock. He was shocked by how far from shore he’d already swum. He was halfway to the other side of Lake Austin. He could see red and blue flashing lights on the street beyond the dock and what looked like officers shining flashlights all around. One of them finally came down to the dock and started looking out over the water. Jake ducked below the water, turned, started swimming again. He waited until he thought he might drown before barely lifting his mouth, just enough to catch a breath. Then back under, away from the dock, making his way to the other side. It took him about ten more minutes before he finally found land again in the dark recesses of a swampy shoreline.