Kiss of A Titan

Several minutes later into the hot afternoon, a nosy old man driving a red Volkswagen, kindheartedly curious enough to inquire what he was after and why he was running alone by the lengthy roadside whilst clad in a sporty sweater and black pants with white sneakers. The old driver fervently honked his car as he drove at a steady pace beside Richard and shouted at him to stop. Richard obliged and stopped for a brief moment to catch his breath.

"Are you running for fun kid or do you want to kill yourself, huh?" the old man asked as soon as he parked the car at the corner of the road to avoid other motorists and waited briefly for Richard to recover his breath. Then Richard drew closer to meet the driver at the front after he was done recovering part of the energy he had lost during the long run.

"I...am looking for someone who got lost", "Is that so? Have you tried reporting it to the cops?", "I...forgot about that and left my phone behind", "Is that someone so important to you that you wanna find him yourself?", "She's not a guy", "Just as I thought, anyway, where did you think she got lost?", "I'm guessing, Denver", "You must be hell out of your mind kid if you trying to get to Denver on foot", "I...know that but I just can't leave her there", "Who's she to you, huh?", The old man questioned adjusting his grip on the steering wheel.

"She's part of my team and....", "By team, you mean...", "Yes, she's an athlete like me", "Obviously, you like her, don't you?", Richard felt tongue-tied and didn't respond. He wasn't expecting the old man to ask him such questions and it was then that he realized the cause of his defiance against Coach Robbins. He glanced back the way he had covered with the thought that he could see the bus but he saw nothing but the empty trees surrounding the road on both sides. Noticing that Richard wouldn't answer, the old man shook his head in affirmation of his question.

"Damn you, youngsters of nowadays. Get into the car....I'll take you to Dallas and there you can file a report at the precinct for your missing girlfriend", "Thanks, sir", "You're welcome", The old man replied and Richard went over to the other side of the car before entering inside. The old man steered the car back into the road and drove off towards the direction where Richard was headed to. With the help of the old driver, Richard was able to arrive in Dallas and there, he did as the old man suggested by filing a report of an athlete missing in Denver at a nearby precinct where he provided the cops with the necessary information needed to find the missing victim but unfortunately for him, he had to return back without having to be helped by the same man who aided him there. It was nearly nightfall on his way back from the precinct and he found himself walking on the roadside towards the remote side of town where he could see a few apartments scattered around the side.

As he came closer to a nearby pub situated not too far from the border areas of Dallas, he felt a bit thirsty and thought it best to use the cash given to the old man to have whiskey to drink. He went inside and hadn't entered through the door when he coincidentally met the truck driver who assaulted me in the woods, talking to someone by the door.

".....So, she did that to your head?", "Yeah...the damn bitch hit me hard on the head before I could have my way with her", "Now that's rather unfortunate for you, Larry", Larry's friend replied and drank from his liquor.

"The best she could have done was to allow me have my way in return for helping her all the way from Denver", Larry replied, fondling the sore he sustained on his forehead.

"Guess she's was stronger than you were", Larry's friend chuckled and smirked maliciously. Then he noticed Richard glaring at them with bloodshot eyes.

"Hey, what're you looking at?", Larry's friend asked but Richard refused to answer. Unexpectedly, he flew into a hot rage and flung himself on Larry before Larry could realize that he was listening to his conversation.

"Shit! What the hell?! You are also an athlete like her, ain't you?", Larry shuddered in fright as Richard grabbed him by the collar of his jacket. Larry's friend froze and watched as Richard pushed Larry against the wall. Richard punched him twice on the face and hauled him against the wall leaving Larry a bleeding nose.

"Bastard, what've done with Rosalie, huh?", "Let me go. I...did...nothing to her, I swear", "You lie! Tell me the truth or else...", "Okay....fine...I'll show you where...I took her...but believe me I didn't touch her", Larry pleaded and Richard gently loosened the grip around his neck.

"Take me there now", Richard barked at him and released Larry before deciding to calm his temper. Larry took Richard to his truck where they both saw the same duffle bag I had left on the back of his truck.

"Her bags are still with me", Larry said when he saw Richard staring at the bag and they both entered the car. Larry took him to the same spot he had tried attacking me in the forest and left Richard who promised not to report him to the cops, with the duffle bag.

Then Richard scouring the forest for any traces he could find came across the same bracelet he thought he had lost and felt it strange to find it in the woods with bloodstain on it. Then he started shouting my name on top of his voice effortlessly trying to alert me that he was around the area and wandered further into the forest believing that I could be close by despite the fact that it was already sunset when he went into the woods carrying along the duffle bag he took from Larry.