More pressing issues were at hand, however. Once the angry mob had dispersed, he would load Sasha and Tara in his truck and drive until they hit the next town over. It sounded simple enough but Harrison knew it would be no easy task. The town was in a frenzy.
"Listen, everyone, I have Sasha and her daughter locked in a cell. She couldn't hurt anyone even if she wanted to."
"You'll just let her out." A voice cried out.
"Yeah, she has you under her spell." Another said.
"Jesus fucking Christ, listen to yourselves. Spells? Witches? Have you all gone mad? Did we take a step back in time to the god damned days of the Puritans?"
This did nothing to calm the crowd down. They screamed and yelled as loud as ever. Harrison could feel his patience slipping away from him. What was there left to do? Reasoning with them was out of the question. There seemed to be nothing left for him to do. His only idea would surely be a bust.
At that moment, another brick flew through the air and crashed against the wall to his left. His decision had been ultimately decided for him. Drawing his pistol, he pointed it at the crowd. There were a few gasps and most people quieted down.
"One more thing is thrown and I will shoot. Do you all understand?"
For a moment, he thought it had worked. Perhaps the mob would start to disperse. Instead, everyone in the crowd stood still, waiting for one another to make the next move. Finally, another brick sailed through the air, missing Harrison by mere inches. He tried to squeeze the trigger but found he couldn’t. Instead, he turned and bolted back inside, locking the door behind him. The glass was smashed but it would buy him the precious seconds he knew he needed.
"Quick," he yelled as he turned the corner. "We need to get you out of the building." The sound of the front door bursting open echoed through the corridor. "Now!" he yelled.
Sasha pushed the door open and grabbed her daughter by the hand. Yanking her from the cell, they ran to Harrison's side. Without saying a word, Harrison led the duo towards a different room. He spotted the back door and darted towards it. The mob of people flooded behind them like a pack of zombies, hungry for flesh.
Harrison splintered the door open with his foot and pushed the two of them outside but the mob had already caught up. He was shoved violently over the threshold and toppled to the dirt below. Sasha and Tara were quickly surrounded.
Hands grabbed at them from all over, pulling their clothes and hair. When Tara began to cry, Harrison leapt to his feet and charged at the mob. He threw his weight into the crowd and managed to knock Sasha free. She turned to help Harrison free her daughter but Harrison pushed her away.
"Run!" He screamed. "I'll save Tara." Before Sasha could resist his command, several members of the mob charged at her. She had no choice but to flee. While she ran into the open air, Harrison jumped into the middle of the angry swarm and covered Tara with his body. People scratched, spit, kicked, and punched. Someone was going to die tonight if he didn't do something.
Once again removing his pistol from the holster, Harrison fired it into the air. Almost instantly the group scattered in a blind panic, eventually leaving a heaving Harrison alone with Tara. "Should have done that sooner," he muttered.
"Where'd my mommy go?" Tara asked, looking up at Harrison. He could see the sheer terror in her eyes.
"Don't worry, sweetheart. She's going to be fine. We'll find her." He grabbed her by the hand and led her to his truck. When she was safely buckled in the back seat, Harrison climbed behind the wheel and slammed the door.
Out of breath and scared out of her mind, Sasha ran through the town. A few members of the mob still followed after her. After hearing the gunshots, some had vanished. It seemed a few were still determined. Breaking line of sight, she was able to hide behind a tree while her pursuers ran past. For two whole minutes, she remained perfectly still. There was a real fear they would double back and find her but she did her best not to think about it. There was no telling what they would do if they did. Her imagination ran wild.
Under the cover of darkness, she dared to leave her hiding spot. Everything seemed to be clear but looks could be deceptive. She knew that better than most. Playing it safe, Sasha crouched down low and kept herself out of view. She weaved through the streets of the small town, which now seemed more like a large prison.
She hardly cared about her own safety. Her thoughts were on nothing but finding her daughter and getting her out of this town. It was killing her not knowing what had happened to her and Harrison. She felt like a coward for running but there had been no choice. She trusted Harrison to do his best to protect her but he could have been easily overpowered. Sasha prayed someone was watching over her daughter.
Alone in the streets of this foreign town, she finally had a calm moment to think. Someone had worked hard to turn the town against her. But who could it be? She didn't know the town anywhere near as well as Harrison. There was little chance she would figure out who the killer was on her own.
Ducking behind a wall, Sasha checked the
