Gone in an Instant

The salty breeze caressed her face as she opened the car door and breathed in deeply. She slid out from behind the wheel and stretched both arms toward the sky. It felt good after the hours of cramped travel. She glanced at her best friend, or at least the woman her best friend had become and smiled. She was glad Deanna forced her to come along on this trip. Even if she hated arts and crafts as much as Deanna loved them. Deanna lived for her domesticated Friday nights sitting among her fellow crafters creating home décor, she struggled to understand where the appeal was, but their lives had gone in very different directions. Even still she was glad to be attending the ever glorious Sun Fest with Deanna. She studied the run down hotel in front of her and wondered how this place had gotten the two stars it had on Google. Maybe it had been a nice place to stay at one point but now the years of hard use were etched on the rugged façade.

"It's the location, that's how this place stays in business" Deanna said reading the confused look on Andria's face.

"It looks lovely" Andria smiled broadly.

"It's definitely not lovely but it is cheap and only a five minute walk from the boardwalk"

"Location, location, location" Andria said and both girls laughed. They pulled their bags from the trunk and made their way up the stairs to the back of the hotel. The view was breathtaking. The orange and red streaks of the sunset sky kissed the dark blue water in the inlet ever so delicately. It was peaceful so peaceful. The key stuck in the lock when Deanna tried to open the door of their room. Andria breathed deeply listening to the sound of the gentle waves lapping against the sandy beach beneath the walk way. For the first time in a long time, she almost felt at peace.

"It's beautiful" Andria said

"I told you the location is great. Well this is us" Deanna said finally getting the door to open. The room was small and dark and smelled damp. The bed sat in the middle of the room with small nightstands on either side. There was also a dresser with a tv on top and a small fridge. The bathroom was tiny. They both started laughing.

"Remind me again, why we had to stay at this hotel?"

"Go look out the window" both women laughed. Andria put a few water bottles into the fridge.

"I'm starving, let's go find food" Andria knew her well enough to know that she would become an angry mess if they didn't find sustenance soon.

"Okay" she replied. They walked in silence down the stairs, across the small parking lot to a walkway along the inlet heading toward the boardwalk. Deanna wanted to ask about the failed relationship and tell Andria she could talk to her about it but she held her tongue. Hopefully, she'll talk to me when she's ready. She was just happy she wouldn't be seeing the bruises and the black eyes anymore. Deanna had known things were bad but she didn't know how bad until she had seen Andria in the hospital. She had held her best friend's hand and cried that day. They crossed the empty road that lead to the inlet parking area and wound their way up the boarded walkway to the official boardwalk.

"Check out this enormous shark" Andria finally broke the silence knowing that Deanna was probably trying to find a way to bring up the years of hell Andria had suffered through.

"It was caught off the coast of Ocean City"

"Remember when our families came here every summer together? I was always so amazed by this shark" Andria smiled remembering those happy years.

"Of course. How could I forget? We would ride the Ferris wheel and look at the sand sculptures."

"That was before dad started drinking so much" Andria's eyes glazed over remembering the nights her dad would beat her mom until she was sure she might die. Deanna touched her arm and she flinched slightly.

"We need food" Deanna reminded her.

"Isn't the boardwalk open all night? What's the rush?"

"Well, it is off season and Covid seems to have changed many business' hours."

"Very true" Andria agreed and they continued on their way down the boardwalk.

Deanna saw what used to be their favorite fry spot, Thrashers, further down the boardwalk, they appeared to be closing. She remembered the joint vacation years with her best friend fondly. Before Andria's life became what it did. Her family had continued the tradition alone, but it was never the same. She had asked Andria to come with her every year, but she had often refused. Deanna would wonder if it was because she was worried about leaving her mom alone with her dad.

"See even Thrashers is closing" Deanna said trying to get her mind off all the abuse her friend had suffered.

"The town that dreaded sun down. Looks like that pizza place is still open. How about Pizza tonight?"

"Perfect, I just need to eat before the hangry sets in" Deanna laughed but they both knew she was being honest. Hungry Deanna was a completely different person. They walked up to the counter.

"Yeah?" a young man with dark hair said to them. It was clear he had a Russian accent.

"I'll have two slices of cheese and this young lady will have two slices of pepperoni" Deanna flashed a big smile while gesturing toward Andria. He rang them up studying them with his dark eyes.

"It'll be a minute"

"Okay" they stepped back and waited. "He's kind of cute" Deanna added in a lowered voice so only Andria could hear. She nodded, it was hard to look at men at this point in her life. Cute or not they were all dangerous in her mind.

"Here you go" the cute pizza guy said while extending two plates toward them.

"Thank you" Deanna flashed a big smile and took the plates handing one to Andria. "Now what?"

"Let's keep walking. I haven't been here in so long. Do they still do the sand sculptures?"

"They sure do."

They walked on in silence while hungrily devouring their pizza. There were still some people walking along the boardwalk and a few shops were still open. They did a little window shopping, saw the sand sculptures and turned around to walk back to their hotel. They passed by the cute pizza guy again and Deanna smiled. Something about the way he looked at them made Andria's skin crawl.

They woke the next morning all smiles and laughing reminiscing about a time that had been lost long ago. They readied themselves pants, tanks and pony tails and ventured out into the October sunshine. The salty see breeze kissed their skin as they walked along the inlet toward the many tents and vendors that would make up Sun Fest. They arrived quickly to the inlet parking lot and approached the festivities, the live music was already playing.

"There's so many people" Deanna looked at her friend and tried to imagine how difficult it must be for her to be around so many strangers.

"No worries, girly I'm right here and there's food and wine too"

"I'm sorry did you say wine?" Deanna laughed and they walked to one of the wine stands.

They walked around enjoying the wine and the stands while reminiscing about old times. Andria tried to relax but couldn't shake this feeling like someone was watching them. Maybe even following them through the crowded venue. Then she saw him. They were standing in line waiting for food and she saw the pizza guy from last night. He was watching them. She pointed him out to Deanna but she assured her that he was probably just there for the festival and wasn't really stalking them. Andria wanted to believe her friend but she couldn't. Something about the situation felt wrong.

"Why don't we go walk along the beach for awhile" Deanna had noticed her friend growing more distant and knew she likely needed a break from the large crowds. It couldn't be easy living with PTSD she grabbed Andria's arm and led her toward the beach.

"I cannot believe how many people are here for this"

"Yeah it's normally not like this, but they couldn't have it last year with the pandemic so I'm guessing more people came because of that." They walked on in silence both women lost in their own minds. They didn't know how much time had passed but the sun was sinking lower streaking the sky with brilliant golds, oranges, and reds. "This view is amazing" Deanna finally broke the silence.

"It really is, thanks for inviting me along" Andria was so thankful she still had Deanna in her life. "We should head up to the boardwalk to get food. There's this hippie store we passed by last night that was closed that I'd like to check out too."

"It's Saturday night so hopefully things will be open a little later" they turned and headed toward the boardwalk through the sand.

"Fabulous I love me some hippie shit" they both laughed.

"I'm sorry we lost touch for awhile Andy" Deanna's brown eyes filled with sadness.

"Don't be" Andria replied curtly half hoping she wouldn't say anything else about the years they had lost. She knew it wasn't Deann's fault and honestly having any friends during those years would've made the abuse worse. He didn't like her having friends.

"I am though. I feel like I should have done something or I should have helped you somehow. I'm so sorry."

"You couldn't help. You did the right thing by staying away" Andria wished the conversation would end.

"I knew you were in trouble though, remember that one time I stopped by your apartment, and you had that black eye? I knew then he was beating you and I didn't do anything to help you" Deanna fought back the tears and they both stopped walking.

"You did what I asked you to and stayed away. If you wouldn't have who knows what would have happened? He might have killed me or you" Andria's voice started to crack and she stopped more words from leaving her mouth.

"You were my best friend, are my best friend and I feel like I abandoned you. I left you alone in that hell." Andria hugged her.

"You did the right thing even if it doesn't seem that way." They ended their embrace and climbed onto the boardwalk in search of the cute hippie store.

Their beach walk had taken them to the very end of the boardwalk and now walking back they were stopping at any little shops that caught their eye, including the Kite Loft. They looked at all the interesting items the store had to offer. Deanna finally settled on a green Life is Good tee shirt that said "Let's Hook Up" with a big mouth bass on the front. Andria smiled at the shirt wondering what would have happened to her if she ever wore a shirt like that while married to Howard. They continued their walk and finally found the cute hippie shop and walked inside. They looked at crystals and dream catchers displayed around the store. Andria bought a few things before they continued their way down the boardwalk.

"We should find food before everything closes"

"Let's go to the pizza shop with the cute Russian guy again" Deanna smiled. "Maybe he wants to ask me out. Maybe that's why he was at Sun Fest." Something about that guy made Andria's skin crawl but she agreed. They arrived at the stand Deanna all smiles and Andria sullen trying to decide why she disliked this guy so much. Was she projecting her past onto this guy and assuming the worst about him? Or was their a genuine intuitive response she shouldn't ignore? She wasn't sure. They ordered the same thing. This time when he handed them the pizza, he touched Deanna's hands. He smiled broadly at her while saying something about napkins. They sat at a bench across from the pizza stand to eat their dinner. Andria kept a watchful eye on the pizza guy as he went to talk to a co-worker and then motioned to them.

"Did you see that?"

"See what?"

"He just motioned at us"

"Maybe he's telling his friend I'm cute" Deanna joked. Something didn't feel right to Andria though. As they stood to continue their walk Andria kept her eyes on the Russian.

They continued along and stopped at the M.R. Ducks shop to pick up a shirt for Deanna's dad. As they turned to go, either from habit or intuition Andria looked back from where they had come and saw the Russian and his co-worker standing on the boardwalk watching them walk into the store.

"That guy is out there with is friend"

"The cute pizza guy?"

"Yeah."

"So?"

"Isn't it a bit weird to you that they are following us?" Andria was trying not to lose her patience.

"Are they following us or are they just there by coincidence?"

"When we leave, I'll see if they're still there."

"Okay" she said trying to appease her friend, but she wasn't at all worried about the cute Russians. When they exited the store they saw the two men sitting on a bench diagonally across the boardwalk from the store. The one elbowed the other and they both watched the girls walk away.

"I need a minute away from the crowd" Andria said. She just needed a moment to breath and think.

"Let's walk down this side street it looks pretty quiet" they turned and walked to a bench and sat down. "Look there they go" Deanna pointed to the two Russians as they walked by the side street further down the boardwalk.

"Yeah" she agreed wondering what they were up to. Within a few moments they saw the two men walk passed them again. This time one of them saw them and one pointed the two women out to his co-worker. They continued to walk, though.

"Okay, so maybe that was a little weird" Deanna finally admitted.

"You know people are kidnapped and trafficked from beach vacation towns all the time, right?"

"Yeah, I have heard about that in far off places. I just wouldn't think it would happen here. Maybe they walked down the boardwalk to get something and now they are heading back to work?"

"Yeah, maybe." Andria stood up and Deanna followed suit. They walked back to the boardwalk to rejoin the crowd. The two Russian men were sitting on a bench not far from the side street. Sitting there watching and waiting for them.

"Did you see them? It looks like they were sitting there waiting for us." There was finally serious concern in her friends voice.

"Yeah."

"It's seeming a lot more suspicious now. What do we do?"

"I think we should try to get back to the room."

"There's hardly anyone down at the end of the boardwalk, we would have to leave the crowds to get to the hotel." Deanna's voice wavered as she spoke.

"Are they following us?"

"I don't know, I don't want to look back."

"Let's take a selfie, we can look in the camera and see if we can see them or not" Andria stopped and pulled out her phone.

"Great idea" Deanna stopped and put her arm around her friend. Andria held up the camera and behind them about 30 feet away were two figures standing off in the shadows. "I'm scared Andy, what do we do?"

"Let's just keep moving" Andria felt a familiar fear creeping back. The fear of death at the hand's of a man. They quickly kept walking down the boardwalk and as they neared the big shark and the exit to the inlet road she felt the stir of panic in her chest. There were hardly any people down here. They walked down the ramp and crossed the empty street. With the Sun Fest tents set up in the inlet parking area the normally busy road was empty. They quickly began the walk down the inlet path to the Oceanic Hotel. They could see it and Andria hoped against hope that there would be plenty of fisherman along the walk, but there wasn't. She glanced back over her right shoulder and saw two men quickly crossing the road. They walked quietly and quickly knowing they needed to make it to the hotel, to other people. Suddenly she heard foot steps rapidly approaching them, the men were running toward them. She grabbed Deanna's wrist and broke into a run pulling her along. But it was too late. They were already too close. She felt two strong arms grab her from behind and she went to scream but there was already a hand covering her mouth. She tried to fight but the cloth over her face was making her so sleepy. She glanced at Deanna and saw her body go limp in the other man's arms. She could hear the clicking and clanking of the roller coaster, kids having fun, games being won along the boardwalk. People were so close to them. She could hear the waves crashing into the rocks along the inlet as she slowly drifted off into the darkness that would take her to a new world of terror.