The Early Morning Run
By: Aj Krow
Tags: Short Story, Fiction, Thriller, Suspense, Horror

The Early Morning Run

Photo by Jasmine Viccarro on Unsplash

Rrr rrr rrr rrr.

I opened my eyes and watched as the ceiling fan spun.

Rrr rrr rrr rrr.

My eyes blinked heavily as I turned towards my nightstand. My arm refused to cooperate as I attempted to lift my phone. I silenced the alarm as I noticed the time. It was 4 am.

Why did I think going for a run this early would be a good idea, I thought. I rolled over and pressed my face against my pillow. My blanket hugged me, keeping me warm and cozy.

Rrr rrr rrr rrr.

I groaned. I rolled over and unlocked my phone again. The brightness burned my eyes as I opened the Clock app. I had placed seven alarms last night, all of them set to go off every three minutes.

I inhaled, trying to muster up the strength to sit up in bed. After my third alarm went off, I finally sat up and stretched my arms. I put on my slippers as I walked blindly to the restroom. I held out my hands in front of me, not wanting to bump into anything, while also not wanting to wake up. Once I walked inside, I reached out, trying to find the handle to open the hot water. I heard water running, so I waited a few seconds, then splashed my face with the lukewarm water that came gushing out.

I opened my eyes and looked at myself in the mirror. You suck, I thought. Four in the morning is a ridiculous time to go for a run. After stretching for a bit longer, I changed into my gym shorts, a tank top, and some comfy socks. I grabbed my phone and my AirPods from my nightstand and headed downstairs.

As I put on my running shoes, I looked at my phone. I quickly unlocked it and turned off the remaining alarms. Ha, I thought. Can’t go off anymore.

Not until tomorrow, my consciousness replied.

I grabbed my house key from my key holder and headed out the door. It felt fresh outside. Birds could be heard in the distance chirping, trying to find breakfast.

I put on my AirPods and walked down the road to the park in my neighborhood. They had a track there with trees and squirrels to admire while running. Hopefully, I’d be the only one there. Wouldn’t want anyone to look at me funny for wearing shorts in this weather, I thought. In that moment, my legs shivered. The wind glided past my legs, giving me goosebumps.

I opened Spotify and pressed shuffle on Today’s Latest Hits. I didn’t like the first song, so I skipped it. I pouted as the second song didn’t interest me either, so I skipped that one too. After hearing the third one, I decided to try a different playlist. I found one called “Songs for the gym” and played that one. The first song sounded more upbeat and uplifting, so I continued listening to it.

Once I arrived at the park, I headed for the track and set my Apple Watch to count my steps. As soon as the timer started, I pushed my feet against the asphalt and launched forward. I wasn’t a fast runner by any means, but my stamina was incredible, or at least my coach would tell me when I took mandatory P.E. in high school.

I felt the breeze slip through my hair as my hair smacked my neck. It bounced back and forth with every step I took. I ran past the kids’ playground and the gazebos where people enjoyed barbeques on the weekends. As I turned right onto the bend, I noticed a black car in the parking lot. It had dark tinted windows, so I couldn’t tell if anyone was inside.

I slowed down, curious if someone had left their car in the park overnight. As I walked down the track, I found the windshield was not tinted and was able to see two men inside the car. I continued walking and glanced at the people inside.

Is that…?

“Sean?” I waved. Sean, the man in the passenger seat, went white as his jaw dropped.

The other man raised his head as he looked at me, then looked at Sean. He said something to him, but I couldn’t understand what he said. Sean shook his head. His eyebrows curled as the man in the driver’s seat scolded Sean.

I tilted my head, wondering if I had done something to upset them. As I walked away, Sean’s car door opened.

“Hey Bri, how you doing?” he said. I looked over at him and faked a smile. Surely, I had done something to upset them. He wrinkled his nose as he smiled on one side.

“I’m good, just going for a run. How about you? I haven’t seen you in a while,” as I took a step away from the car, the driver side door opened.

“Yo, what are you doing here?” the man asked.

“What? — I — I’m just going for a run,” I replied. Sean looked at him with wide eyes.

“Who the hell goes for a run at four in the morning?” he said, raising his voice.

“Calm down, man,” Sean muttered. He lowered his head and looked away from the man.

“Yo, don’t tell me what to do,” he snapped at Sean, then looked back at me. “Hey, I asked you a question. Why are you running at four in the morning?”

“I — ” I shrugged, not knowing what he wanted to hear. “I don’t know, I just decided to come for a run early before work.” The man lowered his head, then lowered his stance. He bobbed his head for a few seconds, not saying anything.

“Nah, man. I can’t risk it. If she saw us, we done.”

“Wait, no. She didn’t see anything, man,” Sean’s pitch went higher as he turned to look at him.

“See what?” I whispered. I took another step away from the car. The man watched as my foot touched the ground, and I watched as his eyebrows furrowed. Sean ran to the other side of the car as the color drained from his face.

In that moment, the man pulled a pistol from behind him and aimed it towards me. Sean tried to reach him, but he pulled the trigger before he could do anything.

At first, I felt nothing.

Suddenly, it felt like a hammer slammed into my stomach. I dropped my head and watched the crimson liquid gush out of my stomach. My face met the asphalt as my legs gave out on me from the shock.

Sean ran over to me. He lifted my head and turned me onto my back. He put pressure on my stomach to stop the bleeding, which only worsened the feeling of the hammer slamming into me. But I couldn’t tell him it hurt, since the shock had taken my voice with it.

“Put her in the car,” the man said, still standing next to the driver’s side door. “We gotta get rid of her.”

“Are you crazy? We need to help her!” Sean begged. He pushed down harder on the wound, forcing me to breathe, which caused me to cough out blood. Sean turned my head so I wouldn’t drown.

“Yo, either put her in the car so we can dump her, or I do the same to you,” the man insisted. Sean closed his eyes and cursed under his breath. He took my hand and placed it on the wound. It did nothing, since I lacked the strength to put pressure on it, nor would I want to continue inflicting pain on myself.

Sean lifted my head and then my legs and carried me into the back seat of the car. As he placed me inside, the man started the car. The purring and vibrating coming from the engine felt like nails under the hammer. The man quickly left the parking lot and headed away from the sunrise.

“Where we going?” Sean muttered.

“I told you, to dump her,” he paused after every word. Less than five minutes later, he stopped abruptly. We had arrived.

The man opened the driver’s side door, then my door, and dragged me out of the car. Sean followed, lifting my legs. Neither he nor I knew what was happening.

“Wait, where are we dumping her?” Sean asked. I coughed again. I closed my eyes as I heard water rushing below us.

“We’re dumping her in the river, bro,” he replied. As I began to lose consciousness, I felt my body fly into the air. I closed my eyes, listening as the rushing water swept past the rocks and debris found at the bottom of the river.

I felt at peace hearing the river flow.