On the Lam (Wistful Beast and Vermiciro)

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If you get your ass kicked...

Implying Judith could be incapacitated by people who were completely unaware of her presence, was not only impertinent bosh, but also absolute fucking bullshit. She would admit that she wasn't the most physically intimidating woman. She'd even admit to being a bit weak in arm strength. But her ass would be anything but kicked in a situation where she held the upper hand. Unless these residents knew Muay Thai, Judith was certain they'd escape.

Knowing silence was a virtue and auspicious, Judith chose to skip the maledictions in favor of a more pedestrian approach. She punched Callie's thigh in petulance and dropped soft as a cat into the closet. The thought of her partner's thigh possibly marbling in ecchymosis was compensation enough for the wound to her pride.

Quietly, Judith advanced in a crouch to the closet door and listened against it for any sign of movement. She didn't hear a thing. Gradually, she turned the knob, it's mechanisms clicking, and opened the door a sliver. The light stung her eyes. Judith turned away, blinking the pain and blotted shaped from her vision.
 
Callie had meant little harm by her comment about playing things safe, not meaning to verbally slap Judith. She didn't doubt Judith's potential to knock someone out since she had witnessed it occur twice, but she had merely been paranoid that maybe the person not being attacked could get the jump of Judith. After all, there were at least two people down there and only one of Judith so Callie had believed she was doing a kindness by following Judith into the unknown. Turns out that her words had done no justice for Judith and Callie received a sudden punch to the thigh, eliciting a sharp flinch and a soft surprised yelp. Callie took a moment to realize that Judith had struck her, offering a skeptical look to the empty spot where Judith had previously been perched.

Callie recovered from her shock and looked through the opening to see if Judith had moved out of the way enough to allow Callie to descend. Callie gritted her teeth as she felt the last of the pain ride out in her thigh, sure that there would be a small bruise soon. She would be sure to ask Judith what the hell she had done wrong, but she'd save that predictably tense conversation for when they were out of this house and on the road. For the time being, Callie just let herself drop softly onto the ground beside Judith, wincing when this action sent another jolt of pain to her thigh. She offered Judith a bitter look in the dim light before she was suddenly blinded by light. She shoved her face into her arm in reaction to the sudden illumination of the closet, eyes shut.
 
It was there, in the piercing light and viewable fraction of the master bedroom, that Judith realized how ridiculous her plan was. And it was that absurdity that would likely work in their favor. Adult women weren't known to hide under beds. That wasn't even a general assumption, it was veritable fact. The world beneath one's mattress was a place only visited by cerebral monsters and children. Two woman in their thirties were not in any way part of that limited category. It was stupid, but damn if it wasn't genius as well.

Finally able to see, Judith dared to open the door farther. Taking a furtive survey of the room, Judith made certain again that no one was in sight. The hall door was open. That didn't bring to mind any pleasant thoughts, but Judith remembered her partner saying the couple were downstairs. It was enough reassurance to get her to move past the closet door. Mustering what control and stealth her limbs possessed, Judith crossed the floor to the bed and slipped under, feet first. The bed skirt swayed to rest as she disappeared from sight.
 
Callie suddenly was also having some regrets. She could be safely stored in the stuffy attic well above danger, but here she was standing in the closet ready to follow Judith under a bed. That wad a ridiculous idea as is, to wiggle under a bed and lay in waiting in a vulnerable position. From what Callie recalled from childhood experiences, it wasn't very simple to squirm out from under beds quickly so if they were discovered, they were fucked. Callie just prayed that they wouldn't have to deal with that unfortunate situation.

After standing witness to Judith slipping out from the closet, Callie mustered what little courage she possessed and willed herself to follow. She moved a few feet out before remembering something and retreating to the closet. Reaching up, she carefully slid the panel back into place. When she left the closet again, she silently shut the door to ensure that everything was back in place. Only then did she approach the bed and slide under it. The bed skirt settled before her face and Callue made sure her whole body was concealed under the bed.
 
The distance could only be measured in memory and sound, but Judith knew they were closer to danger, to possible incarceration, or bloodshed at the scintillating bark of a gun's muzzle. Resting heavy against her stomach, the glock was warm and reassuring. Though, Judith was unlikely to get a good shot off if they were discovered. The bed didn't permit a wide range of movement. With Callie occupying the space beside her there was even less. Such thoughts were sepulchral and the observations equally grim, but Judith couldn't suppress a grin.

She was overly aware of her situation, but not the danger or repercussions. Judith could only focus on where she was in that moment. She was hiding under a bed like a child playing hide and seek. She was playing an adult version of a children's game, and beside her was another woman in the same situation, listening with bated breath and keeping watch on the hall through the diaphanous bed skirt.

Even when the legs of a chair shrieked as someone stood up downstairs, Judith felt a youthful mirth swell in her chest. Their ploy was so ridiculous, it was hard not to feel delight as the plan played out.
 
Callie rested a hand by her mouth to further muffle the quiet breaths she drew in. She was trembling lightly, mindful to keep an inch or two between herself and Judith. She didn't want to touch or bother the woman, especially since Judith didn't seem especially pleased with her. Callie still felt the faint sting that the punch had left on the soft flesh of her thigh.

Callie's muscles suddenly tensed up at the sound of the moving chair and a person beginning their ascension up the stairs. Her breathing became quicker, but she clamped her hand over her mouth to prevent making noise. Her eyes expressed her fear, looking a bit watery as if tears threatened to make an appearance. Callie felt so vulnerable here, tucked away under a bed as if she were still a little girl. A little girl that was a suspected murderer. The same little girl who made partners with an unpredictable felon with aggressive tendencies and the mentality of an animal it seemed.

Callie closed her eyes, hearing the footsteps reach passed the top step. The footsteps were heavy, suggesting it could be the male. Her suspicion was confirmed when he yelled down, "Honey, come on. Get ready or we'll be late." His voice was so close it made Callie flinch.
 
It was fun, Judith couldn't think of another word to describe the thrill that had suppressed her earlier trepidation. The shift was gradual, then sudden. The stimulation of hiding, of keeping secret while reveling in the nescience of others, was like a natural chemical philter the longer the secret endured. Judith could feel the high of her first few moments of freedom returning. Dexterously, she slid a hand between the hem of her shirt and the waist of her jeans, resting it against the gun. Her finger itched to release the safety. A bullet would make one hell of a surprise.

As the man approached, Judith tried to settle her nerves, each wriggling with excitement. The temptation to reveal herself was almost irresistible. She imagined it like a horror movie gag, the unsuspecting victim turns around only to eat lead and have his occipital explode in wet fractures of bone, blood, pithy membranes, and flaccid chunks of cerebral nerves. It would have made a great scene, but Judith refrained, if only to extend the thrill that warmed her body.

The gent approached the dresser and retrieved something from it. Judith hoped it was cheap. Otherwise, she wanted to sell it. As he did another person ascended the stairs, a woman. Her footsteps softer, more delicate. She came into the room too.

"Late?" she echoed with a scoff. "I'll be ready in just a moment." It sounded like she was gathering clothes, but Judith couldn't be certain. Before leaving once again for the hall the woman addressed him again. "And make the bed. You all ways leave it wrinkled to hell."
 
Callie felt no joy or excitement tucked away under this couple's bed. Only fear set her heart thumping within the confines of her rib cage, threatening to leap out at any moment. Her heart beat seemed to take a hold of her mind, volume nearly deafening to the point where she wondered if the man in the room could hear it. Callie just wanted to close her eyes and fade away from this whole situation, to feel some sense of safety. She wished that this was just a game, one that could in no way end with Judith landing a bullet between the eyes of innocent people. Callie didn't want to be a murderer, she didn't want to be fleeing for the rest of her life. She yearned to return to the unreachable simplicity of what she had deemed a normal life. One where she would wake up in the morning to work on vehicles, maybe catch a coffee with friends or something as well. All of that was gone, diminished and done for. Now all Callie had for a company was Judith, a person that was far from simple to befriend or even admire in a sane perspective.

Callie bit her tongue, soon after tasting the coppery tang of blood. She pressed her face into the ground, listening to the arrival of the woman. It seemed these two had an interesting dynamic. Callie would have further analyzed it if she wasn't cowering. The man just snorted in response and it sounded as if he had just undressed an redressed himself, the clues being the jingling of a belt and the sliding of fabric. Then he approached the bed, his closeness furthering frightening Callie. The man went about adjusting the blankets on the bed, never seeming to notice anything amiss. He finished off his task and retreated away from the room. Callie then released her tongue and the breath she had been unconsciously holding in her throat.
 
With the departure of the husband, Judith's blood began to slowly cool. Despite the trouble it would foster, she had been desiring a confrontation, a moment to force her covert existence down their throats, to gloat, and feel the contained power of a gun discharge into them. Judith didn't consider herself a killer. That was a title only the criminally insane and hitmen were privilege to. She had been convicted of murder, but she wasn't looking to make it a habit. The urge she had felt, though, couldn't be denied. She blamed it on the intensity of the situation. What other reason could she have had? Judith only killed for survival, not sport, or so she told herself.

"Have either of them gone downstairs yet?" Judith asked in a low whisper, almost a croak. She couldn't remember hearing it. She couldn't even recall if the wife had gone into the bathroom or not. They had slipped her mind while considering double homicide. Judith tried to regain focus, listening. The couple were still in the house and it was only a matter of minutes. They just had to last minutes.
 
Callie's breathing was shallow, coming in quick inhales and releases. She was near hyperventilating, but not quite as she wasn't making much noise as is. Callie's quaking had intensified, hands unable to keep still. One hand still hovered near her mouth to block any excess noise, but the other was fidgeting with the short carpet underneath them. Her nails picked at the strands, pulling them free and tossing them aside until a small pile was beginning to form. She didn't even realize she was doing it, her actions just being out of a nervous habit. Callie certainly didn't believe that she would ever be cut out for life on the run, her courage outweighed by her almost crippling anxiety.

Callie seemed startled by Judith's sudden question, offering a look that seemed to question why the woman would even dare to speak in this situation, however quiet her voice had been. Callie just shrugged as best as she could with the limited space, not knowing the answer. The man's sudden footsteps indicated that he was just now retreating downstairs, but the woman's whereabouts were unknown and more difficult to keep track of considering her much softer footfalls.
 
Finally taking note of Callie's stress, Judith realized it was likely a more pressing issue than listening for signs to leave as it could result in them being discovered. Never mind whatever toll it was taking on her partner's body. Possible ulcers, hypertension, or cardiac arrest were favorable to detection. There was an impasse however, Judith didn't know how to calm people. She tended to do the opposite even when it wasn't favorable. Wishing she had an Ativan or alcohol or anything chemical that could relax her partner, Judith stared dumbly at the broken carpet fibers.

She tried to think of something reassuring to say, a hope to hold while the time ticked off in viscous-slow seconds. It was no easy task as everything Judith thought to say was already obvious. She hadn't any words to grant her accomplice equanimity. So she said what came to mind. "Um, you okay?" A question she immediately knew was flippant and obvious. Judith considered it rhetorical. "I've got a gun." she tried quietly. "So detected or not we'll make it out." a pause, with an inquisitive quirk to her brow. "Relax, yeah?"
 
Callie heard Judith speak again and lifted her gaze to make shifty eye contact. "No?"she answered the rhetorical question anyways, voice very quiet and skeptical seeming. She kept picking away at the carpet unconsciously, though her fingers were less coordinated when her focus was elsewhere. Callie wasn't very relieved by Judith's statement about being armed. That meant that if there was any trouble, Callie would have to watch an innocent couple have their brains plastered against the walls. Callie could imagine it now, Judith on her feet and poised to kill as the eyes of the couple widened into dinner plates. Callie assumed the male would go first, a single shot to the head that would leave his body to crumple as the insides of his skull became outsides. Then maybe there would be some yelping and pleading from the woman before she met the same fate. Callie shook the thought from her mind, breathing still irregular as sweat began to form on the palms of her hands.

"A..a..alright...I'll..I'll t..try...."Callie whispered, her stutterer having returned in all of its panicked glory. Callie was far from relaxed and would be for a while, but she'd try her best to behave since Judith still terrified her. Although right now the notion of getting caught outweighed her fear of Judith so Callie would try to trust the woman for a while longer.
 
Despite Callie assertion, Judith didn't feel there was any change in her partner's composure. Results were never instant, even if an external stimulus like violence or chemicals were applied, but it would have been reassuring to have seen even a small change towards equanimity. Instead, Judith was once again subject to her partner's stutter. If that remained even after they got back on the road she swore the next place they'd stop was a pharmacy to steal some benzos. Or maybe they'd run into a dealer and could work a brick of weed off him. After all, Judith wasn't certain she could convince Callie to down more alcohol. Not to mention all the driving they had ahead of them.

Judith sighed silently, an exasperated puff of air from her nose. "Good." she whispered succinctly. "Good." she gave her partner a soundless, and slightly derisive pat on her thigh for reassurance. "Just remember to breathe. Inhale four seconds, exhale five." Perhaps the meditative breathing shit Judith's ex had pushed on her might be helpful after all, just not for Judith herself.

Downstairs, a voice could be heard, the man talking to himself, or perhaps on a phone. He yelled up to his spouse and she assured him once again that she would be ready. Judith fucking hoped so, she was tiring of their once nostalgic, and charming hiding place. The bathroom door opened, the knob connecting sharply with either a wall or the side of the sink. Judith listened for the soft steps and finally they began to disappear. The woman had gone downstairs. They were about to leave.
 
Callie had never been the courageous type and she was learning to realize this trait considering their recent predicaments. She always knew she was a rather skittish and nervous person, but she hadn't faced tasks such as these before. Earlier in Callie's life, her nerves had shown in more mundane situations like delivering a speech or working up the courage to introduce herself to someone. They were regular problems in social situations and she was always well aware of her attitude towards them. However, Callie had never been prepared for more serious situations like stealing cars or robbing a store so these warranted for more advanced panic. By the time things blew over, if they ever happened to, she was bound to need to seek some sort of mental help. Callie wasn't too sure things would blow over for quite some time though, so she'd have to just learn to cope herself.

Callie flinched away from Judith's touch, far from the point of allowing Judith to touch her right now. She did decide to accept Judith's advice though to try to calm down. She inhaled and counted to four in her head before exhaling while counting to five in her head. She repeated this process a few times, closing her eyes and trying to loosen up her muscles. The fidgeting of her hand was less shaky, her movements to pull out the carpet becoming more careful and precise. It seemed to have done some good and Callie managed to have a silent sense of triumph when she heard that both house occupants were downstairs and prepared to depart from their home.
 
As the voices carried on, badinage and mundane dialogue, Judith grew increasingly impatient, bored even. Their escape already felt certain to her, and she wanted to get on with it. The game was nearing its end, the thrill gone, score tallied. Hiding had become burdensome. Judith could feel an ache settling into her shoulders and her stomach was dangerously empty, threatening to rumble with need. Callie wasn't very helpful in passing the time either. Though her anxiety seemed to be marginally mitigated, she didn't appear up for rock, paper, scissors. Judith was restless.

She began to fidget. She crossed her ankles, only to uncross them. She tapped quietly on the glock, the button of her jeans, and the carpet. Judith wanted to roll over, but found her shoulders too wide to do so. She silently cursed her stupid plan to hide beneath the bed in the first place. The temptation to gnaw through the box spring became a pruritic need, like heat along her neck and spine. If Callie could fuck up the carpet, then she could turn the box spring to splinters if she damn well liked-

A door slammed downstairs. Judith listened. She couldn't hear them talking anymore. Had they both left, or just one going to start the car or something equivalently mundane? "Do you hear them?" she asked Callie once again.
 
Callie felt Judith begin to stir beside her and opened her eyes. She saw Judith seemed rather impatient since the fidgeting seemed to be more out of boredom than anxiety. The antsy movements did little to aid the negating of Callie's own nervous tendencies. She forced herself to rest her unscratched cheek on the carpet to face away from the other woman. That's when she finally noticed that she had been tearing away at the carpet. She tried to stop, but she seemed mesmerized by her own inability to keep still. Callie's eyes were fixated on each small beige colored strand that she pulled from the ground. A small patch of rough wood was beginning to show from her removal of the carpet strands and the fabric that had previously been glued to the wood. Callie sighed and allowed herself to pick at the exposed quarter sized patch of wood.

Callie became attentive again when she the distinct sound of a door slamming. She lifted her head from the ground to look over at Judith, trying to figure out if the woman was going to act upon that cue or not. Though Callie was uncomfortable enough to wish to leave the hiding spot, they still weren't sure that both home owners were outside. Callie paused, straining to listen. She heard the faint jingling of keys before the door opened again and shut with less vigor. "Yep..both gone I believe.."she whispered, though she wasn't sure why she was still being stealthy if she thought they were both absent.
 
The soft, quiet cadence of Callie's voice left doubt with Judith, but she was eager to move. They would find out by one means or another whether a spouse still lingered downstairs. Without acknowledging her partner's observation, Judith slipped her hands past the bed skirt, gripped the frame, and pulled herself out. Her jeans dragged roughly against the carpet, coarse friction occasionally catching her belt. The sound was as harsh as velcro. All discretion and surreptitious gesture were cast aside.

She had to near crab-walk to free her legs, but once unconfined, Judith relished the cooler, more open air. If anyone was down stairs, the relief felt in that moment was worth killing them for. Joints stiff, Judith levered herself to standing with the help of nearby furniture. The point between her shoulder blades cracked pleasingly.

"I'm going to check down stairs." She explained, drawing the gun and removing its safety. "I'll be back up soon. If I yell for you, that means get downstairs ASAP. Got it?"
 
Callie waited a moment before also making efforts to escape the confines of the space underneath the bed. Hands sliding out from under the bed skirt, she roughly latched onto the bed frame and held tight to the metal supports. Then she proceeded to try to use the hold as leverage to pull herself out. She managed to awkwardly free herself, though her efforts were less noisy than Judith's since her belt didn't catch and her jeans made a quieter noise as they slid over the carpet. Soon she was able to pull herself upwards, using the bed as a hand hold. Then she was standing like Judith, stretching her cramped muscles and taking a moment to crack her back with a series of nearly silent popping noises.

Callie caught movement in the corner of her eye as she was straightening up her clothes, noticing Judith had removed the gun from its hiding place in her pants and proceeded to remove the safety feature. this indicated that Judith was prepared to and most likely willing to shoot if needed. Callie silently wished that the people had truly departed from their home, not wanting to have to see their corpses if they hadn't fully left the scene. Callie nodded a few times in response to show that she had understood.
 
Callie's affirmative gesture of understanding was enough; Judith didn't need any words of worry or pleasantries bidding her safe return, she doubted she'd ever hear them even if she'd wanted to. Judith entered the hall, gun pressed tight against the outside of her thigh, vaguely concealed. The house was quite. The atmosphere felt still, but warm, like it had only just fallen asleep. The bathroom was empty save a pile of wrinkling clothes and the sink counter now cluttered with cosmetics.

Approaching the peak of the stairs, Judith was cautious. As she peered down their descent from the hall, she saw nothing amiss. The curtains had been pulled open. Light, brighter than morning, cast rays across the living room, illuminating columns of gently floating dust. Nothing stirred. Judith dared to proceed downstairs, not even a creak underfoot. As she reached the bottom step there was still no sign of the residents, not a word of shuffle.

Confidence fostered by impatience made Judith relax. The gun swaying at her side as she checked the final few rooms, casually giving them a once over with little attention to detail. The couple had left. Judith and Callie were able to last the night undetected and everything had followed their faulty, if not brazen, plan. It was time to reap the rewards of their risk and hit the road. Stealing a bagel from the counter, Judith returned to the bedroom, taking the stairs two at a time on the way.

"Coast's clear." she called out from the hallway.
 
Callie felt as if a large weight had been lifted from her shoulders at the mention of the house being empty. Callie couldn't believe their luck today, considering they had slept in someone's house and had even managed to hide under abed without being the slightest bit detected. Callie wondered if today would be a better day than yesterday and sure hoped it would be. Any day would probably be better than yesterday so long as she wasn't drunk or trudging through the forest. Callie allowed herself to sigh, though of course she still felt peculiar being in someone's house like this when the secretive clutches of night weren't sheltering them anymore.

"Good. Well, I'm going to fetch out stuff from the attic real quick."Callie replied. Then she turned back towards the closet and opened it, reaching up and pushing the panel over enough to pull down the ladder. She deftly climbed up, glad that her senses were sharper today. The fresh feeling of soreness in her thigh reminded her to later ask Judith what the hell the punch had been for. Callie grabbed their bags and her hoodie, quick to climb down and replace the panel to escape the stifling heat she had forgotten about. She emerged form the closet, closing the door behind her, the bags in hand and the hoodie slung over her shoulder.
 
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