Dixie: On the Run, On the Lam

Driving down Route 461, Dixie was scared. Who could have written that note "THIS IS NOT RANDOM", and what did it mean?

The disappearances all over town were puzzling. There didn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to it. As far as she knew, none of the people were connected in any way, and it was odd that the newspaper hadn't written anything about it.

She had stopped the Miata long enough on her way out of town to pick up the papers off the stoop of the conjoined twins' house, as she was sure they wouldn't mind, and if they did, she could reimburse them when she returned. IF she returned.

When she stopped for a sandwich in a little diner about forty miles out of town, she had the chance to peruse the papers, yet none of them even mentioned the missing citizens. That was strange for a paper who notoriously wrote entire articles on treed cats and Jesus shaped gourds from some farmer's garden. Freaky.

The more she thought about the note, the more she realized that she could not risk her friends' safety by going to the commune. She had no idea who had sent the note, but its foreboding words had her on the run with no place to go. All she knew was that she couldn't risk another friend's safety for her own.

Driving at a steady pace, in the general direction of the commune, she had a brainstorm. She was surprised that she even remembered the place, but she did. She would head to Uncle David's farm.

Her Uncle David, who had passed on several years ago, had a lovely old farmhouse that was sitting empty. Her brother had told her something about it being held up in Probate until David's back taxes were paid, or something like that. She had never been close to her uncle, so the information was one of those passing comments that relatives make that usually doesn't take root.

Luckily, she had a photographic memory, and she knew exactly where to turn off the highway.

Turning onto the gravel road which led to the farmhouse, Dixie was surprised to see a car in the drive.

What surprised her even more was the image of a big brown bear halfway inside the back door of the sedan. "What the...?" she thought, as she spied a woman sprawled in the dirt on the passenger side of the car.

Dixie knew her little Miata was no match for what had to be a six hundred pound bear, so she did what she could do. She laid on the horn.

The sound of the horn startled the bear, as it backed itself out of the car, loping off into the high grass which surrounded the gravel drive.

The woman who was sprawled on the ground got up and ran full tilt to Dixie's car.

The woman looked at Dixie with panic in her eyes, "Can you help us? My friend is bleeding pretty bad. and we need some help. "

"What are you doing here? This place has sat empty for two or three years now. I guess you're damned lucky I showed up when I did, or I fear your friend would be bear food by now. How bad is she hurt? Did the bear get her?" Dixie inquired hesitantly.

Getting out of the car, and making her way to the sedan, Dixie saw the woman lying in the backseat.

"Damn, girl. This woman needs to be in a hospital, not on a dirt road just this side of nowhere. It looks like she was hit by a Mac truck. I ask again, what are you doing here? A bear didn't do this damage.

Shit, lets try to get her inside. Go around back and see if the back door's unlocked. This was my Uncle's place, but I don't have a key. If not, try the windows."

The woman ran around the back, and returned a few minutes later, coming out the front door, to find Dixie pulling what looked like medical supplies from the trunk of the little red car.

"There was a window around back that was cracked open, and I was able to climb through. Can we get her inside?" She asked.

"Yep, let do that, you get one side, and I'll take the other. What's your name, hon? I'm Dixie. Lets get her inside before Not-So-Gentle-Ben comes back."

"I'm Tia, and my friend is Launa. Thank you, I don't know what we would have done if you hadn't came along." Tia responded.

Dixie's eyes widened in shock as Tia introduced them. 'Launa, like on the card, Launa? ' she thought.