Fosters Continued

(Left off from previous post)


After Chelsea dropped the book, her eyes widened and she couldn't think. He came closer to her with a wicked smile on his face. He had his hand in his coat pocket. She wasn't sure why he had a coat on in the middle of July, but she sure had an idea. He was about to take his hand out of his pocket when she began to run. She ran past Sherri and Lane, and about 10 aisles away from her starting point. Sherri and Lane were looking at themselves oddly, and they saw the girl's father run past her with a gun in his hand. Sherri screamed 'NOO!" Lane ran in the opposite direction to get the manager to lock down the K-Mart, and call the police.

About a minute later, over the intercom the manager called an immediate lock down and to stay in their places. Chelsea froze as she wandered into the Patio section. She could hear the footsteps of her father behind her. She darted in and out of the display and ran to the party section. She could hear his quiet laughing close behind her. She ran down the grilling accessories aisle and grabbed a steak knife still in the package. As she ran, she quickly got the knife out of the package and had it at her ready. She didn't realize her father had a gun, but she didn't care.

She slipped into the counter behind the electronics and waited. She waited to hear the familiar, daunting footsteps of her father. He could hear her breathing, he was just waiting for her to jump up. She was trying her best not to cry, but the painful memories of that terrible day just a few months ago, flooded into her head. He could sense her fear, but he also could sense the determination.

She heard him get closer and closer. She sank into the counter even more until she couldn't go any farther. She noticed a mirror at the top of the counter, she could see his face watching, waiting. She tried to move slightly to the left so she could crawl out but it wasn't possible. He looked as though he had given up, but she knew him better than that. She knew that he was trying to get her to move.

All of a sudden, Lane finds him. She sees his back, and tries a distraction.She is in the aisle behind him, she sees a curtain rod she knocks it over and begins to run. He whips his head around and begins to follow the noise. Lane gets away in time to return to safety. She hides in the girls bathroom. Chelsea runs away from the counter. She turns a corner, and sees her father again. His back to her. She takes opportunity to sneak up behind him. She still has the knife.

She comes up right behind his back and her shoe scuffs the floor. He turns, knocking her over and the knife out of her hand just out of reach. She is on all fours and looks up seeing the barrel of the gun in her face. He grins that sick, twisted grin again. He laughs, "Any last words little girl?" Chelsea has none, she tries to think quick. She looks up at his face as he cocks the gun. She jumps up and knocks the gun to the ground. He is surprised and thinks he's been outsmarted. She trips over the gun and lands a few feet away. He grabs the gun again and says, "That's what I thought karma!"

Then, out of no where. Sherri grabs the knife on the floor and puts it through his back. He gets a pained look on his face and falls to the ground. Lane runs up behind her, and begins to cry. She didn't want it to end this way. She didn't want to kill him. She was just protecting her foster daughter from a monster.

After they held the funeral, Chelsea and Lane's mother walks up. She hugs both of them tightly. She apologizes for not being there enough and not being able to protect them from their father. She explained she had been clean and sober for over a year now. The doctor's were just afraid of her relapsing so they held her longer. She's been home for 3 months living by herself. She said her health had improved dramatically and she was no longer an addict.

After Sherri's trial, they proved her innocent for saving a life and putting a dangerous man off the streets. The girls were able to see their mother under strict supervision twice a week. Sherri and Rob eventually adopted Lane because by that time Chelsea was already 18.