Chapter One

Lucy Renner is gathered around a group of UCLA students on the steps of Royce Hall. She’s talking to her best friend, Ashley Patton.

“I think he’s cute,” Lucy says.
“You have no taste in men.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You go for the artsy types, the struggling souls who spend their lives living with their parents.”
“What about Alex?”
“Like I said, you go for the artsy types.”

“You’re a bitch.”
“You can’t handle the truth!”
As Lucy leaves for her next class, she gets a text from an unknown sender.

“You are officially blocked whoever you are.”

After classes are over, she’s in her dorm reading a book on the January 6th uprising for her Political Science class. She finds it boring and dry and wonders why all the books she’s read thus far are so poorly written. She closes the book and browses Netflix but finds nothing of interest. Her phone rings and sees it’s her mom from the caller ID.

“Hi honey.”
“Hi Mom.”
“I just wanted to confirm dinner tomorrow.”

“Yes. I’m looking forward to seeing my little nephew.”
“Your brother will be happy to see you.”
“I’ve got to get back to study Mom,” she lies.

“Okay dear. See you then.”
Lucy gets a text from Alex Pastorius, her boyfriend about their date tomorrow evening. She confirms it with a smiling emoji, lies down and is instantly asleep.

Chapter Two

Lucy gets a ride from Ashley to her parent’s house.
“Girl, you owe for the free transportation,” Ashley quips.
“I’ll have my accountant reach out to you. Gotta go.”

Ashley watches her walk up to her parent’s house and drives off.
Lucy sees her mom standing by the front door.
“I’m so glad you’re here. Everyone’s inside.”

As Lucy enters the living room she sees her dad, her brother Brad, his wife Gloria and their three-year old son Jared.
“Jared!” Lucy shouts.
Jared runs up to her and she picks him up.

“My goodness little man, you’ve gained some weight!”
Jared burps and everyone laughs.
“How’s my brilliant kid sister?” Brad asks.

“Still shining. Hi Gloria.”
“So nice to see you, Lucy. Brad tells me how well you’re doing at school.”
Lucy smiles. She secretly hates Gloria.

“Hi Dad.”
“Hello dear.”
Her father is the strong silent type, dishing out words as if they were rare coins.
“Well, let’s sit down to eat, you all must be hungry,” her mom announces.

They gather around the dinner table to partake of an ordinary meal of chicken, mashed potatoes and mixed vegetables. The conversation is innocuous with no references to politics or religion. Lucy is soon bored out of her mind with the lack of mental stimulation. After two hours, she’s ready to leave. She excuses herself to use the bathroom and requests an Uber. In ten minutes, she gets a notification that her ride has arrived.

“Well, got to go. Thanks, mom, for the great meal. Bye dad. See you later Brad.”

Jared is asleep on the couch and Gloria is in another room talking to a friend. ‘Just as well’ Lucy thinks to herself. She leaves and waves to her mother who’s standing by the front door.

Chapter Three

Lucy checks the license plate to make sure it’s the right car – you can’t be too safe these days.
“Jeremy, right?” Lucy asks out of habit.
“That’s me. What’s in Culver City.”
‘Oh, no’ she thinks – a talkative driver.

“Just seeing a friend.”
“My uncle lives there.”
“That’s nice.”

“Actually, I never see him.”
‘That was weird’, Lucy thinks to herself, and not knowing how to respond, gives a weak smile. She was hoping for a quiet ride, but it looks like it’s not to be. After all the meaningless conversation she just endured, silence would have been welcome.

Her phone pings - it’s a text from Alex looking forward to seeing her. She texts back “me too.”
“Lucy?” Jeremy blurts out.
She’s startled.
“Yes?”
“I hope you’re having a good night.”

He laughs. She senses something off about him from her first encounter. She doesn’t want to show him she’s rattled so she decides to act like there’s nothing wrong.
“Thanks, you too,” she tells him.

Her phone vibrates. It’s her mother – she lets it go to voicemail.
They’re driving past Pico Boulevard on the 405. She can’t wait for the ride to end. As they approach her exit on Washington, Jeremy drives right past it.
“Excuse me, but you just passed my exit.”

Jeremy eyes her in the rear-view mirror and says something that totally unnerves her.
“Oh, don’t worry about it.”

Chapter Four

Now she’s really starting to freak out.
“Where are you going?” she asks him.
“You don’t remember me, do you?”

She’s clearly shaken.
“What are you talking about?”
He smiles.
“I’m calling 911.”

Rideshare Nightmare: She got the ride of her life.

About the Book

ESCAPE INTO THRILLING ADVENTURES