It was an unseasonably hot day in Indian Shores, Florida. Not only was the heat intense, but the events that were about to unfold were even more intense. I was tanning in the blazing sun; listening to the waves crash against the warm, white sand.  Out of the blue, I hear my neighbor, Liv, call my name, “Hey Mads! Do you wanna go get ice cream with Bri, Jenni, and me?”
           

“Right now?” I asked excitedly. Liv shook her sandy blonde hair in agreement. We all needed a refreshing break from the sun.
           

“Wait for me,” I said, “I have to get some money.”  I quickly ran to my beach front room to grab some money to buy ice cream. As I ran back down three flights of stairs to meet up with my friends, I was reminded of the pleasures that vacation brings. Such a relaxing, carefree day! No schedule, no rules!
           

The local ice cream shop was only about a mile from our condo, so it did not take us very long to get there. However, it felt like it took years because of the blazing sun that beat down on us, as we made the journey.  It was totally worth the effort though. In a few short minutes, we all got our ice cream! We sat down at a small round table outside the ice cream shop and talked, laughed, and ate our ice cream. As I sat there, enjoying my slowly melting ice cream, I noticed something peculiar. A nice, shiny, new-looking, black car was slowly driving past where we were sitting. The music in the car was cranked up so loudly that I could feel the vibration from its bass in my chest, as the car moved past us! That’s odd, I thought to myself!
           

“Let’s get back to the beach,” Liv said, as she threw her empty cup in the trash. I scarfed down my remaining ice cream and pushed the thought of the black car out of my mind. We were off to the beach.
           

Liv, Bri, Jenni, and I were causally walking along the side of the road, as we made our way back to the condo. We were reminiscing and wiggling when suddenly, I spotted that black car out of the corner of my eye! “Hey,” Jenni said in a shaky voice, “isn’t that the car that drove by us earlier?”
           

“I noticed that too,” I answered. We all picked up our pace a little, as we ventured toward our condo, still not thinking too much about the sketchy car. We walked past a small circular shaped park, where neighborhood kids were enjoying the hot, spring day.  Out of nowhere, we all stopped in our tracks at once. At the same moment, we were all terrified to see the black car was slowly creeping along on the road opposite to us.  At this point, we all began to panic. I was freaking out! A zillion thoughts raced through my mind. What if I never see my family again? What if he shoots us? What if we get kidnapped?
           

My thoughts were quickly interrupted by the oldest of us four, Liv. She said, “Guys, we need to find somewhere to hide. I think this person is following us!”
           

I immediately started scanning my surrounding for somewhere, anywhere to go. Then, I spotted a public beach access sign. It was our only shot! There was no other escape.  “We have to go to the public beach access road!” I spoke nervously. It was the only option to get back to the beach because the rest of the small town was covered in tall condo buildings, big parking lots, and in-ground swimming pools in every direction.  We all increased our speed, as we went down the small, almost ally-like road that led to the beach access bridge.
           

We were about half way down the small road when suddenly; I heard the crunch of gravel behind me. Fear filled my body as I turned and looked back. As I turned, I once again saw the black car following us! Liv grabbed me tightly and held me. She whispered in my ear, “Everything is going to be alright.” But, she did not sound so sure. On the other side of me, I turned to see Bri and Jenni holding hands. They both had tears lining their eyes. I had never felt such fear in my entire life. Just then, the car stopped. The man emerged from his car. He had a small evil-looking smirk on his face. He looked straight at me with his crisp, sky-blue eyes and motioned for me to come to him. “RUN MADDY! AND DO NOT STOP!” Liv screamed to me. I kicked off my new pink flip flops, grabbed them in my hands, and took off across the small sandy bridge that lead to the beach.  Let me tell you, I have run hundreds of sprints at my track meets. But, out of all those races, my speed has never been comparable to how fast I ran that day. My feet glided across the warm, smooth sand and did not stop, just like Liv instructed. Minutes later, I turned back to see all the girls a distance behind me.
           

I came to a stop and they all caught up with me. “Dang, you’re fast.” Bri said, her bright blue eyes lighting up in shock.
           

“I was afraid you would not be able to keep up if we ran,” Jenni said astonished, “but you beat all us by far!”
           

I just grinned at all of them and they laughed at me. We needed an emotional release, as our adrenalin rush came to an end. We were all so thankful to have gotten away and that we were safe once again.
           

We continued at a much more relaxed, slower rate until we reached our condo.  As soon as I saw my mom, I hugged her and did not let go for a solid minute. We then proceeded to tell the adults what had happened in the short, but terrifying time we were gone. After a sigh of relief from each adult, Jenni’s dad broke the ice. With a small grin starting to creep across his face, he chuckled, “Why didn’t you guys call us to pick you up? And, why didn’t you drive in the first place?” We all groaned. The though never even crossed our minds. Everyone could drive, except me. Jenni’s dad continued, “I think you girls are just trying to keep us on our toes. You all just wanted a good story to tell!” Everyone laughed because we all knew that was anything but true. And, for once, Jenni was not annoyed by her dad’s ridiculous comments. We were all too thankful that we escaped disaster and even more thankful to be back with our families and friends.