The Running Man – Chase Sequence 3 – Wayne 32

 

[For back story go here: Story so far at 17 Sept 2020 and more recent Wayne episodes.]

[Other back story through in-links.]

Wayne was bored. The kind of bored that gradually, unannounced, had seeped into his bones determined to just rest there. He hadn’t really noticed when it landed, but he suddenly realised it was with him. He tried to busy himself with some music, but guitar, keyboards, programming, nothing really inspired or stuck with him. He played some old tunes, but they were just the same old tunes.

He wanted to play his music louder, throw himself around a bit, but Dave was in the throws of some accounting and projecting, and he needed peace for that. One of the downsides of deciding to share the flat, thought Wayne, but there again if he were still in his own place downstairs playing loud music Dave wouldn’t be that happy with the noise.

“Stuff it,” he said aloud. “I’m going for a run.”

The day was drizzly and blowy so even that wasn’t exactly conducive for exercise. But Wayne persevered, determined to chase out these feelings and to give himself some sense of purpose. Not that he really expected the purpose to come along any time soon but just moving through the world might be enough to reconnect him.

He circled into the park and headed for the duck pond. That was, after all, a soothing place to hang out. It was as he cruised past the bench where he and Cassie had met that a man stepped out from behind a tree and started jogging a little behind him. Wayne was aware of the runner for a few minutes before the first words came.

“Hey, ManzDown,” shouted the man. “You’ve got some good form there. How long you been running?”

Wayne decided to ignore this. The man could either decide he hadn’t heard or didn’t want to be bothered. They usually left when they realised the rude and stupid thing they’d done.

“ManzDown,” the man persisted. “You run round here often?”

“Leave it, mate,” said Wayne over his shoulder. “Nice to see you and everything but I’m concentrating alright?”

“Boyfriend not here then?”

Wayne nearly broke his stride, nearly stopped, nearly turned round to face the man. But then resolved not to again and carried on. 

“He’s a bit of a chef, right?” said the man. “Is he an expert in other things too?”

“Go away,” said Wayne directly. “Leave me alone.”

He broke away to the left and sped up a little and was dismayed when the man also sped up and followed.

“Come on Wayne,” said the man. “Let’s have a chat. I can make it worth your while and everything. Get your history, your story, your everything. What’s it like to be a leading grime star and then realise you’re, you know, you like Dave? I mean, surely not all your fans think this is a good move, right? Are you bothered by that? Or are you going to become a chef too?”

Wayne stopped now and turned.

“Leave me alone.”

And the man lifted up his phone and took several pictures of him standing there.

“That’s more like it, Wayne,” he said, “tell me what’s on your mind.”

“With pleasure,” said Wayne and he reached for the man’s phone. Naturally the man stepped back, away and broke into a run of his own. Soon the whole exercise had been reversed, Wayne now striding after the scampering man, determined to reach him, to stop him, to just do something.

“Stop and face me!” called Wayne. “That’s what you wanted, right? The whole story?”

The man snapped a few more pics over his shoulder as the race continued. “Not sure you’d give me the facts, mate,” he said. “Not now. Can I trust you, you reckon?”

And then the man ploughed his way through a hedge on the border of the park and on to a periphery road. Wayne followed, getting hopelessly tangled as he did so, scratched and bleeding but with one last thrust he got to the other side. 

As he emerged the man took a couple more pictures before jumping into a parked Ford Focus. Wayne still chased, slamming against the side of the car as he reached it. The man smiled through his wound up window and pulled away.

——

“How did he know I’d be there?” said Wayne, back at the flat, unlacing his trainers.

“Well, you’ve been round that park before – just a chance.”

“No, that wasn’t a chance. He was waiting in a particular place. Someone tipped him off.”

“So who knew? Cath? She’s not been there with you has she?”

“No,” said Wayne. And then he went quiet.

“What?” Said Dave. “Who is it?”

“Cassie.”