"Gideon!  Really now, you're going too fast!" Stephanie Clevely gripped more tightly onto the handlebars of the busted bicycle she was riding.  She trailed her boyfriend by a good ten yards now; she wondered if he even heard her.  Or, for that matter, if he even cared that she was falling fartehr and farther behind.  When he had suggested they go bike-riding through the Everton National Forest, she hadn't been surprised. She had none of his athletic capabilities, and honestly, she didn't have the interest in his chosen activities.  However, it was the beginning of a relationship.  A couple for nearly five weeks, she thought it wise to at least try to do something with him that he enjoyed. Lord knows he had had spent more than enough days at flea markets antiquing--her favorite activity.

     And so she had dug out her worn, not-quite-rusted-yet bicycle out of the garage after nearly a decade of unuse.  It truly was a pathetic sight:  her bike beside (well, trailing now) his shiny top-of-the-line mountain bike. He hadn't scoffed, laughed, or even cracked a ridiculing grin.  What he had done that morning was give the contraption a once-over and nodded.  "Let's leave in twenty minutes," he had said and turned on his heel to get his gear loaded and ready.

     Thinking back on it, Stephanie realized she really never did give him the impression that she could sustain a feat such as biking through a forest reknowned to have trails that didn't have clearly-marked paths.  Presently, she panted heavily as she reached the top of a mild hill, sweat running down her red face.  She saw Gideon sail beyond, rushing even farther out of her line of sight until he was gone.

      "Gideon!" she called out, her tired legs pumping slower against her will.  She didn't have time to brake as she began to dip down over the hill.  The worn bicycle creaked out a moan as she soared down, her legs ceasing to move so that for once during this hour-long excursion, she was able to stop working her muscles.  She closed her eyes for a moment, taking in the fast rush of wind that now whipped pleasantly over her hot face.

     And as she opened them again, she saw that she was no longer distanced by her fairly new beau.   In fact, he had stopped fifteen yards from the bottom of the hill and currently leaned against the trunk of a tree, his expensive top-of-the-line bicycle discarded to the edge of the trees, tangled in the brush.

     She jumped on her brakes and skidded to a stop in line with him.  "Hey, did you hear me calling you?" she asked, still struggling to control her breathing.

      He shrugged and grinned at her, which oddly sent a chill down her spine.  "Are we taking a break?" she asked.  To that, he nodded slowly.

     "You could say that.  A break."  He said, moving in front of her.  Her scream was more of a squeak as he knocked away her bicycle and grabbed her by the throat.  His grin fell from his face as he heard the snap of her neck.