A Life Wasted

Fake Raid

I had just about dropped off to sleep when I heard the distinctive sound of car tires squealing on asphalt. I lifted my head and looked out the truck's passenger side window and was horrified by what I saw. Multiple police cars and SUV's had turned into the motel's parking lot and were speeding directly towards me. I tried to move to get behind the steering wheel but couldn't move because I was tightly cocooned inside the sleeping bag. Before I could move any further one marked police car whipped in to the left side of my stolen truck as a marked police SUV whipped into the right side. If that wasn't bad enough I heard several others screeching to a stop in front of me. Seeing no way out I dropped my head back down and freed my hands so I could raise them when the guns were pointed at me. Something I expected to happen immediately.

Car doors opened and closed and multiple dogs barked. Men shouted and to my surprise, they laughed. I heard more dogs barking and men talking loudly. They sounded like they were at a party and were competing for attention. There was no doubt that I was surrounded by multiple police officers and police dogs, but no one shined a light in my window and no one put a gun in my face. I had no idea what was going on. The only thing that was clear was that the group of police officers and dogs had moved to the field behind the truck and were back there making a lot of noise. Party noise, not fugitive arrest noise.

Moving as slow as I could, I moved my hands enough to pull the sleeping bag up over my head. I always preferred to run, but I knew there were police officers behind me and police cars beside me, so I assumed they were in front of me too, blocking off my escape. Since running wasn't an option, I opted to hide under my blanket like a scared five-year-old.

After a few minutes the circus moved from the field behind me towards the motel. As they passed the truck one dog jumped up on the side of the truck barking. His handler pulled him down and scolded him. The other officers laughed. There was more talking and light banter and then silence. I laid still for about five minutes before risking a look out the window. There were eight police cars and SUV's parked on either side of me, but none blocking my exit and no police officers in sight.

I was completely confused but not so much to prevent me from acting. Whatever was going on I was running while I had the chance. I crawled out of the sleeping bag and got behind the wheel. I wouldn't have been surprised if I'd been shot when I started the engine, but nothing happened. I pulled forward a few feet and no one tried to stop me, so I stopped myself. Curiosity got the best of me so I took a good look at the police cars. All were marked units and all had an emblem identifying them as "K-9" units. When I noticed that all were from different counties and different cities I began to understand. What I figured is that there was some type of K-9 training going on and these officers and their dogs were here for that. The sounds I'd heard were of competitive banter. It even explained the tires squealing on their way in. They'd been racing back to their motel.

Understanding this I put the truck in reverse and backed into the same spot I'd been in. I couldn't find a better spot. A local cop trolling the motel and running plates wouldn't look twice at an old pickup parked between eight police cars. When I settled back in to sleep I unzipped the bag all the way and used it like a large blanket. Trapping myself in a cocoon was something I wouldn't do again. Lesson learned.