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School was out and there was an end of year party at one on my sons friends..... we took him and 4 friends to the party. It was off the main roads and looked like the parents had put a lot into the planning. A band was playing, a bonfire going and lots of excited teens walking around. The two lane road was backed up as parents dropped of more enthusiastic teens.....

I was smiling remembering how it was to be so young and carefree...not a worry in the world and a whole summer ahead...

I could see the full moon....

I asked what time we were to pick them up and told they were staying the night there..I made sure all in our group were staying and that their parents knew they wouldn't be home tonight. I gave them the usual "do's and don'ts" and to call if they needed anything ......

We had a free night! We could do what we wanted and not have to be on call....my thoughts were to build a fire at home and enjoy the full moon...we had a plan

No fighting that evening... (had I really began to mark the days that were fight free?)

I received a call around midnight that a ride was needed....seems something had happened and they all had to leave when the party was over. No big deal....I'd get the details when I picked them up.

I told him I'd be back in about an hour or so...he decided to go too....and he would drive...

I went "as is" . Was going to be in the car the whole time and I didn't need to take anything with me. I didn't even put on my shoes..but I had my cell phone....

We had gone about 5 miles and he wanted to take a short cut. I said I wasn't comfortable going through that neighborhood as it had been on the news lately about the problems with drugs and the police had been called there many times because of guns being used in fights.

That's all I said, in a conversational tone and certainly didn't expect what happened next.....

"SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP!!!! His fists were pounding on the dashboard as he screamed and he would speed up and slam on the brakes, speed up and slam on the brakes, scream at me to shut up and pound his fists and speed up and slam on the brakes...we were still on a two lane road and close the intersection for the highway.

I tried to stay calm and think of ways to get out of this...

More screaming, pounding the dashboard and speeding up and slamming on the brakes...the car was all over the road and we came to the intersection. He didn't stop for the light and turned on the highway....

I was looking around and thankful that no other cars were on the road...I knew trying to calm him wasn't going to work and the screaming became more detailed. "I KNOW HOW TO DRIVE, I KNOW WHERE TO GO, SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP!!!!" (I wasn't talking at that point) His driving became more erratic and the speeding up and slamming on the brakes more forceful and crossing the lanes on the highway and running off the road on both sides at times....

I panicked.

"Let me out....just stop the car and let me out...." My voice may have been calm the first time I asked.....

I looked around hoping to see a patrol car...they'd see us and stop us. None in sight.....I remembered my cell phone.

"Please, just stop the car and let me out!" I wasn't calm at that point....

Wasn't going to happen. I called 911....

When they answered I'm not sure exactly what I said....I told them I needed help and I was in a car on hwy 74 heading east.....

They asked my name...I sighed and hesitated....they knew my name by now and I was ...embarrassed (or was it shame?) I told them my name....they asked questions and I answered...described the jeep, it's color, it's make, it's year...I couldn't remember the tag number. I described what I was seeing as we passed by a business, a house, anything to let them know where I was. I was also begging him to stop the car the let me out....the 911 operator could hear him screaming....SHUT UP! had changed to GET OUT, GET OUT, GET OUT!!!

"Stop the car and I'll get out!..".STOP THE CAR!"

He pulled over to the right side of the road and leaned over me and opened my car door...he was pushing me out. We weren't stopped, the car was still moving...I was trying to get my seat belt off while holding on to my phone and talking to the 911 operator.... all the while he was still screaming "GET OUT, GET OUT, GET OUT" and pushing me...I got my seat belt off, fell out of the car and he sped away.....passenger door still open....he crossed the grass median and was now heading west.....

The police were on their way. I was standing on the side of the road...no shoes, no purse, no money...and no car (my oldest son had borrowed my other car to work out of state) More panic...how was I going to get my youngest son and his friends? I had to call them and tell them not to get in the car with him if he showed up!!! The 911 operator was still on the phone and I saw a police car looking for me...I waved him over....

The officer asked me which direction he had gone....I pointed while telling what had happened....The officer said he hadn't seen him and he had come from that direction......more panic on my part..I HAD to get in touch with my youngest son and his friends. I noticed then I was near the road we were to turn on to pick them all up....

I called my sons cell phone...no answer. He didn't have service there...I called my oldest son even though I knew he was in another state ...I wanted him to keep trying to get in touch while I tried to find a way to get to his brother...my son. I found out his fiance' wasn't in town either...she had taken the time to meet him at his job out of state....

By that time there were 3 other police cars around me and the officers gathered around me.... I was trying to answer their questions but I had to get to my son...I tried to text him. I went through the contacts on my phone and called one of the friends that I knew was with him. No answer..I left a message....

One officer told me he would take me home and asked for my address. When I told him, he realized I live out of the city limits and he could only take me so far....he would have someone from the sheriff dept to meet us there to take me home....

My youngest son called me from his friends phone...."Do NOT get in the car if he shows up!!!" I had been making phone calls to anyone I could think of....I was lucky...I had called my niece who lived in the next county west of us and her b/f had heard the phone and given it to her and she heard my message....I had given my youngest son her number and told him to keep calling her....I was in a police car then and still trying to figure out how to get them all home safely....My niece called me and I gave her a condensed version of what was going on and asked if she could pick up my son and his friend. I gave her the number they could be reached..... and told her the area they were in (I didn't have the address..it was on the gps system in the car) She knew the area and would find them....she was an hour away from where they were....I called my oldest son and told him all was well and not to worry....

We met the other officer at the city limits....he apologized to me because his front seat was covered in paper work and asked me to get in the back of the patrol car....ok...no problem...

Big problem!! I'd never been in the back of a patrol car.....the bars separating the back seat from the front seat..... the space seemed tiny...I put one foot in the car then removed it....sorry, I can't ....I'll walk home (I was still 2 miles from home)..... Officer P. was very patient....he said it's not that far...I'll keep the windows down....you'll be ok....

Ok...I tried again, this time actually getting all the way in..then jumped back out....I couldn't breathe.....I'll walk...

Officer P. kept encouraging me....ok....I told myself "I can do this"...took a deep breath and got inside the patrol car....I closed the door..I put on my seat belt....stared at my clenched hands....I called my niece...she was on her way to get my son and his friends. "I need you to talk to me for a minute....just talk to me until I get home" Told her where I was, how claustrophobic I am ....and she listened to my rambling and nervous laughing...yes, I laughed to release tension.....this was an insane situation I never thought could happen.

Officer P. came into our home to make sure no one was inside. He had searched through most of the rooms when another officer arrived. "He just pulled in the driveway", officer 2 stated....

I sat there numb as the officers talked to him and allowed him inside to get any personal items he needed....I was sitting on our bed afraid to move....watching as he slammed his items into a back pack ...or something. He was staring at me as he did this....I could see his anger and he was making sure I saw.....Two officers were there and I was still afraid...I opened my night stand drawer to make sure the keys to the lock box were there....I knew he had his gun in the car though and told the officers..... They led him out .....

I walked around waiting for my niece and my son and his friends to arrive..... They looked as exhausted as I felt when they climbed out of her car....she stayed for a minute to make sure we were all ok then she drove back to her home....

I got out extra sheets, blankets and pillows and told everyone to relax and get some rest..I asked if their parents knew where they were....and if I needed to make any calls...They assured me all was taken care of.....

I stood by the back door wondering if I would be able to rest...sleep....

And I watched the sun rise.....