I was a kid. He was a cop.

So, it was maybe 2001, and I was 11 years old. I was riding my bike around with my best friend, and we needed to cross a highway at a part where there were no crosswalks or lights. We had done this before, but I don't know why, something about this time felt wrong.<br><br>We were sitting on the shoulder, waiting for the right time to cross, and I turned around and saw a police car pull up behind us. The cop rolled down one of his windows and said, "What are y'all doing?" in a tone that suggested we *were* doing something wrong. My instincts were screaming. I didn't like this guy.<br><br>"We're crossing the street," I said. "Do you have any advice?"<br><br>Then he said something like, "Why don't you get in the back of my car and I'll drive you across?" I laughed yer, "no" laugh, and said, "No, we're gonna walk."<br><br>Then he said, "I'm not going to hurt you. I promise."<br><br>I pedaled away. Fast. I screamed at my friend to do the same. We hauled ass for our neighborhood, with this cop car following us, slowly, for like a quarter mile. I didn't feel safe until we were in my front door, with my mom.<br><br>I still wonder, to this day, if that cop was going to abduct us. I still feel a chill when I think about it.