Gone... Updated 30/4 - EPILOGUE

She pressed her forehead against the cool, grimy glass and gazed at another nondescript street in another nameless town. She sighed and slid down in her seat, in the almost empty bus, and tried to get some sleep.

She startled awake as the bus drew to a halt, looking up as the other passengers descended the bus. She sighed and closed her eyes again. There was silence, then footsteps walking up the aisle. They stopped beside her seat. "Sorry miss, this is the last stop." a voice spoke. She sat up and looked at the driver, "what?" she mumbled, momentarily confused. "It's the end of the line, you have to get off here."

She pulled herself out of her seat and out into the cold night. She looked around her, "Damn!" she thought. The other passengers had melted into the night, the street was in darkness. She looked down at her bare wrist unconsciously, she hadn't worn a watch for years, relying on her own body clock to get her through the day. It was still the good side of midnight, "Damn", she thought, "I'll have to find somewhere for the night.", her hand touching the pocket where her remaining few dollars resided. She looked around again, and finding no one, turned to ask the driver if he knew of anywhere cheap to stay nearby. She was greeted by a hydraulic hiss as the door swung closed and the bus pulled away from the kerb. "Damn!" she thought again, "Left or right? Heads or tails?"

She heard a noise behind her and spun round to see him standing in the darkened doorway of the bus station.

Chapter Two

She hesitated, he looked familiar... had he been on the bus?
"Here goes nothing." she thought, reluctantly approaching him. "Do you know where I can get a room for the night?" she asked, "... cheap..."
He held her gaze for a moment and she felt a frisson of fear pass through her. "There's a guesthouse a couple blocks up." he replied, "I could take you..."
"No!" she gasped, louder than she meant, "Just tell me where it is, I'll find it."
He raised an eyebrow, "Sure."

As she strode purposefully down the street she felt the urge to look back, knowing he was watching her, but she gritted her teeth and continued onward.

She walked down the narrow street of terraced houses, looking for number 17. The houses looked shabby and uncared for, but that was okay, shabby and uncared was within her meagre budget.

An old lady opened the door, upset about being disturbed so late. "Well, I wouldn't normally take guests at this time of night, but you'll not find much else around here, and I can't let a young lassie wander the streets. In you come now."

She showed her upstairs to a small, tired bedroom. It wasn't the worst place she'd spent the night, but she certainly wasn't going to sleep in those sheets. She lay on top of the dingy covers waiting for sleep to find her.

Chapter Three

"There's no buses on a Sunday." he said.
"You have got to be kidding me, right? This is the 21st century isn't it? Or have I just gone back in time to another era?" she said bitterly, remembering the few dollars left in her pocket.
"Folks are pretty religious round here."
"Blasted Wee Free's!" she muttered under her breath.
"Pardon?"
"Nothing!" she scowled and pushed past him, hurrying down the empty street.

She wandered around aimlessly for a few hours until eventually she came across a small park. She found a bench in a quiet corner and took a seat whilst she tried to figure out what she was going to do now. She pulled out her dwindling cash and counted it out, enough for something to eat. Her stomach growled in protest as she thought about food, it had been many hours since she'd last eaten. She stuffed the money back in her pocket, food would have to wait till later. She looked up as she heard the bells calling the last stragglers to church, and saw several people hurry across the park. There was a chill in the air and she couldn't sit here long, and there was no way she could sleep out here tonight, though it wouldn't have been the first time. "Keep moving." she told herself, and she walked towards the warmth of the church.

She stole anonymously into the back of the congregation and sat enjoying the familiar sounds of the service. She had been in many churches, in many towns these past few years. All too soon the service was over and she slippped out quickly, sure a stranger would swiftly be noticed in a small town like this. Warmed, she crossed the street, hiding in the shadows, watching and waiting for the minister to leave. Dispirited, she turned away as she saw him lock the door. She turned and drifted aimlessly along the road. After much walking she eventually found herself in the town centre, being Sunday nothing was open except a small mall behind the main street. As she pushed open the door the smell of coffee set her stomach rumbling again. She made her way to the small cafe and counted out the exact change for coffee and a sandwich.

She sat in her quiet corner enjoying her third refill, this would have to be her last, she could feel the waitress's eyes burning burining into the back of her head. Suddenly there was someone sitting in the empty seat.
"Are you stalking me or something?" she snapped.
"Something." he replied. "I'm Jake." he added.
She looked blankly at him.
"This is the part where you tell me your name."
She froze for a moment, "Alex." she replied curtly.
"And does Alex have a second name?" he asked.
For a moment he thought she wasn't going to answer, then she gave a surreptitious glance at the palm of her hand.
"Smith," she said, "My name is Alex Smith."
He opened his mouth to say something but thought better of it. They sat in silence for a few minutes.
"You staying at Mrs O'Connell's tonight?"
Alex frowned at him.
"Mrs O'Connell, the guesthouse?" he asked.
"Oh, yeah... no."
"Where are you staying then?"
Alex shrugged and stood up, "I've got to go." she said.
"Looks to me like you don't have anywhere to go to." Jake said.
Alex paused, then sat down again, slumped in defeat.
"Look, don't take this the wrong way, but you can crash at my place tonight. It's not much, in fact it's worse than Mrs O'Connell's..."
Alex thought about it, she didn't know this Jake but there was something familiar about him. She slid her hand into her jeans pocket, feeling the chill of the steel in her hand. "One more night then I'm out of here." she thought.
"Okay," she said, "Let's go."

Chapter Four

They headed out of the mall, Jake leading the way.
Within a few blocks they were in a rundown, industrial part of town. Jake headed down a dark, shadowy alley, overgrown with bushes. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea." Alex thought slipping her small switchblade into her palm. Jake paused outside a splintered old door, "Here we are."

He pushed the protesting door open and led they way inside. "Jesus! He wasn't joking when he said it was worse than Mrs O'Connell's." thought Alex.
"Why on earth are you living in an abandoned old warehouse?" Alex asked.
"Why do you have to write your name on your hand to remember who you are?" he shot back.
"Touche!" she replied.

"You can have the bed." Jake said, "I'll sleep on the couch. There's restrooms upstairs."
Alex looked around the room, all the furniture was old, shabby and recycled but everything was spotlessly clean. Jake grabbed a pillow and blanket out of the locker. "Time for bed already?" Alex asked.
"In case you hadn't noticed there's no electricity." Jake replied, "Oh, and there's no hot water either."
Alex sighed and fumbled her way up to the washroom in the half-light to get ready for bed. Soon she was fast asleep on his surprisingly comfortable bed.