May the twenty-third
Dawn, perhaps 6:12 A.M.
New York, New York, USA
Breath heavy.
Heart pounding.
Muscles trembling.
Tears spilling.
Sirens sounding.
Smoke nowhere in sight.
Yet, she knew she was still in hell.
Shouts—they were still searching. She still couldn't stop. Even if the shouting was for something she played no part in, she had to go before someone could recognize...
It hadn't stopped hurting—not once. Twelve days... Twelve days as a stowaway, running from an accidental murder... a murdered turned stowaway... now once again a runaway...
Her muscles still screamed. Her mind ordered her to rest—she might have time. But "might" was a chance she just could not risk. Her heart was still bleeding.
But it was still only figurative, for now...
. . . - - - . . .
The sirens, the shouting, the smoke, the discord, the destruction—it was all yet farther behind her now. Physically farther, mental all around with greater intensity... so much closer...
The worst part was still the death. She couldn't look at her hands—the blood was still too thick. Her crimes were still so fresh in her mind...
So much for a walk in a quiet forest clearing her mind.
The Pacific Railroad. Follow the tracks, find a train—basic logic. If you didn't know that, well... then you probably thought trains flew and you were looking for an airplane...
. . . - - - . . .
May the twenty-fourth
Perhaps 1:42 A.M.
Somewhere along the Pacific Railroad
Hobo—
Oh, God... she was not adding that one to the list of things she had done "wrong"... not marring her already black mark that was her last ten years...
Great...
Where was this thing headed again? California? How clichéd... old-fashioned...
Eighteen-hundreds old-fashioned, both antebellum and after the war...
California: Wasn't that where she had decided to go? But, where within...?
San Francisco—so many people... someone could recognize….
Reno—no, wait... that was Nevada...
Los Angeles—oh, hell... in the Mayan thirteen levels... maybe about seven...
Sacramento—um, no...
But, maybe somewhere in the Sierra-Nevada... She might find temporary refuge in the mountains...
Just as long as she could leave London far behind... ever so far behind...