~Lost~

The piercing scream of the alarm clock sounded at 5:15 AM. Sarah rolled over and fumbled for the off switch. Once the clock was silenced, she fell back into a deep slumber, the rain quietly tapping on the windows…

8:23 AM. The garbage truck could be heard in the alley way as it backed up. Sarah awoke with a start and turned to her clock.

"Holy Hell! I'm late!"

She leaped out of the comfort of her bed, feet stinging from the ice-cold floor, and ran towards the closet. She threw open the door and grabbed the first shirt she saw. She combined the shirt with a sleek black skirt and then headed for the bathroom to tame her unruly bed-head. She brushed her teeth after finishing the task of restraining her locks. There was no sense in going to work with morning breath. After completing all of these chores in record time, Sarah made her way out the door.

9:08 AM. After missing the bus and three attempts at a taxi, Sarah finally made it to work. She sighed as she walked into the large building. She worked on the 23rd floor as a secretary for a highly respected businessman, David Chiton. Sarah couldn't understand why he was so respected, the way her treated her and most other people on her floor was appalling. Sarah strode up the stairs as she thought of why she was still working here.

"Because its money Sarah don't forget about the little green piece of paper that makes the world spin round." Sarah nodded to herself and silently wished she could find an easier way to make the rent.

"Time for hell…" Sarah thought to herself as she finally reached her floor. She never took the elevator for fear of the inevitable breaking. As she made her way to her office she received a cold glare from several of the office girls that worked there. They were jealous because David had chosen Sarah as his personal assistant; although, Sarah couldn't comprehend why, he wasn't that good looking. She had only taken the position because it paid more and she needed the money. She had used the money that the Air Force had given her to pay off past debts from the time when she was in Florida. Now, with no supply from government services, the debts that she had just acquired were now haunting her and pushing her dangerously towards the edge.

Sarah reached her office, tossed her purse on her chair and shook her head at the mess of papers scattered all over her desk. David glanced through the window that separated his office from hers.

"I'll call you back Joe… thanks." David hung up the phone and moved to the doorway. Sarah inwardly groaned as David made his way over to her.

"Sarah, I don't know how many times I've told you that I need you here at 7 AM, sharp. That old geezer from the service department called five times since eight. Where is the Fleasy report? I had no idea what that old fart was talking about."

Sarah moved away from him and sighed as she bent down to the filing cabinet and pulled out a file. "Maybe if you looked in the filing cabinet under F you would have found the file," she said, handing the file to him. David's hand closed over Sarah's hand in which the file was being offered. He sat on the corner of her desk and tried to pull her to him.

"I think I like it much better when you get things for me. The view is incredible," He winked at her and groped her rear. She slapped him hard across the face and pulled out of his hold. "Don't even think about it David!"

David was startled by her actions and rubbed his aching jaw. "I would be careful if I were you. You might be pretty but there are plenty more where you came from," he stated as he grabbed the file and exited their office, stalking down the hallway. Sarah sat down and steamed with anger as she organized her desk once again.

3:00 PM Rain poured down outside as Sarah was finishing her last task of the day. David strolled in and gave Sarah a sly smile. He undoubtedly grabbed more than Sarah's rear today.

"Before you leave today Sarah, I'd like you to type up that CWC Project for me. I have a meeting tomorrow morning and have to present the findings to the board."

Sarah looked up at him in utter shock. "The CWC Project? That will take me over three hours to do! You can't possibly be…" She was cut off before she could finish.

"Yes, I am serious and you'll stay until it is done… besides we all know that you have nothing better do to anyway. Go on now, you want to get home as soon as possible don't you?"

Sarah's eyes were like daggers. As David walked away, pleased with himself, Sarah stared blankly at the computer for a moment and then quickly began to type up the report.

7:13 PM Sarah yawned at the computer screen. The printer hummed as it continued to spit out the CWC report, which Sarah struggled over for the last four hours or so. David took this time to see how she was progressing.

She stretched out and glared at him as he made his way over to her desk. "Your report is done. I'm going home." Sarah got up to her feet and grabbed her purse from the top of the filing cabinet where she had placed it earlier that day, during her reorganization. David suddenly pinned her to the cabinet.

"Not so fast Sarah. How about a good night kiss? And maybe a bit more…" David grabbed her chin and pulled it toward him. Sarah was completely shocked by this sudden attack on her personal space. She slapped him hard but this time he was not phased. Sarah could see the lust in his eyes and she wanted to get away. She suddenly gathered all of her strength and kneed him as hard as she could where she knew it would do the most damage.

"How about finding yourself a new secretary, you disgusting excuse for a man!" Sarah yelled as she stepped over the heap on the floor and made her way to the door. With that Sarah was running down the stairs and out the door before he could even comprehend what had just happened.

Sarah leaned against the cold wet stone outside of her former workplace and sighed. This day was not getting any better.

Sarah wearily began to walk down Fourth Street, stopping every now and again to hail a taxi, which passed by her each time. She shook her head and ducked into the nearest corner store. Three minutes later she appeared outside again. This time armed with an umbrella. It felt like hours before she made it to the nearest bus stop. She sat down in the sheltered area and propped her weary head against the glass, listening to the sound of the rain hitting the plastic roof above her. She then heard a trash can being knocked over. She looked up at the noise and saw two very inebriated Mexican men making their way to the bus stop. She tensed as they drew near. They were mumbling to each other in their native tongue, with frequent obscenities in English. The taller of the two, clad in horrendous red pants and shoes to match, stopped in front of Sarah and pointed at her.

"I chno you yes?" he mumbled to her and made his way to the bench where she sat. Sarah did not respond. The shorter and more hairy man sat down next to his friend, holding a beer can in one hand and a bag of different types of booze in the other.

"Donna be scared… He harmless," the short man said and passed a cigarette to his friend. Sarah inched closer toward the wall and tried not to make eye contact with them. It was only a few more minutes until the bus arrived, if it arrived on time.

The red clad man spoke in Spanish to his companion and then turned and looked at Sarah. "What is choo name?"

Sarah remained silent.

"Eh… I didn' catch tat?" He inched closer to her stiff form, "I's a tinking she dun wanna talk to us eh'?" he said to his friend. The hairy one nodded. They got up and began to stagger away. They stopped down the street, at the corner, and began to converse in their own drunk version of Spanish. Sarah sighed when she saw them leave. But minutes later they began to make their way back to her. She shifted nervously and stiffened. The taller man began to move towards Sarah while the other man stood outside the shelter and watched. The tall one sat down next to Sarah again and began to put his arm around her shoulder. She shifted out of reach and stared nervously out in front of her, afraid of what might happen and thinking about what could she do. The man slid closer to her and began to mumble in Spanish to his friend who now stood at the other end of the shelter, out of the rain, he mumbled back and began to rummage through his bag of liquor.

"Choo pretty, eh?"

Sarah then stood up and looked at the two men.

"I'm sorry, I have to go," she said and began to leave.

The tall man grabbed her wrist and said, "Choo give me phone number, yes? I call from Los Angels, huh?"

Sarah quickly pulled from his grasp and began to run, like a frightened deer, out into the pouring rain and down the street. She ran for a long time, never stopping, until her heel caught in a crack and sent her tumbling to the ground. She attempted to break her fall but was a little too late, the sidewalk scraped against her skin as she slid to a stop. The pain was fierce but she began to get up. She moaned from the pain and she stood hunched over. When she straightened, the pain was excruciating. She took in her surroundings and realized that she was halfway home. "I must have been running for a long time," She thought to herself as she leaned against the nearest pole and began to take off her heels.

One hour later, Sarah was climbing the stairs to her apartment. As she reached her door she noticed a yellow paper, it was her eviction notice, she had two days to leave or pay what she owed. She knew the latter was impossible for she would not receive her last paycheck in time. Sarah then shuddered in grief and fumbled with the door lock. Once the door was open, Sarah's tears fell freely down her cheeks. She leaned against the door, closing it and slid to the floor, sobbing, in a dirty, bloody and bewildered heap.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~