Clara shoved her old clothes and fake identifications into her backpack after being positive that the man loitering in front of her motel room this morning was more than just another traveler.
She had escaped from Binghamton a week ago and was laying low at Shegger's Motel. Things had been going fine since then. Until that man started peeking through random windows and stopping everyone he saw to look at their faces. She panicked, but assured herself that he was looking for a different person because he didn't look like someone Binghamton would hire.
But then she noticed a scar on the back of his neck and recognized it, recognized him.
Clara cursed out loud knowing that Blair Gordon would have never made this mistake.
Clara pushed the television away from the wall and snatched the Ziploc filled with stolen cash. She heard a shout from outside and she froze, heart pounding. She ignored it when she heard laughter after the shout, realizing it was just the couple next door. Tossing the Ziploc into her backpack, she ran towards the fridge and pulled out bottled water, pack of deli meat, and a bag of carrots. She put them all into her bag and strapped it onto her back.
Deep breaths, in and out, slow. Clara peeked through the narrow gap between the two curtains and then through the peephole. No one.
She shut her eyes, thought about what she wanted to do, and felt a shiver go through her body. She was now Blair. She unlocked the door quickly, took deep breaths, yanked it wide open, and sprinted across the parking lot.
She heard a holler behind her and she knew it was the man. She ran faster, legs not faltering. She glanced at a woman getting into a car up ahead and then to the man trying to catch up to her. She decided it would take too long to carjack her, even if the car was nice.
She dashed up the hill and onto the highway. Cars were speeding and horns were blaring but she tactfully dodged all vehicles, skidding under them, over, jumping on the roofs. She reached the other side of the highway and looked towards the motel. She saw the man standing there, not moving, gaping after witnessing her spectacle.
She grinned, teasingly, and waved her fingers at him, knowing he's just another Synesthete and nothing more. He wouldn't be able to follow her anymore.
She turned around, faced the forest in front of her. Blair hated nature. She needed someone who knew which plants were safe and which weren't. Where north was, where south was. She felt another shiver go through body. Blair Gordon was gone. And now she was Gemma Turner, a young forest ranger.