Since the accident, Sammy Waykels had been in and out of foster homes. Some houses lasted a long time others, not so much. And for the first couple years she had become mute, and couldn't talk to anyone. She couldn't get close to anybody. Everyone would just give up on being her friend before really giving her a chance. After a couple years she had learned how to talk to others again and got out of her shell little by little. And after 8 years, at the age of 16, Sammy decided to run away. Although, she wasn’t sure where she was going, she did know that she was getting out of that stupid house. She was getting out of New York.
The first thing she did was go to the house. She went to tell everyone that she was leaving for the library to study and that she’d be back by 10. She had been with this family for about 2 years now so they trusted her. She walked in the back door after getting out of the same black car she was picked up with everyday. This family was the owner of a large company and they had a lot of money and a very large house. Just as her real parents did. She went up to her room took everything out of her book bag and packed it with some clothing. She walked out of her room and down one of the double staircases into the grand room. Turned the corner, and quickly snatched $500 from her mother’s purse for food and emergencies. She then got back in the car and drove to the library.
As soon as the car drove out of sight, she left the library and walked to a bus station. This particular station was in downtown New York and was very, worn out. As you walked in the front entrance you saw 4 booths to get tickets. There were multiple old dirty glass doors in the back leading to the buses. The walls were painted an old faded green color - almost like the statue of liberty - that was peeling off the wall. There were seats to sit on in the middle and around the perimeter of the building. Although almost every single one was dirty or broken people were still sitting down. Sammy walked up to one of the booths and asked, “May I get a ticket to Dallas, Texas?” the old lady in the booth glanced up from the paper she was reading and hastily said, “Your I.D. please.” and pushed her hand out a slot in the booth. Sammy calmly reached into her backpack, and took out her licence, and reached out her hand to give it to the lady. The lady snatched it away from her read the card and tossed it on the counter and said, “One bus ticket to Dallas coming up, it’ll be $100.” Sammy took out her wallet and pulled out one of the 100 dollar bills and slid it under the slot. The lady passed her the ticket and said, “Good luck young lady, and have a safe trip.”
Sammy walked away from the booth and looked for the cleanest seat she could find. As she sat in the seat in the very back corner by the bus doors she read her bus ticket and she saw the leaving time was 6:30. She looked at the $20 track phone she bought on her way to the station and saw the time was 6:28. She stood up from her seat and started running out the doors into the cold fall night. She quickly looked around seeing only one bus with the lights on and rushed to it. She walked up the steps as the bus driver said, “Ticket please.” Sammy reached into her coat and handed the ticket to the man. He then asked, “So, what brings a pretty girl like you, to Texas on a dirty old bus?” “Oh you know just traveling, visiting family.” Sammy said as she slowly walked to the back to the bus. She waited till the bus left to lie down on the seats. Eventually she fell asleep, not thinking about how worried her family would be when she didn’t return not even looking back once.
When she woke up she saw she was in the middle of nowhere. She was observing the scenery noticing how beautiful but simple the empty fields were. This place was all so different from the big city. No skyscrapers towering over all the thousands of people and cars. It was quiet and peaceful. You could look and see the trees and grass blowing in the wind with the attractively colored leaves whisking around in the air. Sammy came back to reality and started scoping the bus to see if anyone had gotten on or off the bus. From what she could tell no one new was on and no one had gotten off either. Sammy leaned forward and whispered to the lady in front of her, “Hey, do you know where we are right now?” The lady seemed startled and then started giggling and responded with, “Oh my! You scared me what did you ask again?” Slightly annoyed with this lady’s bubbliness Sammy said, “Do you know where we are?” The lady thought for a little bit and said, “Yes we are about a half an hour away from Chicago, Illinois” Chicago? She thought, Sammy then said to the lady “I thought this bus was heading to Texas.” The lady replied with, “It is we’re just stopping in Chicago to check in with one of their hubs. “Oh, thank goodness.” Sammy sighed with relief.
Sammy started to lean back into her seat when she heard the lady say, “Hey, wait I didn’t catch your name.” Sammy quickly glanced up to see the lady staring at her. Sammy replied, “Oh right, it’s Sammy, Sammy Waykels.” The lady smiled and said, “That’s a nice name...Oh! my name is Mary Jane Altman.” Sammy had forgotten to reply as the bus had pulled into the bustling city of Chicago. Sammy had been in the city a couple times but this was so different. Many of the buildings were small compared to NYC but, there was one that stood out. As they drove through the city to the bus station Sammy sat there astounded by how beautiful this place was. The sun had started to set and the nightlife was just beginning. Someone calls out, “The station is about 5 blocks away.” Sammy smiles and looks out the window, she can't wait to stand up and walk. They arrive at the station and every one loads off the bus. Sammy grabs her bag and climbs off the bus dragging it behind her. Her legs feel numb for sitting for over 6 hours. She walks up to the screen on the wall to see what time her bus starts leaving for Texas. The time says 10:30 pm she grabs the phone out of her pocket and noticed that it was only 6 pm.
She decides to go out and explore the city. She uses the restroom and gets out of there. She walks out onto the sidewalk and glances around and notices a strange man following her, she thinks back and remembers seeing him run on the bus after her. She unconsciously starts walking faster and faster almost into a run. She quickly turns the corner but she doesn't realize until it's too late that this particular alley is a dead end. She stops in her tracks and quickly turns around. She sees a tall, built man with a dark hoodie on standing 10 feet of in front of her. He starts walking towards her slowly. She yells stop but he continues to walk forward. Sammy panics and starts to yell louder and the mysterious man hurriedly walks towards her. Sammy fall onto her butt and starts scooching away knowing there was a broken pipe only inches away from her, or so she thought. The man suddenly pins her down. Sammy’s heart starts racing faster and faster, she can’t think straight. Sammy calms herself down and starts going through everything that is happening. She’s pinned down by a strange man that has been following her since New York and she’s stuck in some dark alleyway in downtown Chicago. Then suddenly she remembers that class she took a couple years back on self defence. Sammy remembers the instructor saying to keep calm at all times and think about your surroundings. She breathes...in...out...in...out...she closes her eyes and as hard as she can she thrusts her leg upwards right into the man’s midsection. Almost immediately the man clenches his stomach, releasing her from his grip. Sammy pulls herself backwards and grabs the pipe she's been wanting. She instantly stands up, holding the pipe in a defensive way. The man stands up and slowly lifts his head. He looks annoyed, almost furious. It only takes a second for Sammy to realize that the man's hood is down. Suddenly,in that short second, time froze. He was looking at her and she was looking at him. She comes back to reality and drops the pipe. The man laughs sinisterly and Sammy’s thoughts fade and she stutters, “I..I....thought you were dead.”
TO BE CONTINUED