Checked In, Cleaned Out

11:45pm

I reload the housing website for the hundredth time hoping, praying that the error code will disappear. It’s like the website never existed. The lights of the supermarket I ended up in blink before coming back on. The inn became suffocating and I decided to walk down to the only open supermarket down the road.

I still can’t believe I lost my bags. Maybe it is a bad dream and I will wake up still in the plane. I pinch my cheek, waking myself up from the daydream. Instead of wallowing in self pity, I decide to make a list of things to do. First, I’ll go to the nearest station in the morning and report the theft. The problem is my accommodation. I already spent my savings on the housing website that ended up being fake. Now, all I have is a couple of hundred dollar bills. It is not even enough to get half a decent place. I’m definitely not planning to even consider a place in this part of the city.

“Nice backpack.” In a second, my bag is up in the air and in someone’s arms. The teenage cashier laughs at the horror in my face before placing it back down on the stool beside me. 

“Not cool. I have important things there.” I say grabbing my bag and hugging it close to my chest. My backpack is literally all I have now. It only has a number of books, my laptop and passport. 

“I’m sorry.” He says, taking the wraps of chocolate bars I had eaten earlier and trashing them. “It’s closing time. I was going to let you stay longer but my mom will have my neck.” He says. He raises his phone to my eye level and I see the number of missed calls from his mother. 

“I’m about to head out now. Sorry for keeping you waiting.” I apologize, slinging the backpack over my shoulder. He nods his head as we both walk out of the supermarket. He turns off the lights and closes the gates.

“You’re a new tenant, right? What floor?” He asks, nodding towards the building above the supermarket. He probably thinks I live in his building.

“Oh I’m staying at Sheila’s inn. The one down the street.”

“What?!” His eyes widen in alarm as he looks at the direction of the inn. 

“What’s wrong?” I ask. Fear slowly creeps up my spine.

“I shouldn’t have even let you in when you came. I honestly thought you lived in my building.” He explains.

“It’s just down the street.” I try to assure him or myself. At this point, I don’t know what to think and the fear in his eyes isn’t helping. He looks at me like I’ve grown two heads.

“Asher, get your ass up here now!” A female voice yells, making us jump. He quickly rushes up the stairs and looks at me one last time with pity in his eyes.

“Run to the inn if you can.”

“Asher!!” The voice yells again.

“Don’t stop for any reason.” He disappears into the corridors of the building. I take a couple of steps back holding my bag tightly before dashing off. The words of the woman in the apartment ring in my head again. I shouldn’t be out here by this time. The street is now dead silent. The only sound is the sound of my sneakers against the gravel. I can almost see the sign of Sheila’s inn when I hear a gunshot.

The unmistaken sound of a gunshot. The sound of a woman screaming. 

Almost all the lights in the street go out. Curtains close shut. Open doors shut immediately but my legs remain frozen. Something in me screams for me to keep running but someone is hurt, someone innocent maybe. I quickly dial 911.

“911, what’s your emergency?” 

“T-t-there’s a gunshot. Someone’s hurt.” I can barely get the words out as I shakingly pressed my phone against my ear.

“A gunshot? What’s your location?” I quickly tell him and he swears under his breath. “We’ll be on our way.” This time around, he sounds less enthusiastic than he was earlier. I have the feeling they are not coming any time soon.

I’ve done my best, haven’t I?

I assure myself and am about to take off when I hear the woman scream again. This time, her voice is closer. I slowly walk towards the alley in front of me and a hand grips my left ankle. A shriek erupts from me as I look at the bloodied woman holding on to me. 

“A-are you okay?” I stutter stupidly. She’s obviously not okay. The relief on her face turns to confusion then she widens her eyes in alarm.

“What are you doing here?” She chokes out. “Get out!” She pushes my leg away from her and falls back to the pavement.

“I called the police. They will be here soon. Y-you’ll be fine.” I say squatting to her level. She rolls her eyes and pushes me away.

“Run..” she looks back at the dark alley before turning back to me, her eyes wide in fear. “Now!”

I scurry away from her and start running towards the inn. Just a few feet away from me. Just a few more steps. The glare of a headlight looms behind me and I run even faster. The car speeds up. My heart pounds faster as I draw closer to the inn. I look behind me and am blinded by the bright headlights of the car so close to me. Before I know it, my head hits the pavement and I see black dots. 

***

Noises.

Machines.

Voices.

Those are all I can hear as I slowly open my eyes. The bright hospital light pierced my eyes and I shut them back.

“Are you okay?” A soft female voice asks. I open my eyes and see a middle aged woman looking at me with genuine worry etch on her face. Her brown hair is loosely tied and her lips are painted in the brightest shade of pink. She reminded me of my high school English teacher.

“What happened?” I ask, sitting up. The last thing I can remember is being so close to the car speeding towards me. From the look of things, the car didn’t hit me which I’m grateful for. The question is how I got here and what happened to the other woman.

“Oh dear, I was on my way back from my shift when I saw you on the road. You were a bit bloodied but apart from a few scratches and concussion, the doctor said you’re fine.” She explains. Her hand absentmindedly goes to my hair and pats them down. I can only imagine the mess I look like. “Your hair is beautiful. Just the right shade of red.” She mumbles. 

“Thanks..?” I say unsurely. It isn’t the first time I received compliments about my hair. Contrary to popular opinion, everyone liked my hair back in Río Verde even though it’s an odd colour. 

My phone!

I check the pockets of my sweatshirt but I can’t find it. I look around for my backpack and realize it isn’t here either.

“Are you looking for something?” The woman asks.

“My bag. Did you happen to see it last night?” I ask and she shakes her head.

“I just saw you alone on the side of the road. Do you have a family member to call? You can use my phone.” She says and I shake my head.

“Where is the nearest station please?”

“I can drive you there.” She offers and I give her a grateful smile.

“I’ll just use the bathroom first.” 

“I’ll be outside, okay?” 

I head towards the bathroom. My head throbbing. Maybe it isn’t a good idea to leave the hospital so soon but I didn’t have a choice. I should report what happened as soon as possible and hopefully get my bag back at least. It has all I need.

I stare at my reflection in the mirror and cringe. My hair is all over the place, my eyes are bloodshot, lips busted and face full of dirt. I bent over the sink to wash my face and tears rolled down my cheek. This is not the plan. Less than 24 hours ago I had it all mapped out and now, I can’t even recognize myself.

I’ll be fine. 

It shouldn’t be hard for the police to find a backpack. All I need at this point is my passport. 

I head out of the hospital and see the woman who brought me leaning against a blue minivan. She has her back turned to me and as I approach her, I realize she’s on a call.

“Are you sure?” She asks whoever is on the other end of the call. Whatever the person replies pisses her off and she swears in another language. “I’ll send you the address.” She says and hangs up. She sees me and gives me a soft smile. “Let’s go.” 

She opens the door for me and walks to her side. She is putting on a pencil skirt and white shirt that was all rumpled. My stomach churn in guilt as I realize that she has probably been here since her shift. 

“I’m sorry for keeping you here.” I say as soon as she closes the door. She looks at me in pity before letting out a breath. 

“It’s fine.” 

 After a while, the car comes to a stop at a gas station and I wonder how far the police station is. I can’t even see any houses along the road. Apart from the gas station, it is basically empty. 

"Let me get something for a friend. I’ll be right back.” The woman says and I nod. “You can stretch your legs. Do you want anything?” She asks, looking at the direction of the tiny shop in the gas station.

“I’m fine.” I replied. She jogs towards the shop and I alight the car. Surprisingly the air is clear and I take a deep breath. The pay phone in the corner catches my eyes and I wonder if I should just call my mom and ask for help. I shake off the thought immediately. Even a teenager that runs from home takes at least a week before returning. I have barely lasted 24 hours. Maybe I should call Noah. I try to remember the last two digits of his number. I walk towards the pay phone and punch in the first set of numbers I can recall before I realize I don’t even have any money on me.

Footsteps behind me draw closer and I decide to swallow my shame and ask the woman for money. 

“Can you lend me a few..”

The words hang in my throat as I look at the huge man before me. He grins at me but it sends shivers down my spine.

“Hey doll.” He says and I take a few steps back only to hit a wall, a human wall. I turn around and see a smaller man staring at me. He doesn’t have the creepy grin the other man has on his face. He just glared at me.

“You’re coming with us.” He says. Before I can register what he said, a sharp pain pierce through my neck and all I see is black.