Alive

Chapter 19: Safe Haven

I woke up with the sun stinging my eyes, blazing through my windscreen. Once I'd got everything I wanted from my place I trashed it. Normally I'd enjoy such an act of chaos, appreciate the outlet for my frustrations, but that time I didn't. The only reason I'd done it was to make it seem like an average burglary, so if the police ever checked my place for signs I'd been back, they'd put the missing items down to an amateur thief, and not me.

I didn't take all of my clothes, as that would arouse suspicion within any investigator examining the scene. I just took a few of my checked shirts and novelty t-shirts, 2 pairs of black jeans and a pair of denim shorts, and then I spread the remaining garments of clothing between drawers and my wardrobe. All of my jewellery made its way into my bag; it held no sentimental value, but it held value non the less. I planned to sell it all in a pawn shop. It would provide a decent sum of cash to add to the wads already lining my rucksack.

After smashing up some furniture and emptying the contents of every cupboard onto the floor, I left, descending the fire escape I'd climbed to get in. I threw my bag into the trunk of my car and drove for almost an hour before my eyes got blurry and I pulled over. Sleeping in my car on the side of the road was a safer alternative to finding a motel. The risk of being recognised wasn't worth the comfort a bed would've offered. But I did wish I'd found a more comfortable position before falling to sleep, as my ribs were now aching from where the gear stick had been wedged between them.

My throat was dry and my head was aching. Dehydrated. I drove around for 15 minutes before finding a gas station. I went inside and bought a bottle of water and some aspirin. The TV above the cashier was turned up to a high volume and was broadcasting the local news. I heard my town mentioned on there and tried to listen to what was being said but there was another customer behind me waiting, not-so-subtly clearing her throat until I moved out of the way.

My eyes flicked up to the security camera above the door as I was walking out, and I noticed that it was a fake. The red light was on, and the wire disappeared into the wall, but the company name on the side of the casing wasn't a legitimate company. I'd done some research on how to get away with a range of crimes when I was a teenager, and the information was safely stored in my mind. Even now, 6 years later, I remembered all the tricks and tell tale signs that would help someone commit the perfect crime.

I got back in my car and took some of the aspirin, and downed the bottle of water, letting out a grunt of relief as it soothed my parched throat. An idea surfaced in my head, rapidly expanding into a plan. Pulling out of the parking lot, I made a mental note of all the entry and exit points of the building. Tonight, I would come back with a baseball bat I'd buy at a sports store, and I'd rob this place. Taking all of the money in the register and then I'd leave town, find some cheap cabin for sale in the countryside, and start my new life there. I'd have a new pool of victims to choose from and I'd lure them back to my remote home, in the middle of nowhere.

It was all going to work out. No one would know who I was out in the countryside, I'd pick a new name; maybe Ashleigh, or Jessie. I'd have enough money to live on for a while and I'd find a job, something physically active this time so I didn't get bored. I refused to sleep with one eye open any longer. This was it, I was getting out. But I wasn't running, I wasn't being driven out by fear, I was choosing to leave. I was going to find something better. A safe haven, where I could spill as much blood as I pleased.