Always Running (MATURE CONTENT)

CHAPTER 2

TWO. It had been two weeks since she had gotten away...again. Two long weeks of living in different motels that weren't that bad and weren't that great either. She still had to find a job and figure out a way to get in touch with Connie and ask her what had happened or at least warn her and tell her that she had changed places yet again. She would have to travel more than two states that time just in case. She trusted her sister, although not completely. She hadn't trusted anyone for seven years and her sister had some of her trust, not all. Something always told her not to trust Connie with her location and she never had, which made what happened all that more mysterious to her. She hated to play devil's advocate. Life was so cruel that anything was possible when it came to her life, including the betrayal of her sister.

PAPERS. She would need new identification with her new name. She would become Nessa Foster that time. She had thought of it on the bus ride. Foster was a well-known name that would not call any extra attention to her, and Nessa was short for Vanessa, which she liked a lot. The only good thing about her life was that she got to pick her name and she got to travel a lot. She became a new person each time and she could pretend for a little while that she was normal.

Nessa laughed in her throat at her dark humor. She placed all the things she would need to create her fake ID on the round table that stood in front of the window at the motel. The morning had started off without a hitch making her less uneasy. First, she took her old ID and placed it on the scanner and scanned both sides, then she opened the scan in her editing program and proceeded to change her name and address. Ah, her address, now that would be a toughie, she would have to pick a place that was not so high end and not so other side of the tracks either. Not being familiar with the place she was in did pose a very grave problem. Her wits were not about her that morning, which only went to show her that she was still frazzled from the recent events. She had to get a grip and she had to do it quick.

Nessa encrypted her files and locked her laptop and turned it off placing it in her shoulder bag. The small scanner also went in there protected by the clothes she had. She gave the room a once over making sure nothing was left behind and left leaving the key card at the front desk. She never stayed in the same motel room twice, it was a safety precaution.

Walking the streets of Harbor City was pleasant enough. It wasn't too cold, and it was sunny making the weather very agreeable. The people loitering the streets looked friendly enough, although one thing Nessa had learned was that looks were always deceiving. Nothing was as it seemed. Nothing.

She walked to the nearest bus stop and waited under the protective canopy for the next bus. The best way to get familiar with the city was to get on the bus and ride it from one stop to the last and then get on another bus route and ride it to the end and keep riding all the bus routes until a complete tour of the city had been done for a minimal amount of money.

As the bus approached, Nessa got out the change from her pocket and waited. She was always the last one on just in case.

The doors opened and the people that waited with her began to file in. First, a young woman who was about seven or eight months pregnant and looking like she was about to die or kill someone got on, then a man with a denim uniform with reflector straps around his ankles and knees as well as his arms and the logo Marv's Hardware on his left breast pocket got on, then Nessa got on and paid the dollar twenty-five and took the seat closest to the front of the bus. She never sat in the middle or the back. The front gave her the best view of who was getting on and what was going on.

Just as the bus was about to close the doors a hand in a tailored suit came through blocking them. "Hold on."

Nessa watched a man in his mid-thirties step onto the bus. His raven hair perfectly in place and his suit was not store bought. All things that made her very suspicious, nevertheless she remained calm.