Soul Cycle

Chapter 3

The road trip through the roads of Oklahoma was like any other, entering the state and using familiar roads and streets to get to his one and only destination whenever he visited the panhandle state. These trips could take any amount of time depending on where he was coming from, but once he got in, he knew where he was going and he could estimate how long it would take him to arrive at his destination. And luckily, this trip was much shorter, for he was only coming from a state over.

Lestav was homeless… Well, not exactly. He just didn't have a designated home. He traveled throughout the country too often and never considered settling down in any formal home. But Oklahoma could be considered his state of residence. For every hunt, he left from here, and came back to a small abandoned warehouse, far off from any main roads or towns. It was stuck in the middle of a desolate forest, the road leading to it being hidden off by overgrown grass and plants. It was the ideal spot for Lestav to camp out and store all of his resources and weapons without the worry of being found or caught.

Cold wind was sucked in by the driver's seat window, blowing around and kicking up Lestav's long messy hair. He inhaled the crisp air, enjoying the feeling of it against his burning throat. It danced and poked at his skin, causing small goosebumps to form on his rough skin. The air and atmosphere here wasn't exactly his favorite. It wasn't as dry or thin as he wished, like Colorado, or as cold and desolate as Minnesota. But it wasn't as unbearable as the mugginess of Florida or the heat of Texas or Arizona. And he could certainly make do without the weather or tornados, but he had grown accustomed to it, and after spending a lot of time there, he learned to like it.

It was easy to lose track of time when you were on the road for hours, or without a map, where you were. But when you traveled to a particular spot over and over, you learned to know exactly where you were as you heard it. The mind starts to memorize certain landmarks and even turns. And Lestav's mind worked just as well at memorizing. He knew exactly where he was and how long it would take him to get to the warehouse once the road turned to gravel, then gravel turned into the uneven landscape of the forest floor. The road narrowed as trees closed in, Lestav having to slow the car to avoid damaging anything. Not that Lestav was all that concerned about damaging or scratching his car. He didn't care about the looks, just efficiency. But getting the car totaled or destroyed would be a major problem considering how many weapons he had stored in a hidden compartment in the back.

It was late at night when he arrived at the warehouse. Hopping out of the car as he stopped at the entrance, he unlocked the warehouse’s garage door, parked his car, then shut it behind him. Hiding his car inside wasn't exactly necessary, considering how far out in the forest he was, but Lestav did not take any risks, and he was willing to go out of his way to take those extra precautions. Even if he didn't need to put in the extra work for small things created in his mind because of paranoia, he found himself doing it no matter what situation he was in, dangerous or not.

Lestav stepped out from his car, turning to the back seat to grab his duffle bag. He left the backseat door wide open, for the purpose that he knew he would come back to it later to lay down and sleep.

The atmosphere of the inside of the warehouse wasn't much different from outside. It was just as cold, more so on the smooth concrete floors that seems to emanate more chill than the ground outside. And it was a mess. The walls were poorly constructed with wavy aluminum walls, the insulation poking out at the cracks and holes in them. The slanted sable roof was better, it had a few holes from years of erosion. Any plumbing or electrical work that may have been there when the warehouse was made was now years out of date. There were boxes and random stains on the floor, in the corner, a few tall, metal storage cabinets that were full of extra supplies. It was not anywhere close to perfect, it wasn't even a reasonable place to live, but Lestav didn't live here. He didn't consider this place to be his home. Or anywhere for that fact. This was his base of operations. He usually tends to stay here for five days at most before moving onto his next lead.