Memory Lost

Memory Lost - Chapter 1

As they pulled into the gas station, the bus driver had warned everyone to stretch their legs quickly and get back on. They only had five minutes.

Jane climbed off the bus hoping to run to the bathroom quickly. With her shy bladder, she always found it difficult to use the bathrooms at the back of travel buses. This forced her to wait or find a secluded private bathroom.

She had gotten the key with the outlandishly large key ring charm from the service attendant and fumbled her way into the bathroom. The key was almost rendered inoperable by the huge log attached to it. Really? Were they serious? She had no desire to steal their key; the bathroom was atrocious.

She did her business, touching as little as possible and scrubbed her hands vigorously, finishing by flushing the toilet with her foot.  The floor was slick where she stood on one leg and she quickly grabbed at the wall to steady herself while pulling her flushing foot to the floor. She was able to maintain her balance without needing to touch the grimy wall but her awkward twisting had caused her wallet to slip out of her pocket. She watched helplessly as it dropped into the toilet and flew down the pipes at warp speed.

So much for traveling light! Her miniscule cash/ID holder was just small enough to swish away in the blink of an eye. Ok, not a big deal; no need to panic. She would order a new ID when she returned to school and she hadn’t had much money on her.

Now to get back on the bus or she would have real problems. She grabbed the doorknob and twisted hearing a strange crunch as the doorknob became loose in her hand. She stared at the knob in her hand. This wasn’t happening!

She tried in vain to place the doorknob over the former inside pieces still attached to the door, but nothing worked. It wouldn’t reattach! Okay, now it was panic time!

Simon was pulling into the gas station as the bus was pulling out. He turned to glare at the bus driver and passengers, annoyed that they hogged the road of the town they were visiting. They should just leave and stay out of HIS town! Simon was so focused on transmitting his hatred toward the bus and not on where he was going that he ran right into the curb.

In her despair, Jane gave the door a frustrated kick and was shocked when it flew open. Her panic quickly returned when she realized that the opened door now revealed her bus leaving without her.

Sans thought, she leaped off the sidewalk surrounding the gas station, into the parking lot, in pursuit of her bus.

Simon didn’t realize that he hadn’t hit the curb until he climbed out of his vehicle and discovered the young woman sprawled in front of his car. The woman was lying on the ground with blood seeping from a gash in her forehead, not responsive but definitely breathing.

He quickly looked around and was relieved that the gas station was nearly empty. He knew from experience that no one inside could see him around the side of the building.

He opened the driver’s side back seat door and tossed her in, closing the door behind her. He soared into the front seat deciding that “taking a leak” could wait.

The drive home took forever as he contemplated the fun he could have with the prize in the back seat. Today could be the day his luck turned around.