The In-between

Prologue

PROLOGUE

November 4, 2015

Katie crouched beside the dumpster, her dark hair hung limp around her face. She knew she must cut it, she was too recognizable. Her picture had been on the television in the diner earlier that evening.

One man, fidgety, plump and sweaty, had looked at her, then the photo, then back again several times. She could see him connecting the dots and so she ran.

She fled into the streets and into the grimy alleyway nearby.
She stopped once her legs started to burn and her breath became ragged. She heard the sirens minutes later.
Katie waited until the sounds of civilization lowered to a dull murmur, the sure sign that the world was packing it in for the night. Only then did she finally relax, or tried to relax the best she could while leaning against a cold, foul smelling, metal dumpster.

Once she closed her eyes, she finally realised how hopeless she really was. It was never safe, not anymore, although it never really was to begin with.

"Why, 'ello there,"

Katie peeked beneath the waterfall of her hair and spotted a young girl across the alley. "Hi,"

"I think I've seen ya before..." the young girl came closer.

"No, I don't believe we've met,"

"Ah, you're that one on all the TV's. Ya know, all them Police wanna lock ya up and throw 'way the key," the girl smiled proudly.

"I can certainly understand that,"

"What ya do?"

"I've done some terrible things,"

The girl sat down beside Katie, "I done some bad things too, but like my mama says, forgive yourself before expectin' forgiveness."

"Your mother seems wise," Katie whispered.

"She very much was, until she got murdered,"

"What?"

"That's what I said Katie," the young girl smiled. "They say Daddy chopped her up into little pieces and hid her in the walls, is that true?"

"I don't know what you're talking about,"

"And little Katie will keep any of her Daddy's dirty secrets,"

"You don't get it! You don't understand!"

"Tick tock Katie, times runnin' out. Wish you would learn from your mistakes," The girl giggled and fell down beside Katie, her inky hair spilled like oil around her pale face.

The young girl jumped up, "You've got to pay Katie!" The girl smiled as she wrapped her small hands around Katie's neck, "You've gotta pay for all your sins!"

Katie bolted up, her chest was heaving and she was shaking from head to toe. Just a dream, it's not real she thought.

Katie rolled over on the hard pavement and tried to rub out the kink in her neck. The shadows in the filthy alley were stretched out casting an eerie glow.

Then Katie started laughing, the uncontrollable giggles of a woman that's give up. I should have learned from my mistakes, I really should have.

She thought of the time when things weren't necessarily good but not necessarily bad either, a time when the fear just started forming, a time when she was given so many choices and yet she somehow choose the worst option every time.

That is when I should have learned, that is when I should have fixed my messed up life.