World Of War (Arula: Three)

Chapter 11

Two weeks earlier...

Jason watched as the scenery changed from the tow truck window. He sighed at his misfortune. First off, he was supposed to be on his way to state college for his lawyer degree, and now, his car had decided to break down in the middle of the road. And if THAT was worse, he was going to miss registration at school. Jason Owens was a typical twenty-year old man who wanted nothing more than do get through college and start his career. And if he was lucky, find that "special someone". But life happened to have different plans for him. Jason had brown fluffy hair that had blonde highlights in it. Liquid brown eyes that could go from funny to dead on serious in seconds. That's why his mother had suggested that Jason should be a lawyer. Thinking that is was a good career to go in to, he took it.

As the truck drove on, Jason came across a town sign. It read in big blocky, bright blue letters:

Welcome to
Lake Side, Georgia!

He read the words aloud without even realizing it. "Yup." The trucker said.

"Never heard of it." Jason said.

"Small town," the trucker answered. "Not many had. Though it's famous for its lake, Lake Jerome. Maybe you've of it?" Jason thought for a moment. The name did ring a bell. It wasn't long before they entered the small town and crossed over the bridge where the famous lake laid below. Jason could see fishermen fishing and couples canoeing. The lake, he had to admit, was beautiful. They took a left and drove into Lake Side's automobile repair shop.

----

"No, Mom, I'm fine." Jason said into his cell phone.

"Are you sure?" His mother asked on the other end. "Where are you?"

"In some town called Lake Side."

"Lake Side? Never heard of it."

"It's a small town. Not many had." Jason said reciting what the trucker had told him on their way to the repair shop.

"Are you sure I can't help? I don't want you to be late to your first day at college."

"Yes, Mom, I'll be fine. Look, I'll email my professors and let them know of my situation. I'll stay a nearby motel, and I'll call you when I'm settled."

"Mmm." His mother hummed uncertainly on the other end. "I don't like it. You know what happens to college kids when they get stranded at an unknown town, right?" Jason sighed.

"Mom, you really need to stop watching those C.S.I. shows. It's getting to your head." His mother growled on the other end. "All right! All right! I'll be safe... I got to go."

"Okay... I love you. And please be careful."

"I will and love you too. Okay? Bye." Jason hung up as the mechanic arrived.

"You Jason Owens?" The mechanic asked. Jason nodded.

"I am."

"Okay, here's what we're looking at," the mechanic began. "Your engine went completely out. Blew up to be exact. And we must replace it. Now, since we don't carry actual engines in our shop, we have to order it. That would take about maybe a week or so."

"A week?!" Jason exploded.

"Or so," the mechanic said unfazed by Jason's interruption. "Now, it would take maybe two or three more days to get the new engine in and making sure that everything in working condition."

"But that's nearly two weeks!" Jason said. "I don't have that kind of time! I got to get to school! Is there a rental car shop here?" The mechanic smiled widely, and he laughed.

"Hey, kid, this is a small town, not a city. Most folks here just walk everywhere. We're just lucky that we an actual car shop. No, sir, we don't rent cars here." Jason was furious. This was not happening. How was he expected to go to school now? He thought that this would take a day or so to fix, not nearly two weeks!

"Is there at least a motel in this town?" Jason asked through gritted teeth. The mechanic scratched his stubby beard.

"Yeah, a small one a few blocks from here," he said, sticking his thumb out behind him. Jason sighed nodded.

"Thanks," he muttered and went to grabbed his luggage out from his SUV and began to walk down to the motel. Just as the mechanic said, it was few blocks down from the car repair shop. The motel was a small two-story building that was built in a ninety-degree angle. Jason looked up at the old sign that said: Lake Side Motel. Flickering his eyes to the bottom he saw a "no vacancy" sign. The "vacancy" words was lit up brightly while the "no" word was flickering off and on. Well isn't that convenient, Jason thought as he walked up the motel's office where a man sitting behind a desk. The room was hot and muggy. There was a single fan blowing more hot air than it was cold air. The man sitting at his desk has his feet up on the clutter wooden table, his eyes transfixed on the small TV sitting a few inches from his feet.

Jason could hear a sports game being played on the screen. When Jason walked up to the man, his eyes flickered up to Jason then back at his TV. "No vacancy," the man said.

"Are you serious?" Jason said, irritably.

"It's fishing season." He continued without looking at Jason. That was just his luck. First his car broke down, next he was stranded at this town for two weeks with no car rentals, and now there was no room at this dirty motel. Running a hand through his fluffy hair, Jason asked,

"is there another hotel? Anything?"

"No." The man said, then hesitated. He looked over at Jason. "Well, no more hotels, this is the only one. But look, kids like you come through all the time, college kids, most of the time on spring break. Why don't you go to the city hall's bulletin board? I'm sure there's someone who is looking for a tenet. A lot of folks here rent out rooms to make some extra cash." The man returned his attention to the TV. Letting out a frustrated breath, Jason stalked out of the office and down to city hall.

The town was huge for it being a small town and Jason wondered if the mechanic was pulling his leg about the car rental shop or not. City hall was a medium size building. It looked like the usual buildings that you see on TV shows. Jason walked up to the bulletin board that sat in the middle of the sidewalk in front of the city hall building. He saw lots of adds. Such as, babysitting, dog walks and sits, festival posters, lost and found, and a missing person. Jason took an extra-long time staring at that one.

The picture was of a young woman about Jason's age. It was a black and white picture. On the top was written in big bold letters, MISSING. At the bottom of the picture was the girl's name, description, when last seen, and a number to call if you knew something about the girl's disappearance.

Karma Windale
Age 18, red hair, green eyes,
Last seen wearing a green tee with leggings.
Last seen at home after school.
Went into the woods behind the house, never to return.
If seen or hear anything, call this number:
583-9336

Jason had to admit, the girl did look pretty. Shame, he thought and moved on to the other posts on the board. The other side was basically the same as the other. Same adds and all. Just when he was about to call it quits, Jason saw two adds, both saying the same thing: Room for rent. Smiling, he took both papers of the board, took his phone out and began to dial the first number.