Rage

Chapter Three

    Wearing a hoodie and sweatpants in the heat of a summer's day wasn't the best decision for Rachel, especially since all the heat would do is slow her down while she was trying to get as far away from home as possible. Beads of sweat rolled down her forehead and neck, formed from the heavy weight of her full duffel bag and the sun's rays shining down at her. She kept a consistent pace as she jogged down the isolated sidewalk, thoughts and worries buzzing in her head.

Since she originally fled her home two hours before, Rachel had managed to put about fifteen kilometers between herself and her dreaded foster sister. Although occasionally stopping to drink water from the sinks of public washrooms, she had been able to keep her route to side streets and secluded paths through forests and alleyways. She had many questions and thoughts bouncing around in her head, but one thing she knew was that if her plan were to work she needed to make sure not to be caught.

The watch on her left wrist read 1:37, it was 11:24 when she had left. Every five minutes or so, Rachel checked her watch to see how much time she had before the police were alerted about her disappearance. She had picked up the habit of checking the time on her phone frequently, but that habit transferred to her watch after she left her phone behind to ensure that she couldn't be tracked.

As she reached the peak of a steep hill on the outskirts of a shopping district, Rachel decided to take a well-needed break at the bench of a bus stop. Despite the fact that she had been keeping with a steady jog her entire trip and that she had been taking significantly few bathroom breaks, the distance gained over two hours was definitely not ideal. If she wanted to get anywhere far enough away from where people could recognize her, she needed to find a way to get there faster.

Wiping off the collected moisture from her forehead, Rachel pushed through the aches and pains in her limbs and hoisted herself off the bench. She lifted the strap of her duffel bag onto her shoulder and started on her journey again. As she walked down the deserted road on the hill, she glared up at the yellow sun perched in the cloudless sky. Her breathing grew heavy as she tried to calm the fire of rage that was beginning to build inside of her. Her eyelids pressed together to shut out any rays of the sun's light that stung her eyes.

A blue road sign at the crosswalk ahead of her pointed toward her right, showing the direction to the nearby shopping district. Rachel opened her eyes and they set upon the sign. As she read the bold white lettering, she heard her stomach begin to rumble and she realized she hadn't eaten all day. With one last adjustment of her bag strap, she crossed the street and headed in the direction of the shopping district.

There were many places Rachel could've bought food from, but none of them seemed to fit her particular taste. She understood that she needed food then and there or her anger would keep boiling inside of her, but that didn't stop her from being a picky eater. Green and yellow neon lights belonging to store signs flashed at her, barely standing out against the bright light of the summer sun.

Ultimately, the cheap option of a small fast food joint drew her in. Before entering the 'restaurant', Rachel pulled her grey hood over her head, shielding her face from any diners who could recognize her. She had only lived in that town for a couple of months, but she had already made herself known to some of her foster sister's friends which could put her at risk during her current task. She tugged her hood lower over her face, concealing her forehead and eyebrows.

The smell of grease and deep fryer oil overcame her, causing her fragile anger levels to rise. A sharp exhale escaped her lungs as she tried to ignore the disgusting smell of the fattening food she was about to be forced to eat. Rachel reached the front of the waiting line just before she was sent into a fit of madness.