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Authors: David Clarkson
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She sold her car for cash. The sale did not make much, but
when added to what she had saved from her monthly salary she was able to buy a
one way train ticket with enough left over to set her up in a hotel for a
couple of weeks whilst she planned her next move.
Adam promised to stall for as long as he
was able. She trusted him to deflect any questions pertaining to her
whereabouts and to make the necessary excuses on her behalf. Even if he did
talk, there was not a great deal he could say about her. Everything he thought
he knew about her had been a lie. With luck, she would be out of the state
before anybody even knew she was gone.
She changed trains at the first stop
outside of town. Whilst waiting for her connection she binned her contact
lenses and bought a bottle of black hair dye and some scissors, giving herself
a bespoke makeover in the station bathroom. With her freshly restored green
eyes and new dark crop she felt a lot more confident of retaining her anonymity
and the task ahead seemed less daunting. This was not the first time she had
started over and she also knew it was unlikely be the last.
Of course, it would not be easy to give
up Alex Rose. Despite the restrictions living that life had placed upon her,
she had grown fond of the pretence of normality it brought. It was nice to
blend in and not be burdened with the expectations of the world. It had also
been good to know people were not constantly whispering about her behind her
back. Most of all; it was good just not being on her own.
The latter was not a problem when she had
first taken to the road. Her grandfather destroyed almost everything she ever
held dear, but there was one thing even he could not take from her. He could
not take away her love. In finding Lucy, she had gained infinitely more than
she had lost. For the first time in her young life, she was free.
Money was not a problem to begin with. She
had savings and was able to withdraw enough to sustain them in the short term
before her account was seized and shut down. Not that having money was really
important anyway. Currency, by its very nature, only has worth relative to its
usefulness as a tradable commodity. They had everything they needed and did not
have to trade with anybody.
For those first few months it really had
been just the two of them. They travelled around a lot; never getting closer to
significant population centres other than in skirting the edges of towns. Where
it was possible to live off of the land; they did. Lucy was an expert at
catching fish and taught Emmy the finer points of living an outdoor lifestyle.
Her ability to hunt and forage for food was incredible (she had the survival
instincts of a wild animal). Then every night they would go to bed under a
blanket of stars. It was perfect and she never wanted it to end.
Unfortunately, everything comes to an
end. Circumstances soon altered and she found herself once more alone and faced
with the necessity of rejoining the real world. She tried out a few different
towns and jobs before finding one that was a comfortable fit. Even though Alex
Rose had been a lie, Emmy was going to miss her. It was the only time in her
life when she had not felt on the peripherals of society.
By now she knew the story was likely to
be all over the news. If Adam stuck to his word, people would assume that she
(or Alex rather) had gone into hiding to escape the media attention. They would
look for her, but not with any great urgency or concern. To them she was just a
small part of a much larger story. Then, when several weeks had passed, she
would be reported as a missing person. With no family, friends or ties to keep
the search going, it would eventually peter out and Alex Rose would be
forgotten forever.
***
Jimmy’s day was strictly regimented, but
the routine could be broken under exceptional circumstances. Should he
experience one of his visions the men guarding him had been instructed to allow
him to follow whatever path
when added to what she had saved from her monthly salary she was able to buy a
one way train ticket with enough left over to set her up in a hotel for a
couple of weeks whilst she planned her next move.
Adam promised to stall for as long as he
was able. She trusted him to deflect any questions pertaining to her
whereabouts and to make the necessary excuses on her behalf. Even if he did
talk, there was not a great deal he could say about her. Everything he thought
he knew about her had been a lie. With luck, she would be out of the state
before anybody even knew she was gone.
She changed trains at the first stop
outside of town. Whilst waiting for her connection she binned her contact
lenses and bought a bottle of black hair dye and some scissors, giving herself
a bespoke makeover in the station bathroom. With her freshly restored green
eyes and new dark crop she felt a lot more confident of retaining her anonymity
and the task ahead seemed less daunting. This was not the first time she had
started over and she also knew it was unlikely be the last.
Of course, it would not be easy to give
up Alex Rose. Despite the restrictions living that life had placed upon her,
she had grown fond of the pretence of normality it brought. It was nice to
blend in and not be burdened with the expectations of the world. It had also
been good to know people were not constantly whispering about her behind her
back. Most of all; it was good just not being on her own.
The latter was not a problem when she had
first taken to the road. Her grandfather destroyed almost everything she ever
held dear, but there was one thing even he could not take from her. He could
not take away her love. In finding Lucy, she had gained infinitely more than
she had lost. For the first time in her young life, she was free.
Money was not a problem to begin with. She
had savings and was able to withdraw enough to sustain them in the short term
before her account was seized and shut down. Not that having money was really
important anyway. Currency, by its very nature, only has worth relative to its
usefulness as a tradable commodity. They had everything they needed and did not
have to trade with anybody.
For those first few months it really had
been just the two of them. They travelled around a lot; never getting closer to
significant population centres other than in skirting the edges of towns. Where
it was possible to live off of the land; they did. Lucy was an expert at
catching fish and taught Emmy the finer points of living an outdoor lifestyle.
Her ability to hunt and forage for food was incredible (she had the survival
instincts of a wild animal). Then every night they would go to bed under a
blanket of stars. It was perfect and she never wanted it to end.
Unfortunately, everything comes to an
end. Circumstances soon altered and she found herself once more alone and faced
with the necessity of rejoining the real world. She tried out a few different
towns and jobs before finding one that was a comfortable fit. Even though Alex
Rose had been a lie, Emmy was going to miss her. It was the only time in her
life when she had not felt on the peripherals of society.
By now she knew the story was likely to
be all over the news. If Adam stuck to his word, people would assume that she
(or Alex rather) had gone into hiding to escape the media attention. They would
look for her, but not with any great urgency or concern. To them she was just a
small part of a much larger story. Then, when several weeks had passed, she
would be reported as a missing person. With no family, friends or ties to keep
the search going, it would eventually peter out and Alex Rose would be
forgotten forever.
***
Jimmy’s day was strictly regimented, but
the routine could be broken under exceptional circumstances. Should he
experience one of his visions the men guarding him had been instructed to allow
him to follow whatever path
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