As she realized that it was the exact room she had slept in the night before she let out a sigh of discontentment. After the third time Katharine once again fell into unconsciousness. When she awoke, it was dark. She had no idea what time it was, but she didn’t care. The cold desert air hit her face like a swift punch. She coughed twice and looked around at her surroundings. Frowning miserably, Katharine dashed out of the abandoned courtyard. She didn’t looked around as she entered the waiting room and quickly exited out the door on the other side. The wind in the courtyard was nothing compared to the air that was in the open. It was a chilly fifty degrees, and it stung her entire body.
For the first time Katharine touched her aching back. It felt hard and leathery. She knew from her short nursing days that she had second degree burns. It wasn’t the end of the world, but it was extremely painful as it healed. She couldn’t see the city in front of her do to that fact that there were no lights whatsoever. A feeling of enclosure and solitude fell upon her, and once again in her life she was alone. Exhausted with her back to the wall, Katharine slouched down.
She looked at the stars before she broke down crying; that night she cried her self to sleep. Katharine had done this many times in her short life, and she was tired of it, but nonetheless she did it. The sleep she received that night would be the most peaceful she would get in along time. Tragically, the horrible stuff in her life was nothing compared to what was about to happen to her. Her past was horrible, but then again that’s why they chose her for their task. This task that someone had to do; they chose the next weak-minded person that rode into their lonely town. Katharine was the unlucky one that had come next.
Katharine awoke the next morning as the sun peeked its massive yellow head out of east horizon. At first it was a magnificent gold, but as it rose further into the early morning sky it grew into pale yellow that blinded you if you stared at too long.
She watched as the small town of less then 200 people awoke and started their morning tasks. The children prepared their backpacks for school while their mothers prepared lunches. Katharine watch the whole morning with interest before anyone noticed her. The person that noticed her was a small schoolgirl who was about seven or eight years old. She past without a word, but smiled a massive smile in Katharine’s direction. Katharine couldn’t hold it back. She smiled back as the little girl passed. For the first time in along time, she was filled with happiness. Shortly after this happened, the owner of the motel walked out of the front door. Right as he appeared the happiness in Katharine escaped. Surprised, he looked down at the place where Katharine was sitting with her back still to the hard wall. He commented, “Did you sleep out here? Are you crazy? You where just in a massive wreck!”
“I slept fine where I wanted to sleep!” She snapped back.
“For crying out loud Katharine! You got second degree burns all over your back!” Katharine didn’t answer him and looked off into the direction of some small mountains that lined the east horizon. She wasn’t able to see them earlier do to the fact that the sun was too bright to look in that direction. The sun was now high enough that the mountains where illuminated with large amounts of light. It wasn’t the mountains that caught Katharine’s eyes, it was the bright flashes of light that lit them up even brighter then the sun could. The flashes where five or so seconds apart and they only lasted a second or two. It took the manager a couple of seconds before he caught Katharine’s gaze. A look of discomfort and worry spread across his face.
She first noticed the strange look on his face when she turned to ask him if he knew what they were. As if knowing what she was going to say, he nodded his head as if to say ‘no’, but Katharine knew better then that. The look that was on his face gave away something that she wasn’t aware of. His facial appearance gave her the same felling as his creepy grin he had given her the other night. Unfortunately he didn’t hold it vary long and he smiled once again.
The smile was warm and happy, but it had an artificial glaze to it. Katharine knew he was hiding something. She didn’t know what it was, but she was determined to find out. She would find out even if it were the hard way. And she would soon find out that she really didn’t want to know. The truth was going to hurt. And now not even she could stop it.
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