The air was different in this town —dryer, thinner, and somehow lonelier. I pulled the cap lower over my eyes and adjusted the worn hoodie clinging to my figure. My sneakers made soft scuffs against the pavement as I walked the narrow path between the bus station and the small convenience store tucked between two rundown buildings.
I hadn't reached out to Dan. Not after what happened. The sight of him being dragged and thrown aside like trash haunted me. I couldn't bear the idea that I'd be the reason something worse happened to him. So I ran. With my last coins and the terrifying fire of fear in my veins, I vanished.
Now, I was here-wherever here was. I didn't ask. I didn't want to know.
Inside the store, the buzz of the overhead lights and the soft crackle of a distant radio filled th
