Captured Witch

IV. Hiding in Plain sight, hopefully

I sat in my makeshift tent in the forest attempting to make normal looking clothes. I could use magic to make things easier, but they would find me quicker if I did that. As I hand stitched a pair of shorts out of the awful skirt I was wearing, I read out of my old journals. If I had seen this guy in the past and decided to sketch him, he must have been noteworthy.  In my journal I noted that he sat every day in a coffee shop I went to most mornings. When I walked in, he stopped what he was doing and watched me. I wasn’t unfamiliar with having eyes on me, but this was different. He wasn’t looking at me in lust, more as a data collection method. He watched how I walked, dressed, he looked at what I ordered, how I spoke, everything. I ended up finishing my assignment that time and came back to the school, so I never thought of him again. I never noted him in another journal entry. 

            I slept lightly that night. Aware of all of the sounds around me. It was so cold, but I dare not light a fire. Unlike most girls at school, I was taught wilderness survival. It was deemed necessary if I ever needed to run. I knew I needed to travel light and move quickly.

            Just before the sun broke the horizon, I stepped out of the tent and began packing. That’s when I heard the voices. I moved quietly behind some bushes and hid. There were two men, dressed in all camo and bright orange vests. They must be hunting, hopefully deer and not me.  I waited quietly for them to leave before I quickly finished packing and I started to walk. This area is heavy with foliage, lots of places to hide. I needed to get to New York City. It’s easy to hide in such a big place. The School, which is just south of Montgomery, New York is about 64 miles from the city.

I came up on a small town. I could probably find a small place to stay but I needed to disguise myself first. “Ek munu annarr maðr”. I looked at my hair, what was once a fiery red was now a platinum blonde. “I guess it worked.” I kept walking until I got to the town. “Okay, time to get some information about my surroundings”. The sign at the high school said Washingtonville. This town was old, most of these houses looked like they were colonial homes. 

            I came across a small bed and breakfast just outside of town limits. As I walked in it was all novelty items and dead animals’ heads mounted on the wall. How cozy. I rang the bell on the desk and this older woman appeared. “Yes dear?”

            “I’d like to stay here for tonight, that is if you have a vacancy.”

            “You clearly aren’t from around here sweetheart; this place is never filled. The only time we come close is graduation day. I can take your luggage up!” She walked around to hand me my key and take my luggage, only to discover that I had none. She reluctantly handed me my key. “See you for breakfast dear” 

            “Oh! I was wondering if I could actually pay now, I will probably be leaving very early in the morning.”

            I handed her my cash and walked up the stairs to my room. When I walked in it looked positively gross. The fluffy quilt, lampshades, and the wallpaper just screamed 1940’s. I checked the clock, 7 pm, great, just enough time to plan out my day tomorrow. I pulled out a map of New York and started marking my daily journey. If I averaged 8 hours a day, I could make it to New York City in 2 days. Or I could just walk a straight 19 hours. If I left at 5 am I could make it by midnight. The quicker the better. By the time I was done planning it was nearly midnight. I slumped into the bed and fell fast asleep.