By now, deep, black clouds had rolled in from the West coast, and were beginning to shed their load over the countryside. The girl's collar was turned up against the wind, and her coat was buttoned up against the rain. She had given up on the trains; she was sure people would start to get suspicious. And besides, she didn't have a lot of change left. And so, she trudged on, alone, across the fields, towards the border.
Not that being in England would make any difference to her situation. It was simply that her destination lay close to Chester.
As she lay, half asleep, under a crude canvas shelter, the girl's mind began to wander. Her thoughts lost their purposes of planning ahead. They took control of themselves. They drifted into her past. Into the dark, murky depths of her memory. To the exact point which she had tried to keep stowed away.
If her eyes had seemed deep before, then now, they were like black portals to another time.
She thought for a long time, but as far as she could tell, she didn't think about a lot. Her thoughts seemed to have no sound, but were dominated quick, dull, violent images, and exaggerated feelings which made her fingers curl in pain. The way the blade had shuddered; the odd, sudden shock of the bullet. It didn't seem to make sense, she wasn't really sure how - or why - it had happened. And it was as she thought, that she drifted into a state of deep sleep, for she was truly exhausted.
When she awoke, the clouds seemed to have lost some of their menace, and were a simple sea of grey which washed almost unnoticeably across the sky. She noticed that the shadows were quite long, and that a biting wind was cutting into her shelter.
She felt different, perhaps because it was the first time she had properly slept for some time. The first time she had slept since it had all happened. Whatever had caused it, though, had caused the world to seem an entirely different place. She realised for the first time what resolution she had settled upon, and what it truly meant. Yet strangely, she was not worried.
In fact, she could not feel much.
Not that being in England would make any difference to her situation. It was simply that her destination lay close to Chester.
As she lay, half asleep, under a crude canvas shelter, the girl's mind began to wander. Her thoughts lost their purposes of planning ahead. They took control of themselves. They drifted into her past. Into the dark, murky depths of her memory. To the exact point which she had tried to keep stowed away.
If her eyes had seemed deep before, then now, they were like black portals to another time.
She thought for a long time, but as far as she could tell, she didn't think about a lot. Her thoughts seemed to have no sound, but were dominated quick, dull, violent images, and exaggerated feelings which made her fingers curl in pain. The way the blade had shuddered; the odd, sudden shock of the bullet. It didn't seem to make sense, she wasn't really sure how - or why - it had happened. And it was as she thought, that she drifted into a state of deep sleep, for she was truly exhausted.
When she awoke, the clouds seemed to have lost some of their menace, and were a simple sea of grey which washed almost unnoticeably across the sky. She noticed that the shadows were quite long, and that a biting wind was cutting into her shelter.
She felt different, perhaps because it was the first time she had properly slept for some time. The first time she had slept since it had all happened. Whatever had caused it, though, had caused the world to seem an entirely different place. She realised for the first time what resolution she had settled upon, and what it truly meant. Yet strangely, she was not worried.
In fact, she could not feel much.