To Color Your Life - Chapter 49

The sun was already down on the horizon when Emily stopped and looked around.

This place was unfamiliar to her.

Where’s she? What time is it?

She noticed a bus stop ahead with an indicating panel showing the bus schedule and time.

7 P.M. Was she outside, walking all this time?

She remembered that when Justin’s car was out of sight, she stood still for a long time, not knowing where to go. In the building of the publishing house, no one was waiting for her.

She didn’t want to go home. And she had nothing to get to home. She had no money or phone with her.

So she just started walking without thinking about the ultimate goal.

The first hour was hard. She wanted to sit down in the middle of the street and cry. And not care what passers-by would think.

Three hours later, her head went blank. The intrusive thoughts finally stopped agitating her soul and left her alone.

Only in the chest, something was still burning, and it was difficult to breathe from it.

But that gradually passed away too.

Six hours later, she no longer felt or thought about anything. She just walked forward.

She turned off her consciousness and completely surrendered herself to the power of her body. Her feet were taking her forward step by step. The eyes were looking straight ahead, not focusing on the surrounding objects.

She just kept walking. Without any purpose. Without thoughts. Without feelings.

Just like a doll who pretended to be a human, but found out that she was not.

Just an empty shell. Without desires. Without hopes. Without faith.

Emily reached the bus stop and collapsed onto the bench. Ten hours of continuous walking have paid off.

She kicked off her shoes and looked down at the bleeding heels.

Even now, she felt no pain, considering how sensitive her skin was. It seemed that if you stick a knife in her chest now, she won’t feel it. So, maybe grimace a little.

Emily kicked her shoes to the side, then pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.

Hmm, a strange pose for an almost thirty-year-old lady (the fact which her grandmother does not forget to remind). And what’s the point in arguing that you’re only twenty-seven?

Someone is already dead at twenty-seven, just pretending to live.

What kind of area it was, she had no idea. The thing is, she did not know the city well and she always had problems with navigation.

So Emily didn’t even bother trying to figure out where she was.

There were no people around. The nearest bus, judging by the timetable on the scoreboard, will arrive at least in an hour. This is even for the best.

She dropped her head to her knees, closed her eyes, and listened to the wind.

At first it was still warm, but gradually it got cooler. The trills of grasshoppers were added to its timid touches.

It’s amazing, and how come the grasshoppers appeared in the metropolis? They should have run away from this hustle and bustle long ago. Who should sing songs if people are so busy fulfilling their ambitions that they won’t even hear them?

Emily opened her eyes. Lamps on the lampposts were flickering dimly. Dusk enveloped everything around, leaving only a small space untouched near the bus stop.

The bus never arrived.

The girl turned her head the other way and stared at the road. Still, you have to get home somehow. Call grandma, calm her down so she doesn’t worry. She certainly called at three o’clock.

I wonder if he called too? Hmm, highly unlikely.

Evans made it clear in the morning that he had better things to do.

Emily dropped her stiff knees and straightened her skirt. She looked at her shoes. Putting her shoes on again would be torture.

Hmm, nice, Hayes. Look where the wind has brought you. Well, at least you didn’t end up in Narnia. Getting home from there would be more problematic.

The growing rumble of engines strained the girl.

Belatedly, her brain realized that she could have much more serious problems than peeled heels and lack of money for the trip back home.

A few seconds later, a crowd of bikers turned around a bend. Twenty people on huge motorcycles in dark leather jackets and helmets. Such people are usually shown in films as hardened troublemakers, bad to the bones, just like it was sung in a famous song.

They drove forward in an even line and stopped in front of the bus stop at a traffic light.

Lord, why did they decide to follow the road rules now? Just go ahead, to hell with the red light! Anyway, no one is around to notice it if you break the “rules”!

Okay, there is one lady with bare feet who would have noticed them breaking the road rules.

And, it seems, she was noticed too.

By one of the bikers for sure.

Emily tensed even more as the black motorcycle detached from its pack and smoothly moved into the outer lane.

The biker stared at the girl for a few seconds (behind a closed helmet it was not visible, but Emily’s chills were sure of that), then he parked the bike and moved in her direction.

Oh-oh, now there are definitely problems. What does he want?!

So, Hayes, pull yourself together and watch every action. You went to self-defense. One lesson.

What the hell is self-defense against twenty biker thugs?!

This one looked pretty skinny, though.

The man stopped in front of Emily and tilted his head to one side, looking at the girl. The closed glass of his helmet flashed from the light that hit it, but even the light itself decided to run away quickly.

Emily felt like the hero of a movie about alien monsters, like the Predator and the Hunter, but only she was clearly somewhere at the bottom in this food chain. Well, maybe like an ant. Or a sheep, to the most.

Or more precisely, a stupid sheep, who wandered into an unknown place due to the fact that she was offended by the shepherd! But now there is a pack of wolves in front of her and one (by the way, with a gray wolf on a leather jacket) is going to grab the first bite.

The man took off his helmet. “Miss Hayes?”

Emily stared open-mouthed at the biker as her brain added two plus two. At the moment it seemed like a task from calculus.. “Mr. Barkens?!”