It had been a long day for Katie. This was the third day this week that she pulled a double shift at the hotel, and she was wiped out. That jerk, they had just hired had no sense of discipline, and she was tired of having to take the heat for him. She truly wished they would just fire him and look for another second shift representative.
"Have a good night Laura," Katie waved to the woman and headed out the front door.
The biggest issue she had with working into the later hours of the night was of course having to take the bus home in the dark. Her neighborhood was fine, but where she had to wait, was less than safe. It was known for thugs, drug addicts, and other inner city annoyances. Katie cautiously walked across the street, and nearly jogged to the bus stop. It was freezing, still a bit of ice on the ground, as winter was just coming to an end. She would have put her hood up, but it hindered her peripheral vision. So the hood stayed down, bunched up around her neck, hoping the fur on the collar would keep her warm enough until the bus came.
It was about five minutes in and a young man came to sit next to her. It was unusual for this hour to find much anyone out, but still not unheard of. Katie nodded at him, and moved over on the bench, to allow him to sit. He looked normal enough. Jeans (not sagging), a nice coat, decent pair of sneakers. His look soothed her nerves enough, and actually kind of made her feel safe. It was nice to not be alone out there, and she kinda hoped he would be on the same bus as her too. That too was empty at this time of day, and she often wondered about the driver, who was constantly giving her eyes.
"You know what time the bus comes?" his voice startled her, making her jump.
"About fifteen minutes or so," he only nodded to her response and turned his gaze down the street to keep watch.
Transportation finally arrived, and they both boarded. As usual it was empty, just her, the bus driver and the man. And apparently the two knew each other, she had to assume since they chatted on a first name basis. She was so tired though, and the lull of the bus nearly rocked her to sleep. Fighting to keep her eyes open, she knew it was futile. The ride would take about an hour, and she didn't foresee anyone else getting any time soon. The driver wouldn't let anything happen, he wasn't about to loose his job. And so her eyes fluttered closed.
Of course when one sleeps, they loose sense of time, and due to her over tired nature, she was lost in dreamland, nearly immediately. Perhaps a half an hour had passed, and she awakened to the bus jerking. With a panic, she nearly fell off her seat, eyes opening with a start. At first she thought they had been in an accident, but it was obvious they hadn't when she took a gander out the window. Her heart raced, and she wasn't sure to get up and check things out, or be frozen to her seat and just wait for someone to say something.
"Umm hey...what happened?" but her words acted as some sort of signal, and the interior lights flickered off.
Katie could have just about pissed herself in fear. Clutching tight to her purse, she felt the tears in her eyes already well up. She wasn't sure if they even were in any kind of grave danger, but she had always been the type to freak out before anyone else. Opening her bright blue orbs to let the air dry them, she searched through her bag for her inhaler. Since she was young, she had struggled with breathing in extreme situations. And now at 19, she still had the same problems.
Again she called out from the back, squinting her eyes to try and see where the pair had gone. Some shadow were visible, but for the most part, everything was just dark, and she was pretty sure the bus wasn't even on the right route. Now she was really beginning to panic. Katie sat frightened like a deer caught in headlights, becoming completely immobilized. She could feel her jaw clenching in fear, and her hands shake in her lap. The sudden voice, was the only thing that brought her back to the reality of the situation, otherwise she was sure she would have stayed that way, until she knew what was going on.
"Get up," the voice from over her shoulder demanded.