Sian.

(Prologue)      
       
Sian looked at herself in the full length mirror fixed to the far wall of her room      
She was of slim build with dark hair that reached her waist and had a slight curl to it      
Her face was quite distictive displaying fine lines which added to her beauty and belied the traumatic life she had led      
Her make up was bold, her clients preferred her painted up      
       
It was Friday night and  she was expecting a man known to most by the name of Bug      
A nickname given due to his enormous eyes      
Bug was a regular, and a complete arsehole as far as Sian was concerned        
He was a vile, fat man and a complete pig to woman like her      
       
There was a knock at the door, Sian looked through the peep hole to see who was there      
It was Bug, he was early      
She adjusted her tight little dress and let him in      
Within minutes he was all over her      
Soon he was up to his nasty little tricks, pressing too hard, biting her breasts with his disgusting teeth      
As he continued to violate her, Sian zoned out, turning her thoughts to Louis and the deal they had made earlier out on the street…      
Tonight was the night, her bag was packed, and she had acquired certain items they needed to escape      
Bug continued to get rougher, pushing Sian’s face and slapping her across her bare backside      
He dribbled in her face as he began verbally abusing her  
His breath was hideous, almost demonic      
This was his usual routine until he reached a rather pathetic climax        
Whatever he was paying the boss, it was not enough for this kind of sadistic ordeal        
       
Tonight Bug was taking longer than usual, sweating more than he had ever before      
Suddenly he took a sharp intake of breath      
He clutched at his chest, sitting bolt up right, right across her      
Pretty soon his lips turned a kind of redish-blue, he could no longer breathe        
Sian watched him unemotionally as he slid from the bed, his heart failing him      
       
Bug hit the floor with a thud, convulsing madly        
Sian jumped up, and peering down she looked into his big ugly eyes      
She saw death in them      
Good bye fucker! she whispered into his ear      
Next she pulled some clothes from a cupboard and was out the door with her bag before Bugs life force gave up      
       
       
(1)      
                            
Buckle in…      
We’re heading out      
Beyond this area        
Away from these lights      
It’s a process starting      
Which gets him thinking        
Hold on tight!      
She screams      
Let’s leave this noise behind        
       
Change your prospective, she says      
Question your preconceptions        
Perhaps now is the time      
To break free from conventions        
Take a risk…      
Explore the unknown      
       
Who knows what’s out there..?      
She challenges… as always      
Her eyes, are much like windows      
The view is breath taking        
With her, anything seems possible        
He closes the door        
…in the hope of opening many more        
       
Passing shadows and woodland      
They disappear        
Pursuing a heavy skyline        
Chasing vast horizons        
She’s playing her part      
Quelling his inner doubts        
For now, that is enough        
… he tells himself      
       
In the distance…      
The future sits and waits      
These are the times they could not anticipate        
       
Across the windshield sweeping vistas rush to greet them      
Daylight cracks and      
atmospheres thicken, they stare wide eyed, in awe of the surrounding beauty        
       
Their hearts align for a moment, just like it could be a reality        
Innocence, his blessing…      
Blood diamonds forever in his heart        
How he loves her      
this first morning        
….of the rest of their lives      
       
Gathering pace,      
they pierce the glare        
A sideways glance        
Captures the desolation        
These are the wild places      
Gorgeously inviting to him      
…he’s so glad to be next to her      
       
 A run down settlement comes into view      
They stop for gas      
Servings of root beer and banana shakes are on sale        
Dirty hands operate the register with the efficiency of experience        
A weathered face carved by the sand …smiles        
Broken teeth wish them well      
       
They spin off, lifting the dust      
She lights a cigarette, its tip glowing against the morning sun      
Cherry lips remind him of ice cream, so soft, so sweet      
Her black hair fights the wind      
He wonders, thinking crazy things      
She pushes on      
He continues, lost  in his fantasy        
All the while scattered silence serves as a theme tune.      
       
 (2)      
       
She Looks around, so as to divert his attention      
He can’t remember the memories he often mentions      
His brain is awash      
Lost as a little child      
       
Tender words are splintering inside of her      
She’s running away from the light, so he can’t see her guilt      
She doesn’t want him to love her like this…      
Not when she’s discovered a safe haven away from here      
Somewhere she thinks of as the promised land, her land        
       
And now, he’s falling asleep        
Just as the day breaks      
She drives like a demon      
Finding every crack      
Again she screams, letting all her emotion out      
He stays asleep, oblivious to her outpouring        
       
His dreams are falling from grace      
As she pushes on into the unknown      
It's hard to think of anything other than escape      
But she’s found a place where she might actually find the real her      
It could be just a pipe dream, but it’s miles from her past misery        
       
They pull into a gas station      
He touches everything in sight      
Eventually they set off again      
The dust encircles them      
She lights a cigarette        
He stares, as if in a trance      
Her thinking is fractured      
       
She has to move on from this… she tells herself        
       
       
(3)      
       
Mid morning comes into full technicolour.      
       
Let the adventure begin…!      
       
       
Light cracks a blind      
As the midday sun swells      
Heat penetrates an opening…      
In the doorway stands an interesting couple      
They enter the bar      
The barman looks up, sensing their strangeness      
       
The woman takes the lead      
She asks for cold beer along with beef jerk      
Behind her, is a younger man standing awkwardly      
Their clothes are full of dust from the road      
It’s a faded look for sure…      
Together they stand, slightly tragic      
She pays with creased up notes, her open hands revealing        
manicured nails, and fingers sporting cheap dress rings        
       
A wireless whistles quietly      
The place is empty      
They find seats at the back      
They drink thirstily        
Conversation is minimal, mainly whispers      
Ceiling fans circulate what’s left of the cool air      
The barman returns to his phone      
       
More people arrive, slowly filling the bar      
Locals called Luke, Brandon  or something like that, provide some noise      
After an hour and another drink, the couple leave the bar almost unnoticed      
The heat outside is now sweltering      
They climb aboard a rusty 2002 Ford Taurus that’s truly forgettable      
As they drive away, a man looks on from the bar window      
He takes note of their licence plate      
       
Slowly, the same man pays up and also departs      
He uses the pay phone out front        
Some time later, two men arrive in a blacked out station wagon        
They talk with him at length, and after some time head        
in the same direction, all the time, one of them talking on his mobile phone      
       
Inside the bar, the air fans spin      
As they try to keep the temperature bearable      
This afternoon is going to be a hot one, says Brandon or Jimmy      
The sun glides ever so slowly westward…      
Catching the windshield of a distant car      
       
       
(4)      
                                  
Sun hits the windshield, so she grabs at the visor…        
       
5 years ago..      
       
Sian’s heart rushed      
Bursting forth into a wider expanse      
Smashing worlds      
Burning everything in its path      
She melted in the heat      
Her addiction escalating        
       
Her grip weakened…      
       
Sian was taken in      
Seduced by his sin      
Unable to hold back      
She stood not a chance      
So intoxicating was his kiss      
He overcame her easily        
Keeping her near the edge        
She often felt helpless…      
Always desperate, wanting        
to jump from her room’s balcony        
       
Losing control        
Nowhere to hide, no pushing through      
She cracked into pieces        
Like Alice in wonderland        
She fell headlong into sinking sand      
Trying to breathe became impossible        
Trapped in his hands, he squeezed her for more      
       
Sian was a slave to his rhyme, to his unrelenting brutality      
In fear, she gave him everything        
Then once done, he sold her on      
Just as a lamb heads toward slaughter …      
She was picked at and battered        
Betrayed by the arms she naively sought      
… all too soon her hope ebbed away        
The future…. so black        
       
       
12 hours ago      
       
Sian ran…        
Headlong into the night      
Scratching in dirt      
Her tears streaked        
Voices behind, cutting through darkness        
Surrounding her, racing her heart      
Faster she went, crashing through undergrowth        
Desperate…      
Not looking back        
Suddenly        
She spotted Louis        
Parked up, waiting      
Sian screamed at him      
       
They scrambled into his car, Sian taking the driver’s seat      
They were soon gone      
She drove crazily, Louis hung on for dear life      
Flashlights traced them as they raced away…..      
       
This was the night of her leaving, of her escape      
She was never going back        
She couldn’t        
In her bag she had proof of past abuse…      
She thought of it now, while driving into the darkness ahead        
       
Wow!      
       
       
(5)      
                                            
 Sometime ago …      
       
Louis found himself lost      
Stuck in a dead end town      
Without money, he had begged and borrowed        
Sometimes he stole      
This brought him to the attention of the local muscle        
He was quickly swept up by their operation        
Soon enough Louis was running for them      
Doing tricks, selling crank      
He slept most of the day and was up all night        
       
On one such night      
Louis was out and about        
Chasing payments, watching people as usual        
A girl in her late twenties caught his eye      
She was haunty, intense        
She was so amazingly beautiful to him      
Yet in her, he saw such deep sadness        
She was a working girl, her movements controlled        
Louis watched her, taken in completely        
Going near her would be risky        
Perhaps fatal for someone like him      
One look from her eyes told him he had to      
       
       
12 hours ago…      
       
Louis watched from the shadows        
He had been there for some time      
Waiting…      
…imagining how tonight would go      
He looked at his car      
It was rusty and quite honestly ugly      
Earlier, he had parked it under low hanging trees in an effort to keep it hidden      
Thank God it went better than it looked…        
For just a few miles away was the highway… not far he thought        
Then they would be free of this place        
       
The sky gradually darkened as the sun departed        
Louis paced      
It wouldn’t be long now      
Then he would have to react      
She was relying on him      
He didn’t want to let her down      
After all, a promise was a promise      
…his pulse quickened as his anxiety grew        
       
Tonight        
       
Fate would be set      
       
       
(6)      
       
 The last rays of sunshine disappeared behind the horizon as Sian pulled the Ford into a Motel parking lot      
She took a handgun from the glovebox and stuffed it into her bag      
       
They had covered a hundred and seventy five miles since noon and were in need of rest      
The two entered into the dated motel lobby      
Check-in was easy, they paid the girl behind reception and were given keys to a ground floor apartment        
The room itself was surprisingly spacious      
It had a kitchenette        
A large double bed and a small courtyard out back        
Air con was an expensive extra they hadn’t paid for and the day’s heat was hanging around annoyingly      
They dumped their stuff and then left apartment seventy seven, venturing out into the evening        
       
Across the street was a small collection of eateries and convenience shops, mixed in with other stores          
Louis headed for the Liquor store        
Meanwhile Sian studied a menu fixed on the entrance door of ‘Big Jim’s Diner’      
There were people here and there milling about…      
It was just a normal summer’s evening in a small town on the edge of the desert        
Louis returned with some booze in a brown bag and the two went in      
       
Inside the diner they ordered a couple of beers, while they waited to be seated      
The two settled into a booth and studied the varied menu        
Sian chose a burger, Louis settled for chilli      
The waitress brought over the beers along with complimentary nachos and then took their main food order        
       
The diner itself was classic 50’s styling with retro seating, mood lighting and various works of art paying homage to the automobile industry of that golden age      
Their conversation drifted between recent events and what to do next      
Escaping the clutches of her handlers had left Sian emotionally drained        
Louis could see it in her eyes      
They had run away from something you didn’t just run away from, not without consequences        
The worry of those consequences hung heavy between them        
       
The food arrived and they ate  hungrily        
Outside, street lights flickered on up and down the road      
The evening light continued to fade      
An hour later Louis and Sian wandered back to their apartment        
All was quiet, as they settled down for the night        
Louis opened the Bourbon he’d purchased and poured them both a long drink      
They sat there letting the alcohol do its thing      
There was no intimacy between them      
Louis knew full well, it would probably take some time for anything like that to happen        
       
Sian fell to sleep quite quickly        
Her mind replaying the last couple of days      
Her dreaming twisted that reality somewhat        
She awoke a couple times      
Eventually getting up for water and aspirin        
She smoked a cigarette out back on the courtyard        
Her thoughts swirling much like the smoke she exhaled        
       
Louis was snoring, it was four am, he had stayed up watching tv and was now in a deep sleep        
This was her chance to cut and run      
He had helped her, now she could continue on her own… perhaps now was the time for a different path?      
She played with this idea for a few moments, remembering the tape she had stolen before their escape      
It was insurance she told herself… just in case      
       
She was fond of Louis, but knew she had used his obsession with her to get to this point        
If she went now it would hurt him bad      
If they stayed together surely she would only be delaying the inevitable ?      
       
Louis stirred much later        
The Bourbon had certainly knocked him out      
It was now nine thirty am      
The morning sun was just visible behind the black out drapes      
Sian was not in the room      
He guessed she must be out getting some breakfast for the two of them        
He showered then dressed      
       
Once freshened up, he went into the kitchenette        
There on the work surface lay a folded note      
Louis snatched at it fearing the worst        
Seconds later he burst out of the front door onto the parking lot      
He sank to his knees, tears welling      
Sian was gone      
She’d taken everything        
The money, the car…his dreams        
       
The wind caught the dust,        
stinging his face, just as the tears he was crying were doing      
Louis stared into the distance for a long time        
       
Moments later…      
The car that was outside the bar, the day before turned into a gas station just a hundred yards away…      
From there the driver spotted        
Louis on his knees        
       
….. the girl was gone.      
       
(7)      
       
She was gone      
Louis remained on his knees      
       
Minutes later      
He was grabbed violently from behind      
Two men wrestled him back into the hotel room      
He strained his kneck to see their faces      
As he turned his head      
Everything went black as they hooded him      
His hands were then cable tied behind his back      
       
       
Sian drove fast      
She needed to forget him      
Louis would be alright she told herself      
No one had followed them there, had they?      
She speed on, chain smoking as she went      
       
Louis was manhandled onto the bed      
He felt pressure to the back of his head      
The men took it in turns to ask questions      
Where was the girl…      
Did she have the tape and      
Where was she headed?      
       
Sian was scared      
She had not really thought this far ahead      
She tried to stay calm, keep focused      
What she had decided with Louis was a no no      
From now on she had to think differently      
She was on her own      
       
Louis was beaten to the floor      
He couldn’t answer their questions      
Sian had been vague on details and he didn’t really know anything      
He reeled from a kick to the ribs, the pain taking his breath away        
He heard one of the men talking on his mobile      
       
A few more minutes passed, the man with the phone hung up      
Louis was picked up and thrown into the bathtub      
He called out and was struck heavily across his face      
There was a clicking sound as one of the men readied his handgun        
Then two muffled shots      
Blood ran down toward the taps      
Louis was gone in an instant      
       
       
(8)      
       
Suddenly there was a loud bang      
Sian hung onto the wheel, as the car lurched sideways        
The front left had given way      
She managed to keep the Ford on the tarmac just about      
       
The road was deserted as far as she could see      
As she suspected, the tyre was completely gone      
There was no spare      
Sian scanned the horizon        
She was miles from anywhere        
….she sighed deeply        
It felt like karma to her      
Payback for abandoning Louis      
       
She would have to wait it out        
Until another car came along      
She’d grab a ride, hitch from here      
The heat of the day was rising fast      
Not good        
       
Back at the motel, the two men left the apartment        
Climbed back into their station wagon and headed west        
On the edge of town was a 24hr store      
They pulled in      
The assistant was very helpful and had spotted an old Ford leaving the town in the early hours      
They followed in the same direction driving very fast        
       
Sian sat in the shade of the car for two hours, maybe more      
Several cars had passed, but they wouldn’t or couldn’t stop        
Eventually she spotted a car coming, it was about a mile away…      
       
As the car drew nearer        
A bad feeling came over her        
Something wasn’t right…      
She panicked at what to do      
There was nowhere to run      
Sian took out the handgun, placing her bag in the footwell        
She kept low behind the ford      
       
The other car pulled up      
Two men climbed out, Sian heard their voices, she thought she recognised one, although she wasn’t sure      
They moved slowly        
Coming around from each side      
Her heart raced      
The gun in her hand felt like it was made of lead      
       
Before Sian could react        
They were upon her        
She struggled, kicking out, but they easily overpowered her, snatching the gun away before she could use it      
She was pushed to the ground, quickly bound and her head covered before she could get a proper look at them        
       
One of the men threw open the trunk of the other car      
They bungled her inside,      
before returning to the Ford for the tape      
They had been instructed not to come back without it      
       
Soon, the station wagon was speeding away, back in the direction they had come      
Sian pleaded with them, screaming out wildly        
The two men were now silent, ignoring her increasing cries        
They had the girl, the tape and the boy wouldn’t be talking to no one      
Job done!      
       
Her sobs subsided as the miles passed and they drew closer to their destination        
After a couple of stops and 8 hours later, the car eventually came to a halt      
Again her heart raced uncontrollably and with it, her thoughts        
        
       
(9)      
       
Sian’s hands were untied and her head uncovered        
Bright light pierced Sian’s retinas, blurring everything      
She stumbled backwards awkwardly        
Strong hands caught her before she fell…      
They forced her to sit on a plastic chair in the middle of a windowless room      
The fluorescent light buzzed from above her      
A bottle of water was handed to her      
Sian drank fast, she was so very thirsty        
It was snatched away before she could finish it      
       
Once she regained her focus      
The reality of her situation dawned      
Sian was right back from where she had escaped from…      
Amazingly only 36 hours ago!      
Fear now accelerated into terror        
She knew this was it      
Her mind span haphazardly out of control…      
A door opened from behind where she sat      
       
Into the room entered a familiar figure        
Sweat ran the length of her neck      
She attempted to speak, but was silenced very quickly      
Emilio was a tall man      
Well groomed with jet black hair and olive skin      
His features were not that of a gentle man and he carried himself with an air of authority      
He stood before her now      
She could feel the ferocity of his stare      
Her eyes blinked rapidly        
His intimidation of her was off the scale      
       
When he spoke      
It was more of a growl      
His immaculate teeth gleaming with each word his mouth formed      
Sian listened in horror as he listed the punishments that awaited her…      
       
Emilio pulled the video tape from his jacket pocket      
He threw it to the ground      
It smashed on the hard concrete, sending shards of plastic up into the air      
He spat questions at Sian, followed by vile accusations as he circled her      
Sian was too terrified to respond      
She couldn’t think, couldn’t speak… her mouth shrank pulling her tongue tighter and tighter      
Emilio continued with his rants for over an hour      
His fury growing and growing        
By then, her face was cut and bruised where he had beaten her for not answering him      
       
Finally, Emilio turned to his men and ordered them to bind and gag her securely      
He stared into her pitiful eyes      
He promised to personally deal with her in the morning He then left the room having broken any fight she had left      
Emilio figured a night on her own would help her remember all he had done for her, how he had saved her many years ago, and of tomorrow when he was going to repay her betrayal        
       
They left her, the lights went out      
There was no more water, no food and now more than ever…      
No hope      
       
Sian had no tears left to cry      
Only blood from her swollen face fell to the floor      
       
       
(10)      
       
Duane had first come to the town about three years ago      
He had worked many times before in organised crime,      
but in this place he had moved up to a whole new level of expertise and ruthlessness      
He was now a someone…      
A person people both respected and feared      
You didn’t cross a man like Duane, not if you wanted to live      
       
Emilio trusted Duane to run the business at street level      
His main focus being the drug trade, whilst also providing protection for the girls working the clubs and bars      
He also cleaned up any loose ends that might come into conflict with Emilio’s  business interests      
       
Over the years Duane had proved his worth, showing absolute loyalty      
Always up for the fight, never afraid to get his hands dirty      
If something or someone needed dealing with….      
Duane was your man.        
       
Over past day or so he and Carlos, another employee of Emilio’s      
had tracked down Sian      
They had mercilessly ended Louis’s young life before finding her and bringing her back      
Duane and Carlos were now on hand to complete this unfortunate episode      
       
       
The two entered the room where Sian had been left the night before      
As they approached Sian, she was awake      
She sat rocking, staring into nowhere, her face swollen and bloodied      
Duane untied her hands and the two men lifted her up onto her feet      
Sian’s countenance was trance-like      
She was offered more water in an effort to snap her out of it… this did seem to work        
They walked her out of the room into a corridor,  then some way down stopped before opening another door      
They moved Sian inside, Carlos then left, closing the door gently behind him      
Duane remained, holding Sian’s arm tightly      
       
Standing before Sian and Duane were five men, Emilio among them      
Sian, now fully aware, recognised these other men….      
A Local politician, two Policemen and a prominent Doctor      
All had been clients, all had been with her and all of them had abused her over the years      
Emilio had complete influence over these men      
They were bought and paid for in every way      
       
Emilio spoke…      
Outlining how Sian had escaped from his employment, allowed a client to die and how she had stolen personal items and other evidence      
Evidence that incriminated  them all and how she, once free, planned to expose their various operations to the authorities      
       
He then went on to suggest that such betrayal should be dealt with in an appropriate way      
A way fitting for someone of her social standing      
Then men laughed wildly at this, sounding like hyenas around a carcass      
Duane was a hard man who was used to cruelty, used to torture …      
But even he, feared for Sian      
This was not what he had signed up for…. There was no honour in this      
       
The Doctor came over first      
He stripped off her filthy clothes, throwing them into a bin      
He then circled Sian, whispering obscenities      
Emilio motioned the others to join the Doctor.      
They picked Sian up, placing her on a padded table      
There were shackles attached to either side and various other items designed to hurt nearby      
They fixed her securely in place      
       
At once they began violating Sian      
Duane looked on…      
He was becoming very uneasy, his sweat was running      
Emilio yelled encouragement,      
whilst unzipping his trousers      
Sian screamed out as she was penetrated      
First, by one of the policemen and then again as the second officer joined him      
The Doctor ripped at her hair, slowly cutting it away with a scalpel      
       
The punishment continued at a frenzied rate      
Duane stood by the door lost in his thoughts as the horror slowly unfolded before him      
       
Within his thoughts Duane was torn…      
Louis had deserved what he got      
He had been a low life, a maggot feeding off others misery      
Sian, on the other hand, was a victim - little more than a slave at the mercy of fuckers such as these      
She had taken her chances and made a break for it      
He admired her courage, but knew it had been futile      
       
Emilio was now masturbating like a mad man      
The bent Politician accompanied him and they ejackulated all over Sian’s face        
The doctor held up a syringe      
Duane guessed it was heroin      
They probably wanted to heighten her senses before the next stage of brutal debauchery began      
       
Something inside Duane snapped      
In an instant he pulled out his gun      
Two shoots plastered the wall with the brains of both cops      
The Doctor hit the floor as a third shoot caught him mid chest      
Duane then fired on Emillio and the politician      
Both rounds struck them at crutch level      
They fell backwards, blood splattering everywhere, their yells joining in chorus        
       
Carlos suddenly burst through the door      
His eyes met Duane’s      
Before he could react, a bullet to the temple sent him tumbling      
Emilio writhed in agony as he gradually bled out      
       
Duane released Sian, who by now was physically broken      
       
Grabbing a blanket, he picked her up in his arms along with her clothes from the bin and carried her out to his car        
Everyone else in the room was dead or as good as      
Duane could hear shouts and screams as people rushed to the bloody scene        
       
The car roared into life and they skidded off      
Duane couldn’t think      
…. Couldn’t believe what had  just happened      
Fuck, Fuck, Fuck      
       
Sian fell unconscious as if comatosed        
Duane sped on      
They were soon passing the limits of the town, out onto the open road        
No one was following them      
       
       
(11)      
       
Duane drove on for some time before stopping at a gas station      
There was a pay phone inside, which he used to anonymously report the shootings back in town      
This would give them time to run and her a real chance of freedom        
       
He then purchased food and bottled water for himself and Sian      
She awoke when he returned to the car        
He noticed in this light just how bruised her face was      
Duane offered her the water which she gulped down        
She began to speak, but he hushed her      
Instead he spoke, telling her of his intentions        
He was going to take her as far as the border, then she would be on her own      
There would be money and food, he said, gesturing to a bag on the back seat      
It would last her a few days, after which she should be able to get her head straight        
Duane told her of a hotel he knew, where it would be safe for her and where she could begin to heal        
       
Sian stared with wild, unbelieving eyes      
She could not understand why he had helped her like this      
Duane explained how        
he couldn’t let those bastards do that to her      
He continued by adding he was an honourable man deep down and that those bastards deserved what they got period      
He turned his head, pulling the car off the forecourt, heading south…      
Completely the opposite direction she had gone with Louis two days before      
Sian grabbed a sandwich from Duane’s bag and ate in silence, mulling her thoughts        
Once eaten, she asked for a cigarette      
He took a pack from his jacket pocket      
She grabbed the pack, lit one and inhaled very deeply      
       
The road opened up further in front of them …      
Duane wondered what lay ahead for him      
Sian sank back into her seat      
She continued to smoke, relief spreading slowly throughout her body      
She was broken for sure, but hope was returning        
       
Her thoughts wandered crazily        
Louis, what had happened to him, where was he?      
She decided not to ask, afraid of the answer she might get      
       
They continued on in silence        
Duane drove all day and into the evening, turning off the main road for the last hour        
Finally they reached  the hotel      
It was run down… but as it’s location suggested      
Safe and very private      
       
Duane left her in the lobby..      
And was gone      
No goodbyes or farewells        
He drove off, not looking back      
Sian stared up the road after him….      
Lost for words…        
       
Her tears welled once again      
       
       
                (Epilogue)      
       
 3 days later…      
       
Sian climbed aboard a greyhound bus        
It was heading further south over the state border        
She took her seat, carefully looking around      
The bus itself was half full, there was no one of interest that Sian could see      
       
Hours passed by as she watched the desert turn into a greener, more lush landscape        
She was free at last, no Bug, No Emilio, no arseholes hurting her, and sadly no Louis to share this moment        
Duane had saved her, she didn’t really no why, perhaps she never would      
He had gone without really explaining his actions.. that, in the here and now was fine by her      
       
The seat in front of her had yesterday’s newspaper sitting on it      
Sian reached over and read the headlines        
The events back in the town a few days back were recorded in detail      
A gang feud was blamed and both her and Duane were mentioned as missing        
Sian smiled knowing the name they had used in connection with herself was a false name        
One she had used only while working        
The police were reportedly looking for a woman called Claudia West to help them with their investigation The supporting photo which was printed, bore little resemblance to her present look      
No loose ends then, she thought        
       
Sian took out a small mirror, her face was healing nicely        
The mirror reflected the morning sunlight into her eyes… this time it was the light of freedom      
       
Today was the start of forever