Villainess

3.2

'You are an absolute idiot. If I had a physical form, I would facepalm.'

"Gah, shut it!" Lorraine seethes out loud, looking at the body before her. "Y'know that I didn't mean to knock him unconscious-"

'He's not unconscious. He's dead.'

"Damn it!" 

She runs her shaky fingers over her dress, attempting to stop them from trembling. "I can't just walk away from this, can I?"

'Well, you can. Duh. But you'll get arrested if you aren't smart about it.'

Lorraine winces. "Yeah, I figure... okay, 008, you'll need to help me out for once."

'And how do you want me to do that? You'll need to phrase it carefully or else points will be charged.' 

That's whack, but knowing how Corporate is... hmm... since 008 can give out basic information about this world, then perhaps...

"Can you give me the opening times of the nearest establishments in a 20-mile radius? Oh, and what time is it?" 

'With pleasure.'

A light blue screen floated in front of Lorraine, glowing dimly. 

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Current Time: 02:19

Polancha Gas Station: Open 24/7. One attendant during the night shift. (22:00-08:00). Fun fact: night attendants steal money from the cash register regularly. Distance: 0 mi.

Queen Motel: Open 24/7. One concierge mans the desk. Usually sleeps during this time. (0:00-06:00). Fun fact: the concierge is sleeping with the head janitor. Distance: 0.009467 mi.

Yernicke County Police: Open 24/7. Two officers on duty during the 'Shit Shift.' (02:00-09:00). Fun fact: the officers only stop by Polancha after their shift for donuts.

Yernicke Bus Stop: Runs every 3 hours (00:00, 03:00, 06:00, and so forth). The 3:00 AM/PM bus goes as far as Starsan, which is 10 hours Northbound.

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Lorraine grimaces. "Seems like my choice is obvious," she mutters. 

The murderess turns to the cash register, seeing the key jammed in the keyhole. "Perfect."

Hastily, she lugs the cash register open, shoving as much cash as she can in her purse, further wrinkling the grubby money that reeked of cigar smoke and wasted potential.

Slowly, Lorraine tiptoes over the body as to not get any DNA on her shoes... wait...

Shit.

'008, are security cameras a thing in this world...?

'Yes, but they're fairly new, so a small place like Yernicke won't have any for a long time,' 008 responds, and Lorraine can't help but give a little fist pump.

Lorraine patrols the aisle, quickly grabbing a cheap toothbrush, the last tube of toothpaste on the shelf, a bottle of water, and a god-knows-how-old donut, shoving them all in her bag.

"I don't know why I didn't grab these earlier, I'm famished," she mutters, walking calmly out of the store. As Lorraine crosses the gravelly street, she feels her cheap heels wobble, and she reaches in her bag for her keys. 

"008, how far is the bus stop?" she asks, approaching her door with keys in hand.

'.07 miles,' the system responds. Lorraine jams the keys in the door, jiggling it open before re-entering. 

Now that she could see the room with fresh eyes, she realized how all this woman had in the world were the track marks on her arm and the heinously ugly scarf that was on her head. Plus, it smelled like someone died in this room.

Well, technically, Lorraine was dead for a bit, but that's not important.

"I honestly don't know if I have anything to grab..." Lorraine muses. For a moment, she hesitates if it's worth it to scavenge the room, before she tosses the keys on the bed and closes the door behind her. She had already seen her I.D in her purse, and there wouldn't be enough time to clean up her DNA in the room.

'Which way to the bus stop?'

'Just go right and continue up the road for a bit,' 008 informs. 'Be wary: it's nighttime in the middle of a desert. While it's pretty flat, the light of the gas station can only be so bright.'

Lorraine gives a brief nod, setting her sights on the horizon.

"I've got a long way to go."

=

A/N:

Hello everyone! Pardon my long hiatus for this story. During quarantine, I had such a writer's block, and since I started university this year, I've had a hard time trying to find time to write. While I don't plan on having a consistent upload schedule for a while, I wanted to give you all a chapter :) please stay healthy during these times!