Safe Haven

Zaria

Waking up from her dream, Justice saw that she arrived at Zaria, being so far from the town of Zerual made her feel at ease. Away from the gloominess, away from the sullenness, away from the monotonic gray. It's like
I'm describing myself.

Patiently waiting for the bus to stop she opened her bag to keep her book when all of a sudden she saw something bright inside her bag that caught her eye. Pulling the item out, she saw that it was the blank paper that her mother said not to throw away.

It's glowing? No... it's burning!

Reaching her fingers to touch it, it doesn't burn me, The paper burned in words until it formed a sentence, Justice saw that it was burning itself into a letter. Putting the paper back inside her bag, she decided to investigate it later.

Once the bus completely stopped and the passengers began to exit the vehicle, she soon followed.

Exiting the bus, she saw that this town was noticeably bigger than the last one. It made Justice be on her guard when she saw that this town was twice as crowded. Justice didn't notice it herself but as she walked, every set of eyes turn to look at her.

Walking around, she found a place to stay at. Paying for her room, she went inside and settled in, this time she double checked any possible exits she could find in case the same thing happens again. She found an exit in the bathroom. It was a small window but by the looks of it she can fit through.

Feeling assured, she took her money and her phone and went out to buy food and possibly a weapon to defend herself. Justice was thirty feet away from the motel she stayed at when she located a small market.

Walking towards it, she plans to buy herself food that will last her for at least three days. Picking up various types of fruit, and told the saleslady that it will be her only purchase.

The woman was holding up her change when she noticed that the saleslady was staring at her strangely. Justice dismissed it when she thought they were able to distinguish that she was not from their town. Walking away, she went to look for a hardware store and saw one thirty feet away as well.

Hurriedly running towards it, she crossed the street looking left and right. Once inside, she went into the knife section and picked up a Swiss army knife. She tried looking for other small weapon she could carry that can hurt someone but is also subtle enough for others to think its not a weapon.

Picking up a screwdriver and a hammer, she walked to the counter to pay for her weapons when she noticed that she recieved the same look once more. The man behind the counter was looking at her strangely, when she noticed that, Justice put her guard up even more.

Irritatedly waiting for the unbelievably slow man bagging her things, Justice saw a strange fellow walking around through the hardware store's glass window. Is that how I look to them? Maybe that's why they keep looking at me. The man finished bagging her purchase and handed her a plastic bag. She then left the hardware store and ran back to the motel. As she was running, she noticed a boy her age looking at her from across the street.

She dismissed the look thinking it was like the lady at market and the man at the hardware store. Seeing how she most likely stood out, she thought nothing of it.

She opened her room and locked the door. Justice noticed that she was still wearing her reading glasses. She went to take it off, and checked her phone for messages. She recieved one from someone she didn't want to receive from.

"Hey, Can we talk? - chase"

Justice contemplated replying to the message but in the end she chose to ignore it. Lying down on the bed, she opened her bag to reach for her book when she remembered about the burning paper. She was rummaging through her bag in a hurried fashion, desperate to read the letter.