The Lost ...

... Novel

‘Josephine! Josephine!’, the piercing cry shattered the darkness. Somewhere a light flashed on, so bright she thought it would blind her. A car door slammed. Running feet dashed on the surface of the road.
Josephine clutched her hands to her head and felt the wetness of her hair; not knowing if it was rain or blood. She slumped onto the pavement. She was so close to home – so close to her own front door – and yet she knew she would never make it. Light flashed briefly on the wing mirror of the car, she couldn’t see herself in it, just a world of darkness and rain.
The woman had stopped screaming, but she was still there. Josephine sensed her in the darkness.
Sitting on the pavement, her head span and her eyes watered. Tears, or just a reaction to the blow on her head? She wasn’t sure.
Slowly, Josephine stood up. She put her hands out and touched a nearby wall to steady herself. Painfully, she began to walk away.
In the darkness, she failed to notice that the woman in the white car was following her.
***
Josephine prepared for bed in the expensive hotel room that she hadn’t paid for. Mirrors shone, the carpet was thick and soft beneath her feet, the bed was huge and gently cushioned her when she sat on it. In the bathroom she had found every lotion and oil she could think of to perfume her bath. She was a bit confused about who had paid for the room. But she decided not to worry about that now.
She lay down on the bed and stretched out. Her limbs felt limp and heavy; tired from all the walking she had done earlier that day. The coffee she had made for herself went cold on the bedside table. She wasn’t properly asleep and yet she wasn’t fully awake. The scent of the bath oil which had relaxed her body now soothed her mind.
Thoughts of the last few days muddled in her brain, as disconnected fragments whizzed past each other. Trying to pin them down made her dizzy. Randomly her ears caught what was happening on the television screen high in the corner of the room. News bulletins, canned laughter, advertising jingles.
Her mind drifted, swooped and went blank. The television screen flickered all night.

SmudgeWatch - I think the eye's going to beat us. Very sad.