Noon.
Why did it have to be noon?
It could have been any time, but it had to be noon.
Of course; it was ironic.
Noon meant full sun. Noon meant she shouldn’t go outside, but she had chosen to.
They wouldn’t forgive her, nor could they. Who would forgive a criminal like her? Petty theft was one thing, a forgivable thing. In fact, most of the other convicts were just there because they took something from the compound. If she had only stolen something.
What she did was far worse than any theft.
The governor of their compound was dead. And she looked guilty.
Thalia hadn’t actually done anything wrong, per se, just been in the wrong place at the wrong time. The email couldn’t be traced. But that didn’t mean it couldn’t be found. If someone found the email on Iris’s computer…
Thalia shook her head. She couldn’t think about it. Her flight was leaving soon. America, the land of the free, home of the brave. It was waiting for her. Thalia was neither free nor brave; the memory of her escape still fresh on her mind.
A horn outside shook her out of her thoughts. Thalia gathered her bags and prepared to walk to her gate. The airport this late at night, nearly morning, was an entirely different world. Nearly no one was around, and the few who were were either asleep or getting there. Everything was quiet, except for the occasional announcement and the hum of vending machines. The silence reminded Thalia of that fateful morning when she left her family back in Kansas. Her mother, sister, and father were standing in the doorway watching her cherry red volkswagen van pull out of the driveway, leaving everything she knew behind.
Walking up to board her plane, Thalia barely glanced at the woman scanning her ticket. Neither one talked to the other other than a “have a nice flight” and a nod in return. The flight attendants, however, did want to talk, choosing Thalia to engage in conversation with on the nearly empty plane. Thalia was less chatty in fear that they would bring up the fire and then recognize her face from the news. But after the plane took off and no one mentioned the university tragedy, she realized that no one knew. Relieved, Thalia fell asleep for the first time in nearly two days.
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Waking to the plane landing, Thalia blinked away the sleep in her eyes.
She gathered her bags and traveled over to her next flight, boarding the plane to Dallas. This plane had many more people, and consequently more noise, so resting was not an option. The passenger next to her was clearly in a good mood. Anyone walking by could tell from the bright smile on his face and equally vibrant hair. Thalia’s travel companion turned to her.
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“Afternoon! Ain’t it a lov’ly day for flyin’? Can’t wait to get back t’ Texas. Been gone a while and miss my fam’ly. Well shoot, I didn’ even intr’duce myself. I’m Jack, a student studyin’ up in Ir’land. But obv’sly I’m a Texan through and through. My lil’ sister ain’t though. She was born up in good ol’ Arkansas when we were visit’n with some friends of ours. Ev’ryone else was born in Houst’n like me. ‘Nuff ‘bout me, though. Where’re you from? You look south’rn, maybe Okl’homa?”
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