#1 - Nick Webster

6. A New Beginning

            I arrived at the town shortly before sunrise. A sign on the edge of the city said, "." But that didn't really mean anything to me. I still had no idea where I was.

Let's see... I know I am by a river... I know it is night out... and I know I'm now in a small town that is super small compared to the city where Nikki and I were made. I didn't know whether it was good or bad to be in the middle of nowhere. At first, I thought... maybe it was a bad thing. There are fewer hiding places for me, less places for me to get lost if I needed to escape, and I assumed probably had less opportunity to find food and shelter. On the other hand, it could be easier to find people willing to help me, but at this point, I haven't met anyone who is willing to help me out.

I walked down a road in the town. I thought for a few moments. If I wait and try to get some sleep while there's still darkness, I risk being caught. People will likely be coming for me. I don't know if they are going to believe that I had died in the helicopter, but I don't think I should risk it. On the other hand, I need sleep and food right now. I don't know how much more stress my body could take. I could try to travel somewhere when it was light out again, but that might risk having my assailants find me. It was a tough decision, but I had to start making these decisions on my own. Nikki wasn't here right now, so I needed to come up with a plan.

I was in the middle of nowhere. There was no telling how far the next city was. This "city" offered very little. If I try to take a car or something like that just like Nikki would, I risk being caught by either the police or the owner of the vehicle. I don't even know how to operate one of those things anyway. If I stay in the town, I also risk being caught by someone who lives here. I had to decide fast because the sun was coming up soon. I could tell that the sky was getting lighter with every passing minute.

I decided to get some sleep. I was tired, and I could observe what happened during the day to better plan for a successful escape. I only needed to find a place to stay and sleep.

I wandered around and eventually found a small crack below a porch at someone's house. It would be dark, quiet, and I don't think I would get caught. This is going to my home for now, I guess. With that, I laid down on the cold ground and fell asleep for what little time remained in the night.

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I woke up sometime in the middle of the day. I could tell because the sun was high above the ground. The porch was still cold, but I could feel some of the sunlight sneaking into where I was. It felt warm. I wanted to feel more of it, but I knew I couldn't until I understood these people's routines. I was going to be an unfamiliar face in a small town. I'm not sure how receptive these people were to new people, and I didn't want to find out the hard way either. I just wasn't willing to risk it yet.

I didn't eat the entire first day I was there. I just waited, listened, and watched for whoever lived in this small town. I think there was only one person who lived in the house that I lived under. After several hours of waiting throughout the day, the person arrived home in her car. She was an older lady, but she was the only one that came in or out of the house. I wasn't here for weeks or months or anything, but it seemed like she lived a pretty quiet life.

When the nighttime came, I decided to go hunting for food. I was very fortunate that there were a couple of apple trees a few houses down. They were very sweet, juicy, and delicious but small. A few of them had a really bad taste. It didn't matter, though. They were all better than starving. After eating five apples, I was worried that whoever owned them might know how many apples they originally had. I should be careful about how much food I eat in the same spot. I didn't want anyone to get suspicious that someone was stealing their food. But I was so hungry...