CHAPTER 2

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P.O.V. Narrator

Madson and Jonathan were in complete silence walking through the streets of the city, the only sounds that were perceptible to the ears were the noises of the cars passing along the street and the metallic sound of the carabiners hanging from the girl's pants bumping as she walked, which made her a little embarrassed, but she just decided to pretend she wasn't listening - or that she didn't care enough even if she was.

The silence was only broken after several minutes, and several blocks, with a question from the dreadlocked boy:

- Look, I know you by sight, I've seen you other times at my work, but I'm pretty sure you went to school here in Bakersfield too, your face looks familiar...

- Yes, I studied there, I know you from there too... We studied on the same shift. - replied the girl.

In response, Jonathan just made a disgusted face combined with a fake half smile. He hated that school, he hated that city, he hated everyone who studied with him, he hated those years of torture and social humiliation, the idea of ​​being close to someone from that school and who knew him back then displeased him.

- Fortunately the high school years are over, now I can finally have a continuous vacation... and it's called unemployment. - Madison joked, looking at the boy chuckling.

- I thought you had a job, I've seen you a few times with the group of paramedics and firefighters, I thought you worked with one of them or something like that. - the young man asked in a kind of confused tone.

- These are not paid activities, it's like volunteer work in reality... - she replied - I'm part of a "search and rescue squad", we only enter the scene when a natural disaster happens, especially with missing people, or accidents with many people involved. But it's just a group with ordinary civilians, trained by the military and firefighters, we only serve to help. Anyway, at the moment I don't have any source of income...

- And why don't you stay in the same job, I don't know, maybe as a firefighter? Like, occupying an "official" position.

- Oh, I don't know if this is what I want for life... I would have to study for a few years to be a rescuer or a firefighter, it's not simple, and I'm not sure if I want to go.

- I know how it is, remember that program they had at school to introduce students into the job market? - Jonathan asked and the girl nodded positively - After graduating from high school, to continue working in the coroner's occupation, I had to go to a two-year course... Obviously it's not my dream profession, but it's something that I seem to get along and, well, over the years I've gotten used to it. - said the young man feeling a little uncomfortable immediately, he didn't like to share information about his life and desires with people out there. So he decided to change the subject quickly - But what happened today for you to be called? The rescuers mentioned a car accident, a capsize, something like that, but I won't know what happened until tomorrow, when we go to autopsy the body anyway.

- Well, it wasn't just a car... - Madison replied - It was actually a van and a car. This morning the fog was very thick, you have lived here for years, you know that this part of the year is common for this to happen, the phenomenon is called "fog desert". What happened was that the van was with several people, driven through fog, which is not advisable 'cause the track is slippery and the visibility is terrible, and according to what one of the victims reported, at some point in a curve the van skidded and almost flipped, vans lose their balance much more easily than normal cars, causing the driver to lose control. The curve was very sharp and the car just went straight, falling off a kind of ravine, but there was a car right behind, apparently at high speed, and the driver didn't saw the turn signs because of the fog, it just followed the path that the van seemed to trace and, as the containment margin had already been disrupted by the van, this car simply leaked from the lane, going downhill.

- I know how problematic this fog that appears at the end of the year is, I mean, we receive several victims of accidents resulting from this... Car accidents, or work accidents, caused by low visibility and high humidity. - the boy pointed out, causing the girl to remain silent for a few seconds, thinking about what it was like to have to deal with so many dead people, young people, who died on a normal day like any other for any reason.

- Anyway, the accident was bad because the van overturned and went down the ravine, slipping on the dry sandy soil. The car, being at a higher speed, landed considerably far from where the capsized van was. They took a while to call the rescue, no one had phones and other driver only noticed the broken containment barrier some time later, returning here and calling the police. The searches started and they called us, to find the car we needed a task force, the fog didn't let us see distant areas, so we had to separate and walk until someone came across the car.

- Jezz, this time the accident seems to have been horrible. - Jonathan saind, wrinkling his nose as he imagined the scene described by the girl.

- Yes, so was it... - said the young woman, noticing the boy's step slowing down.

- Well - he said, coming to a complete stop - I have to turn this street to go home...

- Oh, that's okay, I'll go right over here.

- Is your house too far away?

- No, kind of... Just a few blocks from here. - she answered.

- So... Bye - he said.

- See you.

So Jonathan turned that street and Madison continued her way home, picking up her steps 'cause she didn't like to walk alone at night.

When she got home, the girl took off her boots and went into the house, hoping no one would notice her.

- Madison? - she heard her mother calling - Madison, are you at the door? Answer me!

- Yeah mom, it's me.

- So answer when I call you, duh... And is it time to get home? Especially like that looking like you fell dragging your ass on the ground.

- You know where I was, Mom. It took me longer because the paramedics rescue team asked me to accompany them to the city morgue, the accident was ugly and there were deaths. - replied the girl, accepting her mother's silence as an answer, which means that she had given up. Madison just hated this kind of discussion.

The young woman went upstairs to her room, grabbed a towel and tried to quickly go to the bathroom. Besides being dirty, she had a lot to digest thinking about the day and a hot bath was the best way to calm her thoughts on those cold nights.

When Madison finished her bath she went to the bedroom, put on some pajamas and got under the blankets. She should go eat cause she hadn't eaten more than one meal during the day, but she wasn't hungry because, for some reason, she still felt nervous.
She thought to herself, wondering why she had such a feeling perturbing her mind and automatically remembered the way home. Shit... Madison thought, she didn't want to feel nervous about stupid things, but her hyperactivity always betrayed her, making her think over and over again. She was afraid of being boring, inconvenient, afraid of not being taken seriously, afraid of being ridiculous, afraid of being undesirable, but what did she want to be wanted for?
She didn't know exactly why she wanted to be wanted, but she seemed to know by whom. Automatically she felt her cheeks heat up and didn't like that, but she couldn't help but think too much about it again. It wasn't as if she had feelings for someone just seeing the person from afar, but it wasn't the first time she caught herself thinking about Jonathan, he occupied the girl's mind every time she saw him somewhere. The boy had disappeared for a few years, today she finally knew it was because he needed to go to study and take a course, but since he had reappeared, with a completely different look, his presence attracted Madison's eye. She liked his long hair, she liked his eyebrow piercings, just as she liked the bands printed on Jonathan's shirts. This combination made the young woman want to get closer, but she didn't know how, meeting people was always difficult, the overload of thoughts and doubts were sometimes too much. The truth was she found Jonathan interesting and considerably attractive but she was afraid he wouldn't find her as interesting and attractive, this feeling created a horrible feeling in her mind, making the girl get out of bed and go to the kitchen to look for something to eat, trying to get rid of those intrusive thoughts.

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