These Streets We Walk

Beginnings

 This would be her life now, wouldn't it?

 It wasn't all too bad so far, listening to the rhythmic thumps of the bumps and crevices the armored vehicle traversed over. It was relaxing, if she had to put it in a positive tone, but the dark tinted windows annoyed her. They were dusted, and barely an inch of care was put in to keeping them clean; it was like looking through perpetually dirty sunglasses and not being able to clean them on your own. She resorted to staring down at her lap, avoiding eye contact with the other passengers while they embarked on their journey to where ever they were headed.

 She definitely wasn't the most innocent and kindred soul here, but the others intimidated her beyond anything she could remember. Only one of them was remotely normal, a tall and lithe gentleman adorned in a white lab coat, his combed locks of hair fell over his face from a lack of any recent care. Every now and again, he brushed them away, exposing his thin-rimmed glasses that sparkled with an odd sense of unease. She tried not to pay much mind to him, but he kept staring at her every time she snuck a peek at him; it was a wicked grin, one with no good intentions in sight.
 Whatever intentions he had in mind with someone like her, odds are he wouldn't have the opportunity to enact it before they arrived at their location. Between herself and a young lady hunched under a loosely fitting overcoat, a guard clad in military attire and weaponry sat tense and alert. They had been like this for the past three hours without any break in posture, they didn't even seem human, and it unnerved her more than than the other passengers did. She and anybody else in the close proximity gave the guard a wide berth, knowing that standing just too close would get them knocked in the back of the head with the blunt side of the semi-automatic rifle that the guard held securely to.

 With a glance at the lady that sat on the opposite side of the guard from herself, she tucked her own overcoat closer to her broad frame. The fine leather material had held up well ever since she had bought it, and it was oddly comforting and insulating, but she felt anything but warmth right now. Warmth was not something felt by these guards, nor the other people within this van she had been lumped together with. It was a somber mood that hung in the air, nobody talked amongst themselves nor attempted to make any friendly gestures whatsoever, but she couldn't care less. She didn't want to mingle with them, she just wanted to survive this ordeal.
 Surviving was the only thing she had in mind, ever since she ended up in this mess. One moment, she had woken up in the infirmary with no recollection of prior events, and the next she was cuffed and violently tossed in to the van. Subconsciously a hand drifted to her thigh as a faint pain throbbed once more. She shot a spiteful glance towards the guard beside her, watching them sit still, as if they were one of those plastic green army men you'd see in the very back shelves of the toy aisle. Did these guards feel any empathy? Obviously not, but you'd think they'd be a bit more careful when transporting live cargo. As far as she could remember, prior to being loaded in to the van, she heard one of them explicitly say to 'be careful, this haul ain't our usual.' It made her ponder what they meant; was it not often that they re-designated people, or were they just different from all the others? Considering the odd bunch of not-so-sorry saps that sat among the backend of the van, the question was tough to answer for herself.

  Why was she here anyway? She knew she had to survive this, but for how much longer? It had been hours since they left, and while nobody here seemed to mind, deep down she knew they were all growing impatient. The lithe man's creepily calm composure was only an illusion now, for every now and again she noticed his jaw twitch and his foot tap silently. They had been offered no accommodations for the ride, and it was growing obvious that hunger and thirst combined was beginning to take a toll on the passengers. As far as she knew, they were just headed to a new compound. The guards had swept them group up the morning they were ordered to board the van to leave where ever they were designated. It was that morning she had woken up in the infirmary with no idea why she was there, apart from the fuzzy feeling in the back of her head. When they left the compound, she felt no sadness as she had watched it disappear in to the green horizon; all she felt during then was a hollow feeling, as if she should've been sad, but didn't have any reason to, and she had no reason indeed because whenever she recalled her previous life, she couldn't remember. She knew something should've been there though, it felt all too odd to just not remember where you lived for an upwards of five years. To add to the confusion, it was only that compound whose memory was only a fleeting idea of what it could've been for, as she could remember the first compound she was designated in, the one she attended school in before being moved as an adult.
 Now here she was, being moved for a second time as far as she could tell. It should've felt normal, but it didn't, especially with the gang of weirdos she was clumped together with. Stifling a silent chuckle, she recognized the hypocrisy in what she was thinking, knowing she wasn't all too normal herself. She examined the leather jacket she wore, and felt along her silver side-swept hair, she was definitely far from normal, in terms of how she looked anyway. She stood out in the crowd, not just for being taller than most other girls she knew but for her strikingly gray eyes and pale skin. Thats how she remembered it from high school, always a glance or two her way when she walked through the halls in no hurry to make it to her class. She liked that calm demeanor she radiated, but it was only for show. Deep down she remembered her first few years in that school as ones filled with anxiety and fear, and the ride in the van could be described the same way. Did the others sitting with her have that same mindset? Was there deep rooted curiosity and fear as to why they were being moved? It was hard to read their emotions, and for now it would remain that way, it seemed. She gave up trying to find out anything more about them just solely on their looks, but her curiosity was far from gone. She wanted to know more about these people, and maybe find out what she was doing here with them. Perhaps if when they arrived and they were free to roam she could ask one of them, but that option could go one of two ways, and it leaned more towards a more... darker scenario to put it in to simpler words. If she had to talk to anyone, she would rather it be anyone except the gentleman that sat across from her. His maniacal expression still locked on her. Rather than glancing away, she instead held the gaze, studying him. He seemed so lost in whatever was going on with him, and it only dawned on her after a few minutes that he perhaps wasn't staring at her but instead deep in thought. She found it strange that whatever he was so enraptured about it made him completely disconnected from reality, apart from the terrifying face he was making.
 Tearing her gaze away from the gentleman, she instead turned her face towards the window closest to herself. She watched the forests and fields fly by, feeling her eyelids droop as she leaned back in her seat.