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Caitlin walked quickly in the cold, March night down the side street, her heart still pounding fro her face, and it felt good Cal She breathed deeply, and felt free She would never have to go back to that apartrihborhood And never have to step foot in that school She had no idea where she was going, but at least it would be far from here

Caitlin reached the avenue and looked up, scanning for a free cab After a et one The subas her only option

Caitlin marched towards the 135th Street station She&039;d never taken a New York City subway before She wasn&039;t really sure which line to take, or where to get off, and this was the worst tiht encounter down in the station on a cold, March night - especially in this neighborhood

She descended the graffiti-lined steps and approached the booth Luckily, it was et to Coluent behind the plexiglass ignored her

"Excuse me," Caitlin said, "but I need to - "

"I said down the platform!" snapped the woman

"No you didn&039;t," Caitlin answered "You didn&039;t say anything!"

The agent just ignored her again

"How ent

Caitlin dug into her pocket and extracted three crulass

The agent, still ignoring her, slid back a Metrocard

Caitlin just swiped the card and entered the system

The platform was poorly lit, and nearly deserted Two homeless people occupied the bench, draped in blankets One slept, but the other looked up at her as she walked by He startedCaitlin walked faster

She went to the edge of the platfor

Coain Already five er it would take She wondered if Jonah would leave She couldn&039;t bla quickly out of the corner of her eye She turned Nothing

As she looked closely, she thought she saw a shadow creep along the white tiled, linoleum wall, then slink down into the railway track She felt like she was being watched

But she looked again and saw nothing

I s

Caitlin walked over to the large subway raffiti, but she could still ht place It should take her right to Columbus Circle She started to feel a bit better

"You lost, baby?"

Caitlin turned and saw a large, black rinned, she noticed that he wasteeth He leaned in too close, and she could smell his terrible breath Drunk

She sidestepped him and walked several feet away

"Hey bitch, I&039;

The ered and swayed as he slowly headed her way But Caitlin walkedplatform, so there was still room between them She really wanted to avoid another confrontation Not here Not now

He got closer She wondered how long it would be until she&039;d have no choice but to confront hietnoise filled the station, and the train suddenly arrived Thank God

She boarded, and watched with satisfaction as the doors closed on the

The train took off, and in moments he was no hborhood On her way to a new life

Caitlin exited at Columbus Circle and walked at a brisk pace She checked her watch again She was 20 minutes late She sed

Please be there Please don&039;t go Please

As she walked, just a few blocks away, she suddenly felt a pang in her stomach She stopped, taken aback by the intense pain

She bent over, clutching her sto at her, but she was in toolike this before She struggled to catch her breath

People passed quickly by on either side, but no one stopped to check if she was OK