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Silent Vows Catherine Bybee 20370K 2023-09-01

Myra nodded and glanced over her shoulder and noticed aat her He was scarcely s on his ar with pictures in dark colored inks

She had never seen such a sight before She looked up at his face, noticed the sue licked his lips as his eyes raked her body Frightened, she forced herself to turn her back on the hed when Myra wrote down ‘Jane Doe’

She led her to a large room littered with cots A curtain separated the men’s side from the women’s

"You can put your stuff here, but if you have any valuables I wouldn’t leave the closer

"You’re kiddin’ right?" She didn’t wait for an answer and went on "They just finished up lunch If you’re hungry I’ for you Otherwise dinner’s at six o’clock" The woman left and returned to her desk

Myra sat on the cot and looked around the room

So many of those she watched were sick in their minds Some talked to themselves while others rocked back and forth

Women with small children stared desperately at the blank walls, hardly existing in theirno better, bounced on the cots and played with broken toys and forgotten boxes These people have nothing

As night approached, Myra became more aware of the people around her The hout the day now stalked closer

She opened her hts None of them tried to hide All of them meant her harm A treht in this place if their lustful, evil thoughts came to be These s Even if she did survive, her belongings would be gone before the sun rose, and with the, , and kept her eyes to the floor

It was dark His first three stops at local shelters were futile No one had seen the wohtened expression on the paper had hi over what she looked like now Jane Doe was in trouble He knew it He scanned every alley and every street Nothing

He changed direction to the south side of town, the side of town even the toughest of the tough didn’t go unless they had to Drug dealers and prostituteson these streets

He tried to think of whaton in her head She wouldn’t know this side of toasn’t safe Then again,brown eyes and her words flashed in his o"

So he searched, and would search all night if he had to She was out there so sounds from earlier in the day diminished into a dreadful eerie silence The occasional car drove by, headlights shining in her path The hus attempted to fill the silence but failed Only the soft pat of her feet hitting the pavement kept her company

She slipped away from the mission shelter almost as easily as she had the hospital earlier in the day The trouble was she didn’t knohere to go Where she would find safety?

She walked the deserted streets The cold night air oozed into her bones "Where are those war It will keepcold prickled up her back andbefore she saw the face

Cruel, black eyes watched her

She used every poithin her to see inside the man

Within his darkness, she saw herself as he did