Prologue page 1

With dried blood matted in the hair over her ear and across her brow, Meg rested her cheek against the cool porcelain of the dirty public restroom toilet. The coolness brought little relief to the fire that was burning through her. She had never thrown up so much in her life and felt sure that if she continued her stomach would soon be floating in the toilet bowl.

The thought of where she was sitting and what her face was touching made it worse.

Her head spun like a merry go round that never stopped and she couldn’t remember how she ended up in this condition. Memories would come back to her in brief glimpses, but she couldn’t piece it all together or make sense of it.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Loud thundering noises pounded and echoed through the metal door and walls of the bathroom.

Bang! Bang! Bang! With each sound her head split and stomach heaved.

Meg heard someone calling, but couldn’t process what they were saying. She had neither the will nor the strength to make a response. Suddenly a thunderous crash burst towards her and the bright light streamed in to find her hunched over the toilet.

“Oh! There is someone in there.” A female said with a Hispanic accent.

“Miss! Miss! Are you all right!” The husky male voice was frantic and filled with concern.

Meg could hear voices all around her full of confusion, concern and questions. “Make it stop” was all she could think. The noise hurt so much. Someone had called out for 911.

“I don’t want to hurt you, I‘m going to wrap my jacket around your shoulders.” the husky voice spoke softly to her. She could hear the panic in his voice as he gave instructions to those around him. As she felt the warmth coming from his jacket she realized that she had little clothing on.

“We don’t want to scare her, back away and give us room.” the man continued. He seemed to take on a fatherly concern for Meg, wanting to comfort and sooth her until help arrived.