Hello!  Welcome back!  I hope you are ready for the next blog post in the A to Z Blogging Challenge.  If you missed the last blog post, definitely go read that one.  Click here, or you will be very confused in reading today’s installment.

For this story, I am participating in the A to Z Blogging Challenge.  I felt that this was a really good opportunity for me to not only express my creativity, but challenge myself to building a very long story that could be cut up into multiple parts.  And for it all to make sense!  So if you want to follow along with other blog posts in the challenge, check the hashtag #AtoZchallenge to follow along.

This story would be categorized as Dark.  Thank you so much and I will see you tomorrow for the next installment.  Enjoy!

R is for Regret

Aspen slammed her hands on the table and stood up.  “I am not guilty!  I would never do something like this!  You can ask my family and friends!”  She felt the rage starting to boil up inside of her.  She didn’t know what this officer was implying, but she didn’t like it.  No matter what these people believed, she was not guilty.

The officer sighed.  “Aspen.  Please sit down.  Let’s talk civilly okay?”  Aspen did as she was told, falling into her respective chair.  The officer smiled.  “Thank you.  Now, let’s get to the problem at hand.  Why did you leave?  If you know you aren’t guilty, why wouldn’t you stay inside and try to prove your innocence?”

Aspen leaned on the table and ran her hand through her short hair.  She shook her head.  “I don’t know.  I just…I…I thought that maybe I could somehow prove my innocence if I had enough time outside.  But too many people were on the lookout for me and I couldn’t find enough places to hide.  So honestly, I didn’t think everything through.  I just wanted to get out.”

“Do you regret any of it?”

The question surprised Aspen, she hadn’t expected to answer that question.  “Which part?  Accidentally killing my boyfriend or running away from the prison?”

The officer paused.  “Both.  Let’s start with your boyfriend.”

Aspen let out a long breath.  “Uh…yeah…I know that I could’ve done other things to scare him.  But my first thought was a gun and I don’t know why.  I guess I was afraid that even if I left he would somehow find me and drag me back to that apartment.  And his family thought he was an angel.  But do I regret it?”  She sighed.  “Yeah.  I wish I would’ve considered my options before just straight buying a gun.  I wish I would’ve just gone home to my parents and apologized for everything I put them through.  Because I put them through a lot while I was dating that idiot.”

“And what about escaping the prison?”

“Uh…yeah.  I do regret that.  Because now that I look back on it I was dumb to run away.  I didn’t have anyone on the outside to help me so I was just kinda stuck.  I was left to my own devices and I didn’t do very well.  Obviously.”

The officer stood up and made her way to the door.  But before she opened the door she turned back around to look at Aspen.  “You know what?  Honestly, if you had someone on the outside to help you, I don’t think we would’ve caught you.  The only reason we got you was because the motel worker was a crime fan and she was infatuated with your case.  So when she saw you she had to look further into it.  But, you have to give her some credit.  She did at least let you have a good nights sleep before being hauled off again.”

The officer turned back to the door and exited the room, leaving Aspen to her own thoughts.  Aspen thought it was kind of strange that the officer was asking her all of these questions, but she wasn’t ready for what was to come.  She knew that she was heading back to jail, but she wasn’t sure what was going to happen while she was there.

Hello!  Welcome back!  I hope you are ready for the next blog post in the A to Z Blogging Challenge.  If you missed the last blog post, definitely go read that one.  Click here, or you will be very confused in reading today’s installment.

For this story, I am participating in the A to Z Blogging Challenge.  I felt that this was a really good opportunity for me to not only express my creativity, but challenge myself to building a very long story that could be cut up into multiple parts.  And for it all to make sense!  So if you want to follow along with other blog posts in the challenge, check the hashtag #AtoZchallenge to follow along.

This story would be categorized as Dark.  Thank you so much and I will see you tomorrow for the next installment.  Enjoy!

Q is for Questioning

Tears streamed down her face as she felt the humiliation and embarrassment of the situation come over her.  She couldn’t believe she had actually been caught.  She had taken a risk to be more comfortable but it turned out to hurt her.  As Aspen was sat down in the back of the police car, she let out a cry.  But it wasn’t a cry of sadness, it was a cry of pain.

Aspen let the tears flow down her face as she sat in the car.  No matter how hard she had tried she had somehow still got caught.  Her face was buried in her hands and she couldn’t see where she was being taken.

The car came to a stop and Aspen was dragged out into the sun.  She was pulled into the police station and thrown onto the floor of a small interrogation room.   Her arms covered her head, almost as if she was trying to protect herself from an invisible being.  After staying on the floor for a minute, Aspen slowly lifted her body and moved into a chair at the table.  She sat there, praying that nothing would happen and she would somehow manage to go free.

The female officer who was at the motel walked into the room and sat down opposite from Aspen.  She smiled.  “Aspen Thompson.  Can I get you anything before we start?”

Aspen immediately recognized her voice as the one who was talking to her through the door.  She shook her head.  “No.  Unless you can let me go.”

The officer sighed.  “Unfortunately I can’t do that.  I’m sorry.”  She frowned.  “How long did you think you could hide?”

Aspen shrugged.  “Long enough to find people who could help me change my identity.  I had only been gone for a month, who knows what would’ve happened if I was gone for 6 months or a year.  Once I changed my name and it would’ve been a million times easier to hide out.”

The officer leaned forward, getting slightly closer to Aspen.  “So why did you do it?  Why did you run away?”

“Wouldn’t you?  If you had to opportunity to run away wouldn’t you do it?”

The officer shrugged.  “I don’t know.  If I knew I was safe I don’t think I would leave.  Especially prison.”

“Nah…I saw an opportunity and I took it.  I didn’t do anything wrong in the first place.  My trial was rigged, it was an accident.  I didn’t plan on murdering Jacob.  I didn’t plan on trying to get away with it.  I was planning on scaring him enough to have him change his manipulative ways.  I didn’t know the gun was loaded.”

The officer smirked.  “That’s what every guilty person says when they get brought in for questioning.”

Aspen slammed her hands on the table and stood up.  “I am not guilty!  I would never do something like this!  You can ask my family and friends!”  She felt the rage starting to boil up inside of her.  She didn’t know what this officer was implying, but she didn’t like it.  No matter what these people believed, she was not guilty.

Hello!  Welcome back!  I hope you are ready for the next blog post in the A to Z Blogging Challenge.  If you missed the last blog post, definitely go read that one.  Click here, or you will be very confused in reading today’s installment.

For this story, I am participating in the A to Z Blogging Challenge.  I felt that this was a really good opportunity for me to not only express my creativity, but challenge myself to building a very long story that could be cut up into multiple parts.  And for it all to make sense!  So if you want to follow along with other blog posts in the challenge, check the hashtag #AtoZchallenge to follow along.

This story would be categorized as Dark.  Thank you so much and I will see you tomorrow for the next installment.  Enjoy!

P is for Police

But she wasn’t expecting to be woken up by the sound of sirens.  Aspen jumped out of bed and peeked through the curtains to see 4 police cars sitting in the parking lot.  She either had to find a way to escape or she would be taken back to prison.  She didn’t want to go back.  She couldn’t go back.  But she didn’t know how she was going to find a way to escape.

Aspen sat against the door with her head in her hands.  Her heart was racing as she felt the panic starting to set in.  How was she going to get out of this situation?  How in the world was she going to leave and actually escape from this room?  She was stupid to have stayed here.

She quickly got up and made her way to the bathroom to see there wasn’t a window.  And even if there was, she probably wasn’t small enough to fit through it.  The panic was starting to take over and Aspen started to not be able to see straight.  Was she going to be able to make it out of the situation?

As quickly as she could, Aspen gathered all of her belongings and stuffed them into her bags.  She tried to swiftly and smoothly take everything off of the heater and put them in her bag, trying to not move the curtains and draw attention to her room.  She placed her hand on the doorknob and she peeked through the peephole.

4 police officers were standing outside her door, all of them with their guns drawn.  One of them banged on the door.  “Aspen Thompson!  Come out with your hands up!”

Aspen leaned against the door.  “Please!  I can’t go back!  I didn’t do it on purpose!  Please!  You have to listen to me!

“Aspen.  If you come out of this door, I promise we will listen to you.”  This was a female voice.  Aspen didn’t remember seeing a female cop outside.

She shook her head even though she knew the officers couldn’t see her.  “How do I know I can trust you?  I was told I wouldn’t go to jail in the first place and look what happened!  Now I’m here.”

The door handle jiggled.  “Aspen.  My name is Joanna.  Can I open the door?”

“No!  I’m not going back to jail!”

The handle jiggled again.  “I’m not going to take you back to jail.  I just want to talk.  Please.  Can you open the door?”

Aspen stepped away from the door and started to pace.  There was no way these cops wouldn’t take her back to jail.  She escaped from jail, she somehow managed to get away and hide from the cops.  In the eyes of the law she was a criminal.  She screamed at the door.  “NO!  I don’t trust you!  I don’t want to go back to jail!”

The door swung open and the cops all stormed into the motel room.  Aspen was thrown onto the floor, held down, and handcuffed.  No matter how much she screamed at the officers, they wouldn’t let up.  She was led out of the small room and down the open air hallway toward the police cars.

Tears streamed down her face as she felt the humiliation and embarrassment of the situation come over her.  She couldn’t believe she had actually been caught.  She had taken a risk to be more comfortable but it turned out to hurt her.  As Aspen was sat down in the back of the police car, she let out a cry.  But it wasn’t a cry of sadness, it was a cry of pain.

Hello!  Welcome back!  I hope you are ready for the next blog post in the A to Z Blogging Challenge.  If you missed the last blog post, definitely go read that one.  Click here, or you will be very confused in reading today’s installment.

For this story, I am participating in the A to Z Blogging Challenge.  I felt that this was a really good opportunity for me to not only express my creativity, but challenge myself to building a very long story that could be cut up into multiple parts.  And for it all to make sense!  So if you want to follow along with other blog posts in the challenge, check the hashtag #AtoZchallenge to follow along.

This story would be categorized as Dark.  Thank you so much and I will see you tomorrow for the next installment.  Enjoy!

O is for Opportunity

With a quick hug Aspen walked out the door.  She felt like a million bucks and she couldn’t be happier.  Maybe this could buy her a little extra time to make more changes in her life so she wasn’t so noticeable.

As Aspen walked down the street she felt herself hold her head up with more confidence.  She didn’t feel like she was Aspen anymore, she felt like someone different.  She had called herself Megan in the cosmetology school maybe she could keep using that name.  Plus she didn’t have an ID on her so she could be whoever she wanted to be.

She continued down the street and saw a small motel.  Would it actually be safe for her to stay there for the night?  Would she actually be able to fool the staff into thinking she wasn’t Aspen?  Was she crazy to do this?

Aspen cautiously opened the door and stepped into the tiny lobby.  A girl sat behind the counter and looked up.  “Can I help you?”

Aspen nodded.  “Uh…yeah…I was wondering if I could get a room for the night?”

“You got any ID on you?”

Think fast Aspen…think fast…  “Uh…no…I was running away from my boyfriend and I forgot my ID at home.  Please, you have to help me.  I have cash so I can pay you right now for my room.  But please…I just need a warm place to stay for the night.”

The girl shrugged and printed out a form.  “Sure…it’s my last day here so they can’t really fire me.  Plus, I feel for you.  Here.  It’s $100 for the night and I just need you to sign you name at the bottom of the form.”

Aspen opened her backpack and pulled out some cash for the room.  She quickly signed the paper as Megan Johnson and was given a key for a motel room.  She scurried away to her room and opened the door.  A shiver ran down her body as the chill from the room hit her skin.  Aspen made her way to the heater and turned it on and then switched on a lamp.

The room was just a standard motel room.  There were two beds, a TV, a large heater, a small desk and chair, and a bathroom.  It wasn’t the best, but it was a warm and comfortable place to stay for the night.

Aspen spent the afternoon washing her clothes in the tub and laying them by the heater to dry.  It was going to be nice to actually have some clean clothes.  She even walked to the Taco Bell across the street and got some dinner and spent the evening relaxing in her room.  She finally went to bed and actually got a great nights sleep.

But she wasn’t expecting to be woken up by the sound of sirens.  Aspen jumped out of bed and peeked through the curtains to see 4 police cars sitting in the parking lot.  She either had to find a way to escape or she would be taken back to prison.  She didn’t want to go back.  She couldn’t go back.  But she didn’t know how she was going to find a way to escape.

Hello!  Welcome back!  I hope you are ready for the next blog post in the A to Z Blogging Challenge.  If you missed the last blog post, definitely go read that one.  Click here, or you will be very confused in reading today’s installment.

For this story, I am participating in the A to Z Blogging Challenge.  I felt that this was a really good opportunity for me to not only express my creativity, but challenge myself to building a very long story that could be cut up into multiple parts.  And for it all to make sense!  So if you want to follow along with other blog posts in the challenge, check the hashtag #AtoZchallenge to follow along.

This story would be categorized as Dark.  Thank you so much and I will see you tomorrow for the next installment.  Enjoy!

N is for New

The longer she sat there, the more she felt like she could be a Megan.  She thought that she could disguise herself by her name first, and then figure out how to change her actual appearance.  Maybe some hair dye and some colored contacts would help her.  And maybe she should let her eyebrows grow into an uni brow.

The rest of the day was uneventful.  Aspen sat on the corner and was able to make another $100 for the day.  That was enough to get some necessities for her to help change her identity.  Unfortunately she wouldn’t be able to do much, but she would try to do something to change up her look.  She started to walk to the nearest Walmart to see what she could find.

But as she walked down the street she came across a small cosmetology school.  Aspen stopped, unsure what to think of it.  Maybe she could do something there.  But they were probably really expensive and she wouldn’t be able to pay for that.  Or maybe they would be able to help her out.

Aspen slowly approached the doors and opened them.  A  woman standing behind the counter smiled.  “Hello!  How can I help you?”

Aspen swallowed.  “Uh…hi…uh…I was wondering if you had any sort of uh…deals I guess for getting my hair cut and dyed.  I don’t have that much money but I need to get my hair done.”

The woman’s eyes suddenly softened and she smiled sweetly.  “Oh sweetheart.  Let me check with one of my teachers to see if I could get you set up.  Do you have anything in particular you want to do?”

Aspen shook her head.  “No…I’m open to anything.”

The woman nodded.  “Okay.  Wait here.  I’ll be right back.”  She walked away leaving Aspen alone in the lobby.  Aspen took a seat in one of the chairs and started looking at a magazine.  She was open to anything that the students wanted to do as long as she looked different.  A door opened and the woman came back in with another lady.  “Hello.  I’m Carmen, one of the teachers here.”

Aspen smiled.  “Hi.  I’m Megan.”

Carmen smiled.  “It’s very nice to meet you.  I have a student who just started and doesn’t have anyone to practice on.  If you are willing to let her get some practice, I will let you get you hair washed, cut, and colored for free.  Honestly, I think she has only had one client, so you are a blessing.”

Aspen smiled.  “Thanks.  I appreciate it.”

Carmen led Aspen back into the school to meet up with Bailey.  She was a very quiet girl who seemed very shy.  Bailey smiled.  “Hello.  Thank you.  I really appreciate you coming by.  I promise that I will make you look beautiful.”

Aspen blushed.  “Thanks.  Feel free to do whatever you want.  Dye my hair however you want and cut it to your hearts content.  Change up my look.”

Bailey led Aspen through the entire process.  She got her hair washed, cut, and dyed and it felt amazing.  Aspen hadn’t been able to feel pretty for a long time.  The girls were able to chat the entire time and they kept the conversation casual.  She loved it.

When Bailey finally turned the chair around, Aspen didn’t recognize herself.  Her long blonde hair was now a short black pixie cut.  Some of it was shaved and it was now super manageable.   She wanted to cry with how different she looked.  She was so appreciative of Bailey and what Bailey had done to change her look.

As they walked toward the door, Aspen gave Bailey a $20 bill.  She smiled.  “I know it’s not much, but this is a thank you.  I cannot express my gratitude.”

With a quick hug Aspen walked out the door.  She felt like a million bucks and she couldn’t be happier.  Maybe this could buy her a little extra time to make more changes in her life so she wasn’t so noticeable.

Hello!  Welcome back!  I hope you are ready for the next blog post in the A to Z Blogging Challenge.  If you missed the last blog post, definitely go read that one.  Click here, or you will be very confused in reading today’s installment.

For this story, I am participating in the A to Z Blogging Challenge.  I felt that this was a really good opportunity for me to not only express my creativity, but challenge myself to building a very long story that could be cut up into multiple parts.  And for it all to make sense!  So if you want to follow along with other blog posts in the challenge, check the hashtag #AtoZchallenge to follow along.

This story would be categorized as Dark.  Thank you so much and I will see you tomorrow for the next installment.  Enjoy!

M is for Mistaken

There was another crack and Aspen’s eyes flew open.  She was still in the cemetery laying next to Jacob’s grave.  Her head was pounding and she couldn’t think straight.  That dream was simultaneously the best and worst thing that could’ve happened.  But she was thankful that it wasn’t real.  She was thankful for being in a place that she knew.

As she laid in the grass she prayed that no one would find her.  She wasn’t exactly hidden so it would be easy for someone to find her and send her back to jail.  But no matter how much time she spent laying there, nothing was going to change, she was always going to be stuck in this loop.  Maybe she should try to find a way to change her identity.

Aspen sat up and stretched her arms over her head.  She looked around to see if she saw anyone in the cemetery but it was empty.  It was still early in the morning so she didn’t have to worry too much about people seeing her.  But she still had to be careful.  She slowly stood up and made her way out of the cemetery.

Her body made it’s way to the park she actually knew.  The jungle gym was the same as normal, the swings swayed gently in the morning breeze, and the dinosaur looked majestic in the morning sun.  Everything was normal.  Everything was okay.

Once she had freshened up she had to find a new corner to sit on.  She couldn’t go back to the corner she was on yesterday.  Police would think she would be in the same area again and have a lot of extra cops and she didn’t want to take a chance.

As she started to wander around the city she found a busy corner that she hadn’t been to before.  Aspen sat down and pulled out her small sign, hoping that people would be generous and help her out.  As she sat there on the corner she kept her eyes wide open for cops.  Thankfully she hadn’t seen any.

“Megan?”

Aspen slowly looked up to see a man she had never seen before standing in front of her.  She shook her head.  “No…sorry.”

“Oh…I’m sorry.  I…I thought you were someone I used to know from high school.  Uh…”  He pulled his wallet out of his back pocket and riffled through it for a $20 bill.  He handed it to Aspen.  “Here.  Sorry again.”

“Oh…thank you…”  Aspen watched the mysterious man walk away from her.  She was still shocked by his kindness even though she wasn’t who he though she was.

The longer she sat there, the more she felt like she could be a Megan.  She thought that she could disguise herself by her name first, and then figure out how to change her actual appearance.  Maybe some hair dye and some colored contacts would help her.  And maybe she should let her eyebrows grow into an uni brow.

Hello!  Welcome back!  I hope you are ready for the next blog post in the A to Z Blogging Challenge.  If you missed the last blog post, definitely go read that one.  Click here, or you will be very confused in reading today’s installment.

For this story, I am participating in the A to Z Blogging Challenge.  I felt that this was a really good opportunity for me to not only express my creativity, but challenge myself to building a very long story that could be cut up into multiple parts.  And for it all to make sense!  So if you want to follow along with other blog posts in the challenge, check the hashtag #AtoZchallenge to follow along.

This story would be categorized as Dark.  Thank you so much and I will see you tomorrow for the next installment.  Enjoy!

K is for Killer

Killer on the Loose

All of Springstone county needs to be on the lookout for a convicted killer.  Aspen Thompson, murderer of Jacob Barstow, has been missing from prison for 5 days now.  She made her escape from Springstone State Prison along with 8 other inmates who have all been recovered.

This dangerous criminal is out and about in the streets.  Authorities are saying that everyone needs to be even more aware now that Thompson is on the streets.  Only leave your house if absolutely necessary and don’t take any unnecessary trips out.  No one knows where Thompson is or how dangerous she is, but authorities can assume she will kill again if the chance comes up.

There is no doubt that she has connections on the outside.  She has stayed hidden for the 5 days that she has been outside the prison and two officers have spotted her.  Thompson was spotted entered Angeles Furniture on 2nd street, but when officers entered the store she was no where to be seen.  None of the employees had seen her enter or exit the store, meaning that she had escaped yet again.

If you have seen Aspen Thompson or know of her whereabouts please contact your local police.  We do not need a convicted murderer roaming the streets while we are all trying to live our lives.  Please report anything to the authorities.