Chapter 9: Homeless
Dry leaves rustled and drifted across the newly paved road as if to clear away the path she was taking, keeping it nice and clean. She felt it unnecessary for the world to be treating her like some royal princess walking down the aisle for her coronation after what just happened. Ten minutes ago, she'd come out of the dorm triumphantly, filled with pride and satisfaction only to be hit by a truckload of what was called regret. Apparently, her rusty brain hadn't given her a clue on where exactly she was supposed to go after getting kicked out. Next time, we think before we act, Zen, she scolded herself.
Irritatedly slinging her backpack over her shoulder and dragging a blue trolley behind her, Zen ventured aimlessly, waiting for a sign or for some really kind stranger to take pity on her miserable condition and, hopefully, offer to adopt her. She laughed scornfully, amused her gunk-loaded mind could come up with such ridiculous theories when all she should be doing right now was hunt down a place to stay for the night, which didn't seem to be happening.
It was starting to feel like all the bad luck in the world had a gathering and decided to rent her body until their whole trip was over. And, as if being kicked out and having no place to stay wasn't enough, her phone battery just had to die at the worst possible timing.
It would've taken her no more than a millisecond to answer her worried roommates' calls who'd promised earlier to send help but because she'd forgotten, once again, to charge her phone, nothing was going the way she planned. Not only was her day ruined, she also had the life sucked out of her body, plus her pea-sized brain didn't seem to be functioning at the moment. It felt as though her entire existence no longer served any purpose, just like a car without an engine, impractical and utterly useless.
[This isn't the end of the world, Zen. Keep going. Think. Think. There must be at least someone out there who could give you a hand.] And that was when it clicked. She had someone. There was Kate – her schoolmate, her friend, her paisan, her cousin. Why didn't she think of her? Pulling out her phone, Zen immediately went on to dial Kate's number, but her senseless brain forgot to remind her yet again that her phone was dead.
[Just great.] Zen groaned in agony. The sun was dipping below the horizon, and sooner or later the sky would be soaked in black ink and there was no way in hell she was sharing the night on the streets with the stray hounds. She shuddered at the thought.
Zen squinted her eyes to check the time on her wristwatch. It was just a quarter past five, which meant she had plenty of time to sort out her situation. It didn't matter to inform her cousin she was coming. If she recalled it correctly, her cousin's apartment happened to be just a ten-minute walk from her university.
So, there was hope, after all. Someone up there really did answer her prayers. [Thank you, God.] With her hope restored and mood suddenly lifted, Zen decided to walk to Kate's apartment. She had just taken a few steps, however, when she spotted something that looked like a four-legged creature with a tail approaching her from the front, and was that a torn leash dangling from its neck? [Shit! A dog?!]
If there was one thing in the world that didn't appeal to Zen, it was dogs. She hated dogs. She had awful memories from childhood, memories she wanted to forget. Every single time she encountered a dog, it didn't fare well for her.
Wheeling her head right and left, Zen searched for a way to escape from the dog that happened to be intently watching her every move. In such circumstances, she would've faced the horrid animal bravely had the dog been a small harmless one like a Pomeranian, for example, but definitely not that devilish looking bull that was staring at her with all the smugness in the world as if to tell her he was going to devour her soul in the next second. The situation wasn't looking good, and she knew things were about to take a turn for the worst.
Zen took three slow steps backwards, observing, testing, and calculating the movements of the vile, disgusting creature. She could hear the sound of a slot machine within her head, presenting her with two choices: Fight or Flight, and ding-dong, it was ridiculously obvious which option she chose.
Zen had never run a marathon in her life but the circumstances were proving otherwise. The seemingly provoked animal was hot on her tail, and there was no one nearby to save her. Trees, trees and more trees greeted her on the road but not a single human soul.
It wasn't her fault her university was one of the biggest in the nation and had like a hundred distinct roads that led to a thousand different destinations. To save herself from all the shame and pity after being kicked out of the dorm, she'd taken an abandoned road where hardly anybody visited, where hardly anybody would see her only to encounter a mad beast from the land of doom. Zen wouldn't be surprised if she found a straw doll resembling her with a strand of her hair embedded inside it, convinced that some sick psychopath out there had nothing better to do and was wasting his time casting voodoo spells on her.
The barking intensified and Zen felt her heart would stop beating any second. She was out of breath; her legs were beginning to feel numb from all the running and the only thing she could do now was curse every living entity on the planet, specifically that rich dog owner who could spend money on expensive treats to raise the dog till it became the size of a mountain but couldn't even buy a strong enough leash to hold it in place.
For a moment, Zen thought of throwing her luggage full of clothes and the heavy backpack on her shoulders so she could run faster but remembered she was dirt poor and couldn't afford to become a beggar on the streets if her belongings were stolen or worse, lost in the wild chase. But not all hope was lost for she saw an abandoned building up ahead. Lo and behold, a shelter to protect thy spirit from all evil. Just a little more and she'd be saved.
The door slammed shut with a bang. Zen collapsed to the floor, exhaling a sigh of relief. She could hear barking outside, but she didn't care anymore. She was safe, and that was all that mattered. Breathing heavily, she flicked her head to the side, looking out the cloudy glass pane fitted beside the door. She saw the dog sniffing around the area before finally settling itself down near the abandoned building's front entrance. [Looks like I won't be getting out of here anytime soon. Then so be it.] It was a test for who had the most patience now. And she was not leaving the place until that dog disappeared from her sight.
Pulling her legs to her chest, Zen rested her head on her knees, tired and exhausted.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone