Chapter 3...Part 1

The couple headed west, out of California and into Arizona. The girl drove most of the way and kept watching the fuel gage praying they would get to their destination before running out of gas. They were headed to Kingman, AZ to a Petro truck stop. The guest was convinced the couple could get a ride on a truck from here going towards Florida.

When the couple got to the Petro it was very late at night or early in the morning. They slept in the SUV until it was late enough in the day that they would not be noticed. The first thing that the girl noticed was that it was much colder in Arizona than it had been in California and she started to realize how scary it was that she had not packed any winter clothes at all. When the couple left Utah it was very warm for September and she had packed summer clothes and the only shoes she had with her were sandals.

When the couple got up the girl went to sit in the movie room and the guest went to the driver’s door to see if he could find them a ride out of there.

The girl sat in the movie room all day watching different movies and completely freezing. She tried to eat a ramen about halfway through the day and by this time she had eaten so much ramen that it just made her very sick. Hunger was more comfortable than eating ramen.

Most of the day had gone by when the guest came to get her to talk to her. He got mad at her for not helping them get a ride or get help. The girl felt completely hopeless. She had no idea how she was supposed to approach people or help get them a ride. She was very upset and starting to get depressed.

When night came, the couple again slept in the SUV. They had been gone from Utah for about 2 weeks at this point. The girl was starting to get very stressed and definitely hopeless.

The next day they went back to the same routine. The girl spent time in the movie room and the guest spent time trying to get them a ride out of there.

At some point the girl called the best friend to tell him that they were okay but still not home. The best friend told her that her KD friend was very stressed and upset about her. He said that he had told KD what had happened and she insisted they go to the police about it. The girl told the guest what had happened. This upset the guest and he insisted she call KD and tell her that the girl was fine and that there was not cause to worry.

The girl called KD to tell her that she was fine. She could hear the worry and concern in her voice. KD told her that she had gone to the cops but that they would just do a wellness check on her if they found her since she had left the state of her own choice. She told her how worried she was and that she loved her. She told her to stay in touch with her.

The guest was definitely stressed at this point and was afraid that the cops were going to find them. He insisted they find a way to leave where they were. The only thing the couple really had left was the girl’s camera. The girl had been hiding her camera hoping the guest would forget about it. It was the only thing she had left of her life and she had felt for years that her camera was an extension of herself. She saved and saw the world through her camera lens. The guest finally convinced the girl that the only choice they had left was to try to sell her camera.

Almost crying the girl took her disc out of the camera. She had an extra one that she replaced it with and put what she had left in the camera case which she didn’t want to part with. She had the camera and the USB cable to download the pics with still in her luggage. She put these things together and did what she could to release herself from what she felt was her most prized possession.

They talked to several people who did not want the camera and then finally when the girl was ready to give up, a driver decided he would give them money for it. They bought some cheap food, filled up the gas tank and continued on to Flagstaff, AZ.