It was a dark and stormy night. She pulled her collar up and held it tight but the rain still rolled off the stupid little fashionable rainhat and down her neck. Oh, and today, of all days she had to wear heels; short heels but still heels. They were already sloshing and slipping and her slacks that showed beneath her raincoat were dark from the rain.

It had sounded like a great job in the paper but it was just another shit work job in a grimy little office with a boss that looked a little shifty. If she didn't need to make more money she would stop going on job interviews. It was so hard to come up with a reason to take off early or take a long lunch without her supervisor getting suspicious.

A car went by and splashed dirty water from the street over her. Now she would have to get her coat cleaned or wear it stained. Not that it didn't already have stains but at least they weren't too noticeable. Dry cleaning was such a boring way to spend money when there were books to buy and trips to go on. The day was getting dark and she was getting cold. Colder actually, she'd been cold from the time she stepped outside.

She saw ahead the light of the convenience store that was by the bus stop. Thank goodness, she could get some warm coffee until the bus came, which wasn't for another half hour since the city she lived in had such poor bus service. She felt herself coming alive as she entered the store and drank in the light and the dryness and the warmth. She poured herself a cup of coffee and after paying stood by the door peering out for the bus.

She finally saw the lights of the bus. The sign in front wasn't working but it was the only bus on this street. Running out she hurried on the bus, running her pass through the farebox. The bus was nearly full but she, thankfully, got a seat by herself and tried to relax for the long ride across town.

Things looked so different in the rain, she thought, as she looked at the lights of the city through the rain. Everything looked different. She realized that the bus hadn't stopped in quite a while but no one said anything and she figured that everyone was going a long way. Her eyes felt heavy from her weariness and the warmth. She thought of taking her coat off but knew that it would be chilly because of her damp clothes.

She woke with a start and hoped she hadn't missed her stop. Outside there were only the lights from the bus. She looked around the bus and saw that everyone was sleeping. She walked up to the front to ask the driver where they were going and ran into a clear wall around him. She knocked on the wall but he didn't turn around. She tried to look around the front of the wall but it extended across the front of the bus and she couldn't even get to the door.

She yelled "What's going on? What's happening? Where are we?" She shook a lady on the front seat but the lady just slipped a little sideways and continued to sleep. Another lady came up beside her and said "Just sit down. There's nothing we can do. Come on." She felt heavy and tired and let the lady lead her back to her seat. She had to do something but she was so tired and felt her eyes closing as she sat down.