Characters: Iris, man

Iris is standing in line to board a bus. Her duffel bag is slung over her shoulder and she is tightly holding onto it with one hand. Her irises are now a dull brown color thanks to colored contacts and her hair is pulled into a ponytail. She is dressed in nondescript civilian clothing.

She boards the bus and chooses an isolated seat in the back, settling in and putting in her earbuds, resting her duffel bag on the seat beside her. Calming, nostalgic piano music fills the scene, originating from the earbuds.

The bus begins moving as Iris rests her head against the back of the seat, her duffel bag pressed loosely to her thigh with one hand. Her free hand taps on her knee, along to the beat of her music.

She receives a text. Picking up her phone with one hand, she scans the screen. It is from Sashique and reads, "Where the hell ARE you??" Within seconds, another text follows it: "Iris PLEASE don't do anything rash. We can work this out. Come home." Finally, a third text: "Please"

Resolutely, Iris slips the phone into her pocket and stares out of the window with a cold, distant gaze.

The scene changes. It is obviously some time later, because the bus has parked at a gas station on a stretch of nondescript highway and the sun is lower in the sky. Iris is sitting on the curb in front of the gas station store, her duffel bag close by her side. She is staring thoughtfully at the cornfield across the empty highway. A man settles down next to her and she instantly tenses, glancing over at him and shifting her body weight away.

MAN: [staring off into the cornfield, sighing] What are you running from?

IRIS: [glancing over at him, soberly] Who said I was running?

MAN: [returning the glance, a note of wisdom in voice] I've been running for twenty years. It takes one to know one, right?

Iris exhales humorously, scanning the cornfield for another second before replying to his original question.

IRIS: I'm running to something. Someone, actually.

MAN: [shaking head slightly] That's the first thing you've got to realize. When you're running, you're not running to anything. You're running away.

Iris stares at him for a moment before gazing at the ground thoughtfully.

MAN: [sincerely] Good luck.

He stands and Iris does as well, facing him, her initial tension gone.

IRIS: [genuinely] Thank you.

MAN: You don't have to thank me. Just promise me that when you find this person you're running to -

He pauses.

MAN: Stop running.

He turns and walks to his car. Iris glances at the bus to discover that people are boarding. With one final look in the man's direction, she sighs, grabs her duffel bag, and joins the passengers.

The scene changes to show the man in his car. He is watching the bus as its doors close and it pulls away from the gas station. Then, he slowly raises a phone to his ear. He blinks, and when his eyes open again, they are pitch black.

MAN: [coldly satisfied] You were right, sir.

He smiles evilly.

MAN: She's coming.

The scene changes to show Iris pacing a generic hotel room. On the desk before which she is pacing is a map, with several books pinning its edges down.

IRIS: [muttering, running hands through hair] Come on, Sara. Think of me, please, think of me. I can feel it when you think of me. I can find you if you would just - if you would just think about me.

She stares at the map for a second, waiting, before crying out in frustration and throwing herself backwards onto the bed and closing her eyes.

IRIS: [hopelessly] I was so close - so close to finding you, Sara. You're here - you're somewhere in this goddamn town -

She suddenly sits bolt upright, her eyes completely white. A grin of complete joy splits her face as she stares off into nothingness.

IRIS: [breathlessly] Oh, thank God.

She hurries to the map, which is a local one of the area, and grabs a red Sharpie from the desks's pencil holder. Resolutely, she circles a relatively nondescript area, then pulls out the map from underneath the books weighing it down. As the volumes topple to the floor, Iris is already folding up the map and hurrying from the room.

The scene changes to show her quickly walking down a street, totally ignoring everyone around her. Her colored contacts are still in, allowing her to blend in. The angle adjusts to show her waist - a knife flashes from within the depths of her coat.

The scene changes to show her walking out of town. Glancing behind her to make sure nobody is watching, Iris breaks into a run, impossibly fast.

Soon, she is upon a seemingly abandoned barn, the town distant on the horizon. Reaching into her pocket, Iris pulls out the map, unfolds it, and checks her location. Then, she takes a picture of the barn using her phone and sends it to Sashique with the caption, "It should take you about an hour to track my location. I'll be long gone by that time, but this is insurance. Come and get me."

Then, she puts away her phone and walks to the front doors of the barn.