"What is a ship but a prison?"

Alex jerked awake, pouring sweat, her heart pounding. Brief but vivid images ran through her head: an old ship, rain pounding on the deck, lightning striking, wood splitting, a male voice screaming, and then silence except for the thunder.

She couldn't go back to sleep; she didn't even consider trying. She rolled out of bed and looked out the window. It was still dark, 1:00 a.m. according to the clock on her dresser. She racked her brain for something to do, something that would be open at this time. She settled on the bar down the street and pulled on some clothes, grateful that the smell of ocean was finally fading off them. She locked her door behind her and set off down the hall, carefully avoiding all other tenants.

"What the hell?" Alex eyed the chicken on the sidewalk in front of her; it stared back.

Just when she thought this town couldn't get any stranger, a chicken shows up. A chicken that was staring. Its little, beady eyes seemed to be mocking her. The more she stared back, the more the chicken seemed to make fun of her. It joked about her appearance, her fears, her past, her loneliness. Her whole life was being made fun of by a chicken.

"FUCK OFF!" Alex yelled and stomped her feet, forcing the tears away.

The chicken backed up a little, but kept staring. Another chicken showed up and stared at Alex too. Now it was her turn to back up. She had to be crazy; thinking a chicken was mocking her. She had to be going insane. She blamed the town. This strange town was forcing her into insanity.

She walked around the chickens, far around, and heading into the bar. She sat by herself and ordered a rum and coke. And then, once she had finished her first one, she ordered another. And by the time the guy down the bar asked to buy her a drink, she was too tipsy to say no. She wouldn't remember this night: the dream, the chickens, or the nice guy at the bar. That was the point, really. She didn't want to remember anything. And by the time she stumbled back into her apartment early that morning, she had already forgotten.

"She walks the waters like a thing of life, And seems to dare the elements to strife"

She didn't run.

She did, however, walk really really fast. Her long legs never seemed to touch the ground as she made her way away from the carnival, away from the dreaded booths, and away from Sam.

Alex almost stopped and went back. She almost decided to walk up to Sam and hug him and laugh and say she was just kidding. She almost forgot everything. And she did stop. But she never turned around, never went back to Sam, and certainly never hugged him. But she did stop. She did consider.

She shook those strange thoughts from her head and tried to concentrate on walking back to Wilshire Tower, but her body froze soon after she started her journey. The weather had been dreary all day, which naturally made her nervous. Fortunately, however, it had not rained a drop while with Sam at the carnival. Alex knew she could never be so lucky. Thunder could be heard in the distance, and she knew rain would not be far off.

Alex saw the town's cop, Rocco Statone, drive by her looking bored, yet busy at the same time. She seriously considered asking for a ride back to the apartments, anything to stay dry. She probably would have, if he'd stopped. But he didn't. So she kept walking. And when the rain started coming down, and she starting wishing she had stayed home all day instead of going out with Sam, she ran.