She sat motionless perched inside the back of a large utility van, legs dangling over the bumper as she stalemated with a nearby camera, neither daring to blink and admit defeat. It whirred softly, moving slightly to follow any minuscule movement she made, its glossy eye never leaving her body. In a way, she was that camera's whole world, even if it was just for a short while. The thought alone made her heart beat slightly faster, anxiety rising in her chest like a noxious bubble.
It was ironic.
Much of her life had been driven by her need to be in the public eye, to be a star. She grew up wanting to be on TV and in movies, for the world to know her name. She'd gotten what she wanted, hadn't she? People would know who she was now. The rest of her life would be captured on tape and preserved forever. Maybe they'd have memorials, maybe her parents would be on the news talking about her death or all the things she could have done if given the opportunity. Would the people watching like her? Would they talk about what a nice girl she was and how it was a shame she was dead? Did it even matter if she wasn't around to see it?
She broke the hollow gaze between herself and the camera, not wanting to think anymore, her gaze instead falling on the scene in the van behind her. Her belongings were spread across the back area of the van, having been shakily taken stock of and never returned to their home. Her eyes fell on the phone haphazardly tossed on the floor of the backseat, making her feel more hopeless than ever. She'd tried for a good while to get a signal, but received nothing. Just silence. In the front section, her bec-de-corbin lay with the handle end jutting from the driver seat window, remnants of glass coating the seat below. She'd woken up awhile ago and almost immediately used her designated weapon to break into the nearby van, maybe hoping she could get it to start, maybe just wanting a safe place to collect herself. She wasn't sure.
She wasn't sure about much, anymore.
Covering her face with her delicate hands, Summer took a large, shaking breath and did something she hadn't done in a long time. She screamed. A long, pained scream that echoed through the empty parking garage.
And for the first time in a long time, she didn't care what people thought about her, nor if anyone heard her, because if she didn't scream, she'd cry.
And if she cried, she'd never stop.