The Rules of the Red - 2014 Watty Award Winner |✓|

Chapter Six - Part One

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CHAPTER SIX

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A trailer park was the last place that I expected Tidus to bring me, but that's exactly where we ended up. It was an abysmal, neglected, dump of a neighborhood. And most of the trailers were ramshackle, consisting of chipped paint, and broken windows with boards nailed across their fronts. But the one we parked in front of was different - quite different, actually.

An unstable fence surrounded the small property of an equally small trailer. And I could tell that the two windows were indeed lit, but covered from the inside with blinds for privacy. Hesitantly, I unbuckled myself, and exited the car, feeling instantly weary when I spied a figure moving in the shadows of the small trailer's deck.

"Claudia, I've brought her." Tidus called, and the figure shifted again, this time into the moonlight.

"Well, it's about time." the girl said. Her tone with Tidus had been light-hearted, but when she directed her gaze towards me, an immediate sense of gravity overtook her. And her large, gray eyes held a haunted, flat quality that I recognized in my own from time to time. I observed her long, brown hair, twisted and dreaded in some places, her jean shorts, red flip-flops and the artfully-torn, white t-shirt, coupled with the small gold hoop in her nose, and realized that she wasn't much unlike myself. In fact, she appeared to be an outside reflection of the girl I was within. And as she stood across from me, measuring up to equal height, I knew from her expression that she had come to the very same conclusion - that we were two peas very close to the same pod.

"I'm -"

"Naomi Noble. Yeah, I know who you are." she said stiffly, ignoring the outstretched hand that I offered.

"Ti, you really think it's a good idea bringing her here?" Claudia asked, turning her attention back to him. "I thought you said you were gonna take care of her."

"But I did take care of her." Tidus replied, with the same teasing idleness that he used on me. "I brought her to see you."

"What more do you want me to do? I already told you what I saw - and you know I'm never wrong. She fucking did it."

"Uh, hello?" I said, and they both looked back at me, as if seeing me there for the very first time.

"Yeah, still here." I said impatiently. "Look, Claudia, you have it wrong. I don't wanna kill Tidus - I barely even know him."

"Is she for serious?" Claudia said.

"I think so, actually." Tidus replied, grinning.

"You made a mistake." I said to Claudia again. "I can guarantee it."

"Oh really? And do you wanna bet on that, wolf?" Claudia said, folding her arms together in a challenging manner.

I felt the small hairs across the nape of my neck bristling, and there was a momentary flash of anger. But I steeled myself, because I knew that of the three, I was the one at the disadvantage there. And it would serve no good to square off in a pissing contest with Claudia anyway, let alone in front of Tidus. If I wanted to win this battle (and stay alive) I would have to do it the smart way.

"Look, just tell me what I need to do to fix this." I said evenly, and looking between the both of them.

"Fine, we can talk inside." Claudia replied wearily. "But first, I'll need a little insurance - just enough to make sure that I can really trust you in my house."

And from out of her back pocket, she withdrew a thin, capped syringe, filled with a clear liquid that sparkled flashes of silver in the moonlight.

"What the hell is that?" I asked suspiciously, restraining myself from taking a step backwards.