Ruin and Revival

Chapter 36: Yikes

AXEL

"Yikes. All I can say is, yikes," She twirls her crimson hair casually on the squeaky cot, staring at the flies buzzing by the cracking ceiling. I wipe myself down, already used to the ever-present stench permeating off of me. Wrinkling her face, Scarlett plugs her nose in revulsion.

"How have our lives come to this point? We went from insiders with a goal to janitors cleaning up other people's crap," I sigh, giving up trying to make myself somewhat presentable. I sure miss my showers...

"Yeah, and no matter how much digging around I do, I can't find any possible whereabouts of Arika. All we've managed to do on this past month was keep a low profile. But this kind of profile was not the kind I imagined," Scarlett takes off her apron, smelling like microwavable food after hours of working the cafeteria.

"Yikes," I sit up, staring out of our only window at the vast, unforgiving desert. How am I supposed to find her?

"So what's the plan for tonight?" I pick at my grimy fingernails.

"I have another shift at the cafeteria tonight so I guess I'll just listen in on conversations and see if I can find anything. You know same old, same old," Scarlett lays down on the cot next to mine. I glance over our pathetic living space. All we had were our two cots, a lonely window, and each other.

"Hey, you good?" Scarlett says with such sincere concern that it makes me so incredibly, angry that she has to suffer more than she already has.

"Truth is, no. Nothing is working out and all I have done is drag you into this disastrous mess," I run my hands through my greasy hair, longer now than it has been in my entire life.

    "Hey, look at me," Scarlett tilts my face towards hers so I am inches away from those hazel red eyes that match her electric hair.

    "I'll never forget what you did for me. So remember, I will never leave your side, even if the world goes to hell," And as I feel her lips on mine, the memories from three years ago flood into my mind, slipping me into the past.

    Exhausted from the long day, I walk through the streets of New York, the dark shadows of the night hiding my face under the folds of my hood. My mouth is completely dry and I yearn for the waters back home. But I still needed to find myself an ally, a spy for my cause.

    "Will you kill me?" I halt in shock, all the drowsiness from before immediately gone. A girl, probably the same age as me, stumbles towards me, utterly naked. I revert my eyes, turning around. I speed up my pace in the opposite direction, not wanting to get involved with whoever she was.

    "Please, if you won't end my life then at least give me the knife in your sleeve," She is on the ground, begging.

    "Why do you want to die so badly?" I finally approach her. No girl at this age should want to kill herself.

    "I don't need to tell you anything. Just give me your knife," Up close, I can see the layer of grime coating, as if she had never been clean her entire life. And the smells coming off of her...

    "Fine, if you tell me what happened to you, I'll give you my knife," I unbutton my cloak and put it over her, wanting to cover her bare body from the dangers of the night. She flinches at my touch, scrambling away.

    "Please don't touch me," I put my hands up, taken aback by her fear. I set my cloak down on the ground, making sure not make any moves towards her.

"Here, put this on," She cautiously wraps it around herself.

"Thank you," She mutters. She stays silent, unwilling to talk or move for what seemed like a good hour. All she does is eye my knife hungrily as if it was her salvation.

"What's your name?" I ask finally, feeling too guilty to leave her behind but considerably annoyed at the situation I am stuck in.

"I am an orphan with no name. My parents just left me out on the streets and the only way I have managed to survive all these hellish years was with my body. But I am sick and tired of this life. I have dreamed about an end, about death since I was a child," Tears pave their way across her dirty face. It was only then I noticed the hideous bruises that covered her body, the terrible scars. And her luscious, scarlet hair.

"Scarlett," I say before I even know what I am doing.

"What?"

"Your name is Scarlett," I brave a step closer and for once, Scarlett doesn't shrink away.

Our lips depart from one another.

"You gave me purpose and life. You helped me out of the darkest abysses of my mind. Now let me help you," Scarlett whispers as tears roll down my face.