Red Girl

Mission Start

There was a brief moment of silence as the three looked at each other. Luke then decided to break it.

"Soooo, are you gonna go shower now, or what?", he casually asked.

"DUDE! C'mon!", P2 cringed. "Er, sorry about him. Actually, he's the one who found you passed out".

"O-oh, I see. He is right, though. I haven't had a good shower in days...", she answered, a bit embarrassed.

"By the way, what were you doing way out there? That's not really an ideal spot to go train", Luke asked, tilting his head curiously.

" ...I'd rather not say. I don't want to involve anyone else in my problems. But I am greatful for you helping me", she explained, getting up out of bed.

She swayed a little bit, and immediately sat back down, holding her head. Being out in the sun, as well as the blood drains, plus all that walking had made her pretty dizzy.

"Hey hey, take it easy! How about you eat something first, and then you can tell us what's the deal is?", P2 suggested.

"But I said that I-", she began.

"Look lady, you may as well go ahead and tell us what's wrong, cuz P2's gonna keep worrying about it, and he'll eventually find out for himself", Luke said, shrugging.

"Are you serious"?

"Does this face look like I'm kidding"?

" ...I suppose not. Alright, but let me freshen up first".

With that, P2 and Luke went out the bedroom. Before leaving, P2 told her where the bathroom was if she wanted to shower, and laid some fresh towels, as well some of his own clothes for her to wear when she got out.
Juliet didn't quite get why these two were so interested in knowing about her. She felt a bit nervous that they might want her special blood if she told them the truth.
But at the same time, she remembered her dream, and the part of the two hands of light reaching for her. Could it maybe have been those two??
Deciding to risk the chance, she finished her meal, and went into the bathroom.

Downstairs, P2 and Luke were discussing what would be best to open with when she came down.

"We could tell her about what we do, y'know? It might make her feel a bit better about telling us her story", P2 suggested.

"Maybe. But she might think we're weirdos for helping out total strangers, too", Luke added, twiddling his cloak-tendrils. "Especially when she finds out about me".

"Nah, you're a pretty nice guy, Luke. I'm sure it'll be overlooked. Let's just all keep a calm head, and make sure we don't say anything that might put her off".

"Alright, alright. I mean, I guess she isn't SO bad. I kinda like her red eyes. They look like mine".

Just then, Juliet appeared at the top of the stairs. The sun shone on her gentle face through the window, causing it to glow. Her long flowing red hair looked like flowing fire.

"I'm sorry that took so long. I'm presentable now", she said, as she descended from the stairs. "Thank you for opening up your home to me".

"Don't mention it, happy to help!", P2 smiled, giving a thumbs-up.

"Whoa, you look way less dusty now!", Luke exclaimed. "So, now are you going to tell us about yourself"?

"If you really want to know, I'll tell you. It may be a bit strange"...

"Tell the story, tell the story"!

P2 got up so she could sit down on the couch next to Luke. Luke crisscrossed his legs and looked up at her with expectant eyes.

"I guess I should start with my name", she said, clearing her throat. "My name is Juliet Summers. As you can see, I'm not exactly normal in appearance as far as humans go. According to my mother, who is also a doctor, I was born with a genetic mutation.
It didn't seem serious; however, it just gave me a red hue, if you will. So my life went on as normal. ..Until"...

"Until what?", P2 asked, thoroughly intrigued.

"There was the day when my father had seen me fall, and scrape my knee. You see, there was one more thing that my mother didn't notice... It was my blood. It has the power to heal wounds like the one I had just gotten.
My father had seen this as a business opportunity, and tricked me into staying in a specialized room that helped to take my blood, and sell it off to buyers for a high price", she explained.

"Huh... I mean, helping people is a good thing, right? Wasn't your blood helping the people your dad was selling it to?", Luke chimed in curiously.

"That's what I believed. He said I was being just like mom, who's currently in another country helping injured people from a current riot.
I was hoping that maybe one or two of the people I helped would've came over to say a thank-you, or something! But no one came, and my father told me when I went to school to never tell anyone about it. That's when I became suspicious about who exactly was he sending it to... I wasn't even allowed to go play outside after that", she told him.

"Man, that sucks... So what happened next?", P2 asked.

"After I had grown up, I was fully isolated in my room. It was like my house had become a prison. My room was my jail cell...
I couldn't take living like that anymore, so when my father was occupied, I took some food, water, money, and ran away. I caught a taxi cab, and had the driver take me to our city's limit, and began my trek to the next one. It had been a few days since then, and I remember running from an illusion of my dad, and... Well, that's when I lost consciousness", she went on. "I believe that's when you two found me, and brought me here".

"Geez, you're pretty brave, Juliet", Luke awed. "So, where are ya going from here"?

Juliet put her finger up to her bottom lip. "I'm.... not sure. I didn't think I'd get this far, to be honest".

"Well, I know you said that your mom was in another country. It's a long stretch, but do you think you'd be safe with her?", P2 asked.

"I never thought of that! Yes... Yes, I think I'd be fine with her. But, how would I get all the way over there? I used most of the money I had to get the taxi driver to bring me to the city limit".

"I mean, if it's just transportation, I could get my friend Jack to get us there. He's built a ton of contraptions, and I'm sure he can take us there in no time"!

"Whooo, road trip!", Luke cheered, pumping his fists in the air, ecstatic.

Juliet smiled. She thought to herself that maybe these were the hands of light she had seen in her dream. Maybe things would be alright after all!