Rell and The Rose

Ch. 23, Stranger Danger

Bastien

I turned the car down another narrow street, my stomach sinking with the sun. I'd expected to find Rell on the path, or, at the very most, at the gas station near the end of the road, but I had never expected the attendant to tell me he'd seen a beautiful, tall blonde get in a car with a man that was headed towards the city.

What the hell was she thinking?

Hadn't anyone ever told her about Stranger Danger? Was that even a thing in Antartica? Though after Dasan's cryptic words I wondered if even that were true. Mostly I wanted to kick myself that while I'd been wrapped up in my own drama, trying to solve my own issues, the very person who might be able to answer my questions was living in my house.

I cruised slowly through the city, starting where the lights and traffic were the busiest and loudest and then slowly working my way out to the neighborhoods you didn't want to get caught in after dark.

With a nice car.

Exactly like I was now.

I was about to turn around when I saw a flash of blonde hair disappearing into the park.

"Rell!" I yelled out the window, then cursed when she didn't stop. In fact, she was literally sprinting away from me, in a way that would probably have impressed the track coach at Shadowglen High. I drove the car up onto the curb, slammed the door shut and— hoping I didn't get towed or robbed— took after her.

I sprinted down the gravel path into the darkened trees. The lights were off, and almost instantly the world became shadows. My feet crunched on the gravel, the only noise next to the wind shifting through the trees.

"Rell?" I whispered, as I slowed.

A form burst out from behind a tree not two feet to my left, and I tried to turn my yelp into a more manly sounding cough.

"Bastien?"

Oh thank God. I pretended like I wasn't at all shocked to see her.

"Rell, listen I'm-"

But she wasn't even listening to me. She grabbed my hand and jerked me after her.

"Quick!"

"Wait— what?"

She was pulling me after her, off the path and into the forest. I was about to ask what she was doing when a branch smacked me right in the face.

"Ouch— crap! Rell— "

"Shhh!" She suddenly froze, her eyes staring out into the darkness as if she could see through the night. I froze as well, listening, suddenly worried. Voices rose through the night, seeming to draw closer to us.

Angry voices.

Rell plunged again into the darkness, and I grimaced as I ran after her. "Hey!" I whisper-shouted, getting hit by yet another branch in the face. "Are there people chasing you?"

I caught a flash of white, as she turned back and grinned. "No."

"Oh thank God cause— "

"They're chasing us!"

She laughed, leaving me speechless. The voices rose behind us and I pushed myself faster after her. She wove effortlessly through the trees, almost as if she knew where each branch, root and thorn lay. In turn I smashed, kicked and stumbled over everything within a five foot radius, cursing nature to Hell and back again.

Finally we broke through the trees, on the far side of the park.

"Hurry!" she said, bouncing on her toes as she waited for me. Too late. A group of men had come out on the other side of the park just down the hill from us, and I caught a glimpse of several hulking figures, in dark clothing, who, A, looked totally pissed and, B, looked entirely capable of beating the crap of two teenagers.

"Come here," I said, motioning her next to me. Her eyebrows rose, but she stepped closer, and I lifted an arm and slung it around her shoulders, the way I had every time I walked through downtown with Cat. With Rell it felt different.

First she was taller, but also with Cat I'd always touched her with a sort of duty. With Rell it was the opposite— I was half afraid she was going to pull back and punch me in the face. She wasn't wearing a jacket, even though the air was cold with coming rain, and she smelled like trees. Something inside of me tightened at her closeness, and I deliberately avoided looking her in the eye.

After a moment, I felt her arm snake around my waist as we began to walk slowly parallel to the group of men.

"Why are we walking like this? Are we going to fight them?" Her voice was confident, more eager than afraid. I cut a path across the street, pulling her away from them.

"No, they won't notice us if we're together like this." I hope.

"There she is!"

Or not.

I turned to grab Rell and run, but she was already ten feet in front of me. I took off after her.

"What did you do?" I yelled.

She turned to me, her face lit up with a feral smile. "Nothing they didn't deserve!"

"What does that mean!?"

"Don't worry, they can't catch us!" She was grinning, and for some reason, suddenly, I was too. This girl was insane. Like, literally insane. I was running from men, in some forgotten part of downtown, in the middle of the night, with a crazy girl that I had yelled at a few hours ago.

We spun around the corner, sprinting down an alleyway, pulling ahead of the men, and I started to laugh. I'd always been an adrenaline junky— I loved sports— the thrill, the chase, the competition. But always the best part was that moment you knew you were going to get the point, when you knew that you'd won, and there was nothing your opponent could do to stop you.

Because she was right, they wouldn't catch us.

Then we turned the corner and the laugh died.

A brick wall stood before us.