The Queen's Red Lake

I

I slam the cab door and pass him a few bills before he speeds off down the road. I adjust my bag on my shoulder and look around before walking down the long road. There is a gentle breeze but it was cooler than what I'm accustomed to. My phone begins to chime and I answer it before looking at the Caller ID. "Yes."

"Did you make it safely?"

I roll my eyes at my mother question but I answer anyway. "Yeah." I grumble through the phone. My mother sigh and I knew from being around her for so many years that she is probably chewing on her bottom lip in guilt. Sending me to the other side of the country was not her decision but my father's.

"Hal, this is for your own good." She tells me. "You remember the deal. This or Europe and we both know how you feel about the Europeans." She tries to joke.

"It wasn't much of a deal. He forced me here." I pause. "The weather is unusual." I try to change the subject because I knew this is hurting my mom more than my anger towards my father. We speak about how uncomfortable I was on the plane and she speaks about her day and she promises me that I will enjoy my time away from the busy city.

I kick at the rocks as I continue to hike toward the town line. Once I approach the sign I say through the phone, "I'm here."

Welcome to Red Water

I frown at the town name. It wasn't the most welcoming. However, I swallow my pride and continue on. A few nights ago my parents came to the conclusion that I had serious anger problems and taking a few karate classes didn't help diminish it. It only put me in the principal office and expelled after breaking a boy's arm. My father was upset, word spread quickly and he was ashamed. They gave me the decision to go off to a private school in Europe or come visit my grandmother for a semester.

"That's great." My mom says through the phone. She then pauses. "You should call your father."

I roll my eyes and clench my jaw to stop myself from the nasty outburst. I then count to three in my head and say, "He's the one who sent me to this hole."

"Hal--" My mother calls my name. "He's your father and he knows what is best for you. Your father loves you."

"He sent me away. That's not love." I hiss. "I love you mom but I need to go." I hang up the phone and look around. People were looking at me oddly but I ignore them. I scroll through my phone and read the address. I attempt using GPS but it was useless because I didn't have any signal. I drop my bag and sigh in exhaustion. I dial my grandmother number but she wasn't picking up the phone. I pick up my bag and continue walking. I refuse to call my father.

I walk into the first shop that appears and drop my bags onto the floor again. They are pretty heavy and weighing down on my shoulder. People turn and stare at me but I walk down the aisle and grab a bottle of water and a small bag of chips. I try calling my grandmother again but there was still no answer. I internally scream. I walk back down another aisle to look for more snacks. I notice a back door and head that way looking for a bathroom. The hallway is dark and the light on the ceiling is blinking on and off. I swallow and notice a strange noise.

"Need any help?"

I almost jump out of my skin and turn around before taking a step back from the older man that is standing in my personal space. "Uh, yeah. I'm a little bit lost."

"You won't find what you're looking for back here that is for sure." The older man replies. "Follow me." We walk through the door and he shuts it before locking it. "You don't seem to be from around these parts."

"Visiting," I answer. "Can you help me find this address." I unlock my phone and show him the address that is programmed in my phone. He leans forward and squints his eyes to read the message. He arches his eyebrow and reads, "969 Red Water's." He looks up at me oddly and asks, "What are you looking for there?"