Martin who wasn’t Martin came for her, hands outstretched like the bad guy from the old Bond films. In fact, if Martin got himself some serious braces he might look a bit like him. Nah, not her Martin. It was amazing how much difference a scowl could make.
She whimpered, pushing herself back until she hit the van. Red lay beside her groaning. She cast, the words spilling out as fast as she could say them. The fog came down and Martin who wasn’t Martin disappeared. She slid up the van, her thighs groaning and Martin who wasn’t Martin’s hand came through the fog. He grabbed the front of her t-shirt and she twisted.
His grip slipped and she jumped to one side. Her feet caught on Red’s legs and she tumbled over, hands jarring on the concrete. She moaned, swallowing down the urge to cry. She’d fallen over too many times in the last two days. Her arms hurt and her hands hurt and every thing hurt and she wanted Lara.
She sniffed and tried to get up but her legs gave way and she sat down with a bump. Everything was silent and she stopped sniffing, listening. Nothing. Where was he? She looked around, but the fog was like a wall between her and the rest of the world. She put a hand down and felt the leather on Red’s leg. The urge to try somewhere else was strong, despite the sweat running down her back.
She was in lust. She’d never been in lust. She thought it only happened to men, but there was no denying it. This was awkward. Red shifted beneath her hand and sat up.
‘What happe—’
Scarlet clapped a hand over her mouth. Well, it was over her nose first but she moved it down quick enough. The silence returned but she heard, very faintly, the rustle of cloth and pulled Red down onto her lap. Martin who wasn’t Martin’s fist came flying out of the fog and slammed into the side of the van.
Red grabbed his arm and before Scarlet could react had yanked her knife out and hacked a great gash through it. She gasped, pulling away to avoid the blood that poured from the wound. Red lunged, her knife following the line of the arm until it hit flesh and sunk in.
Scarlet swallowed, seeing only Red, muscles taut and arm outstretched. But she could hear Martin who wasn’t Martin grunt and gasp as Red came back into view. She grabbed Scarlet’s arm and pulled her down the side of the van. They came round the front and set off into the fog, the only sound the crackle of their shoes on the concrete.
She stumbled, catching her balance at the last moment. Seemed like she was being pulled around a lot recently. For someone with serious personal space issues, she was dealing with it very well. She’d find some privacy soon and have a massive attack of the wriggles.
They emerged from the fog and Scarlet stopped, hands on her knees. ‘Hold on, just…’
‘He will still be coming.’
‘You stabbed him.’
Red nodded. ‘He was going to kill us. What would you have had me do?’
Scarlet shook her head, gasping for breath. ‘I don’t know, just, urg.’
She put her head down and tried to breathe normally. The sight of Martin who wasn’t Martin’s arm streaming blood had taken her back to the Underworld, to him lying on the office floor with a knife in his chest. She shook her head, suppressing the need to vomit. She could do this. ‘We need to find somewhere to do the spell.’
Red dragged her into the nearest alleyway. It smelled of… actually, it smelled fine, just concrete and the vague scent of summer. She pulled the ingredients out for what felt like the hundredth time that day and laid them out. Red stood at the end of the alley, peering round the corner.
The blade of her knife was red with blood and now and then a drop would leave it and strike the floor. The splat was loud even with her huffing and puffing and every one made her shiver. The spell was ready and she chanted, focusing on her bedroom. She was halfway through when she faltered.
‘Red.’ Why was everything so quiet? Her voice boomed in the alleyway, but where were the sounds of traffic and people? They were in west London, or sector six or whatever it was called. Why couldn’t she hear anything?
‘Red. We can’t leave, what about Scarlet?’
Red shook her head. ‘I don’t know. We cannot return to that place, they will be waiting for us.’
‘Will they? They probably think we’re dead by now. And even if we aren’t, they wouldn’t expect us to go back there anyway.’
Red hissed through her teeth and crept back to where she stood. ‘You are so desperate to rescue this girl. Why?’
‘She’s me! Why is that so tough to understand?’
‘It isn’t, but we tried to rescue her, got caught and nearly died. So I think doing it again is foolhardy.’
Scarlet frowned, wrinkling up her nose. ‘You talk like Martin. Look, I know it sounds a bit dumb, but I can’t just leave her.’
‘So what are you going to do once you get her out?’
‘I…’ excellent question, well put. She couldn’t take her back home, that would just be too weird. Although, maybe she could learn the secrets of being skinny. And she could go to school and pretend to be her. A smile spread across her face. That would be amazing. She sniffed and shook her head. Mum would go ballistic.
So she’d have to leave her here, only the inspector guys would just find her again. She had to go somewhere different. Scarlet looked at Red, smiling. ‘She could stay with you.’
‘With me?’
‘You know, back where you live.’
‘I live in a two-room cottage with my mother. We have just enough room to stake out a corpse, certainly not enough for another person to live with us.’
‘Stake out a corpse. Ew, why would you want to do that?’
Red looked confused. ‘Drain the blood, dry the skin, remove the innards, all sorts of reasons.’
Scarlet put a hand over her mouth, swallowing down the saliva. Maybe Skinny shouldn’t go there. But she couldn’t just leave her. Red put a hand on her shoulder. ‘We have to leave her. In the long run, it will be for the best.’
‘But…’ She bit her lip. This place sucked. She really thought it was going to be amazing, but it sucked. She didn’t want to live here, so why should the other her? She? Whatever. Aside from the whole skinny, everyone-does-magic thing. Except actually the magic thing sucked too, cos no one seemed to do any and it was banned everywhere except in the bathroom on Tuesdays between twelve and one.
‘No. That’s not good enough. She helped me and yeah, maybe she’s really annoying, but she helped me and we need to help her.’
Red frowned. ‘I think this is a very bad idea.’
‘Yep, me too.’ Scarlet grinned up at her and began to cast. The light appeared and this time she focused on the darkness in the corner of the warehouse. No point in going through all that trouble with the front gate again. She reached for Red’s hand and they clasped and took a step.
She heard a voice, mumbling and low, and looked over her shoulder. Martin leaned against the stones at the end of the alleyway. Something flashed from the end of his fingers and struck her in the back and she was thrown forward. She gripped Red’s hand as hard as she could and then they were falling.
Next Installment Friday 25th April
