Part One is here

‘Stand completely still or I’ll shoot you.’

‘Shoot us? Why not use magic?’

The man frowned. ‘You know very well why not, young lady. Name and ID number?’

‘Um, Joanna and I don’t know my number. I don’t think I have one. How about my exam number, I remember that.’

She gave him a winning smile that for some reason failed to impress him. He stalked across the space between them, eyes leaving her to look at Red. They opened a little wider as he took in the leather and the gorgeous face. Scarlet felt a pang of jealousy before Lara flashed through her mind. She bit her lower lip and stared at the gun.

Why hadn’t she argued? She should have told Lara’s dad to stop being a dick and deal with it. He had been there, it would have been easy. She looked at the gun. She had to get home safe because she was going to see Lara again. She was.

The man moved closer. Scarlet muttered from the corner of her mouth. ‘If I blind them can you take the gun?’ She almost burst out laughing. She was in some sort of spy movie. Only with magic. And Red Riding Hood. She giggled, earning herself an odd look from the man with the gun. Red touched her back and she took that to mean she could stop them.

She remembered the spell. It was one of the few she did. She began to mutter, casting as subtly as possible. The man with the gun was still staring at Red and didn’t spot her, at least not at first. Then the gun came up and he shouted something, but she was too deep into the spell and didn’t hear him.

The fog came like, well, a fog really, and in seconds the room was filled with it. She couldn’t see past her hand, couldn’t see anything. One of the men chanted, some sort of counter, but his voice cut off suddenly, following a dank thud. There were a couple more and a hand grabbed her arm.

Scarlet jumped, shrieking and was met by a dry chuckle. ‘It’s me.’

She let out a long breath, fanning her face with her hand. ‘Come on.’

Red pulled her along. Her foot caught something soft on the floor and her stomach turned over. ‘What did you do to them?’

‘Nothing they won’t recover from. Come, we need to find you.’

Red seemed to be dealing with the whole different dimension thing much better than she had. Not surprising really, what with the mad knife skills and leather and curves and… she blinked and pinched herself. They burst free of the fog and she stared at the girl next to her. Dammit, still gorgeous.

She needed to focus. Right, find Skinny. Leather. Skinny. She bit her lip and set off after the girl, working hard to keep her eyes on the back of her head. They entered another building and checked the board. The name jumped out at her and she yelped, hammering it with her finger.

‘There, it’s her, it’s her.’

Red nodded and they charged down the corridor. Up a couple of flights of stairs and to a room halfway down the hall. The door was the same as the gate outside and when Red turned the handle it swung open. Scarlet ran in and wrapped her arms around Skinny as she rose from the bed.

‘Oh my god, what are you doing here?’

The tone of her voice was half grateful, half accusing, all annoying. ‘Um, like, rescuing you.’

‘Oh, well, that’s stupid of you.’

She bit her lip and decided that she could be the better person. She wasn’t skinny, nor was she living in a world where everyone could do magic, but at least in her world they didn’t lock you up for no reason.

‘Scarlet, this is Red.’

The two smiled at one another and they turned to leave. Out the door, back down the stairs and they headed for the exit. She was almost there when the man with the gun lurched through the door. The blood running down his head was bright in the fluorescent light, but the hand and the gun he held in it were steady.

‘That was rude.’ She didn’t understand what he said next, it was a spell in a completely different language. She had just long enough to wonder whether it was from the spell book Martin had given her, before her limbs grew heavy. They were normally heavy, but now they felt like lead. She tried to lift a hand but nothing worked.

She squealed as her knees struck the floor and she fell face down. She barely felt the pain as her nose struck the ground, but the blood that oozed out was warm. She couldn’t move, not an inch. It was like waking up with a cat on your arm, only this was lots of cats, lying on every part of her. And there was none of warm cute fluffiness to go with it.

‘I don’t know who you are, nor do I care. The prisoner who is with you will be returned to her cell and you will be sentenced. You have made a grave mistake, young ladies.’

His foot steps clicked away. A few minutes later hands grabbed her and hauled her up. She was rested on her feet then two of them dragged her along the floor and out of the hanger. The sun was down and blue lights ran along both sides of the path back to the gate. The men dragging Red came past them and she saw her eyes burning in the darkness.

Outside a van waited and they were thrown in the back. Her chin was caked with blood but she couldn’t lift a hand to wipe it clean. The van pulled away and she slid across the floor, bumping against the doors. Red joined her there and they lay together in paralysis and misery. It felt like a fitting end to what had become a completely crappy day.

When the van stopped, the doors stayed closed. She tried her arm again and realised she could move it, just a little.

‘Red, spell’s wearing off.’

Red grunted. Scarlet tried again and moved a little more. Why were they still in the van? It was dark and entirely uncomfortable, but she still managed to slide into sleep.

What was it with opening doors around here? It slammed against the side of the van and jerked her awake. She groaned and covered her head. She covered her head. She could move!

She sat and stared around, blinking. The doors were open and a man stood outside and despite knowing it was pointless, she still cried ‘Martin.’ He raised an eyebrow and she blushed. Red was awake, sitting on the seat, her eyes fixed on Martin who wasn’t Martin. Scarlet sniffed, wondering if she looked terrifying enough to scare people away.

‘What do you want?’

‘The heads want to see you.’

‘Ooh, I’m important.’

‘Not yet. Who’s this?’

‘Just a friend.’

He folded his arms and waited. She beamed at him. She could wait. ‘What’s happened to Scarlet?’

Martin who wasn’t Martin shrugged. ‘Not my concern. Not yours either.’

‘I was sent on a mission to—’

‘You broke into a facility and injured two agents. Any rights you may have had are done with. Come with me.’

He walked away from the van and she went to scramble out. Red caught her arm. ‘We don’t want to go with him.’

‘Huh?’

‘He has death in his eyes.’

‘Oh.’

Red nodded solemnly. ‘We will not return. Can you still do the spell to take us away?’

‘Yeah, but I need to lay out the ingredients.’

‘I will buy you time.

‘What, now?’

Red was already moving and Scarlet jumped out the van after her. Martin who wasn’t Martin was waiting, arms still folded and Scarlet gasped as Red threw herself at him. He didn’t look ready but as she jumped his hand lashed out and caught her in the face. She flew back past Scarlet and hit the van with a crunch.

Martin who wasn’t Martin walked toward her and Scarlet glanced about. The van was parked in a dead end, tall grey buildings soaring on three sides. He cracked his knuckles and reached for her.

Next Installment Wednesday 23rd April

Part One is here

‘The ashes are what’s left of the children.’

What the hell was she talking about? Scarlet swallowed, staring across the clearing to the cottage. An old woman stood out on the porch, one hand waving a stick in the air. ‘What children, what do you mean?’

‘I’m not the only person around here who does the same thing every day. There are two children who come walking here. Some days they go home with candy, other days…’

She rubbed her face with her palms. Scarlet’s mouth dropped open. ‘Please tell me they aren’t called Hansel and Gretel.’

Red looked at her with wide eyes, mouth open in a circle. ‘How did you know?’

Scarlet shook her head. ‘Don’t ask. But what about your granny, you know, when they go home with sweets?’

‘Those are the days she is out.’

‘Are you sure, I thought…’

Did she need to say that? Probably not. ‘Right, okay, so, we should go then.’

Red took her shoulder and they turned away from the cottage, heading deeper into the forest. They paused in a clearing and Scarlet laid out the ingredients, paying close attention to where she placed them. She was about to cast when she realised she couldn’t take them back to the boardroom. She pictured the gates through which she’d watched them drag Skinny Scarlet.

Could she remember it well enough? She closed her eyes, trying to find the details. They were made of metal with sort of chicken wire stuff inside the frame. What had the floor looked like? She hunched her shoulders and let them drop. She didn’t have time to mess around. In the distance, granny’s voice came again, but it was getting closer now. And she sounded pissed.

She cast, holding the picture in her mind as she spoke. The light appeared and she reached out her hand until she felt Red’s slip into it. She took a deep breath and walked them through.

The breath came out in a huge rush as she saw the gate before them. Red stared about, eyes wide and hands held before her. She looked oddly nervous and her gaze settled on Scarlet. ‘Where did all this metal come from?’

‘Um, dunno, they probably bought it.’

‘But where did those people get it from? There’s so much.’

‘Isn’t there always?’

Red shook her head, eyes still wide.

‘Right, so, how do we break in?’

‘I didn’t know there was steel here. This could be difficult.’

Scarlet sighed. One of those days. She glanced over her shoulder. They stood by the side of a road, empty of cars. Over the other side was waste land, tall grasses waving in the breeze. The fence ran in both directions as far as she could see. It was the gate or nothing.

Red knelt before it, staring at the lock, head still shaking back and forth. There was no handle, just a keyhole in the metal. She stood and wiped her hands on her hips. ‘We’ll have to go over.’

‘Over?’

Scarlet looked at the top of the gate. It was so high. She looked down at her feet and up again at the gate. ‘Yeah, that’s not happening.’

Red glanced back, eyebrows raised. ‘It isn’t that difficult, watch me.’

She took a step back and raced at the gate. She sprang off at the last second and hurtled upward, her hands grabbing the top. In the next second she hauled herself up and perched on top of the gate. ‘It is your turn now.’

Scarlet burst out laughing. ‘Right, funny. Can you open the gate from in there?’

Red gave her another confused look. What was she missing? ‘Look, Red, I’m really not jumping up there.’

Another look, but she dropped down behind the gate. A few seconds later it swung open and Scarlet sauntered through, giving her new companion a wide smile. She tried her best to look calm and casual and ignore the sweat that was drying on her neck from her moment of panic.

They hurried down the concrete path between more waving grass toward another hanger. They were exposed, visible to anyone wanting to watch them. She shuddered. It was like being on a catwalk, only without the flashing cameras and all the people lusting after her. In fact, it was nothing like a catwalk and everything like going up to the front in assembly. Even down to the threat of what might happen when she got there.

The front door swung open at Red’s touch and they crept inside. The hanger was filled with buildings, the corners hidden in darkness. The two of them rushed into the shadows. Scarlet struggled to draw breath. Where were they, where was Martin who wasn’t Martin? Why hadn’t they stopped them? It was a trap, it had to be a trap.

She was about to say so to Red when men’s voices cut through the silence.

‘There are too many here, and not enough of us.’

‘Do we need another cull?’

Silence for a moment. Wasn’t cull what you did to sick cows? She grabbed Red’s hand, eyes flashing in the darkness. They wouldn’t, they couldn’t.

‘That’s a definite possibility. I’d rather avoid it if we can though. The clean up can be complicated.’

Red moved, pulling Scarlet along with her round the side of the building so the men’s voices faded away.

‘How are we going to find her?’

Her voice sounded loud in the still and she gasped, clapping a hand over her mouth. Red shook her head. ‘I don’t know. Perhaps we should get inside?’

Scarlet nodded and they walked around the building until they found a door. This entered into a long hallway. On the wall to one side a huge white board was covered in scribbles. It reminded her of mum’s handwriting, only mum didn’t write the names of people who were about to be culled. She stared at the words, trying to sort through the names.

She wasn’t there. Dammit. They ran back out and went to the next, repeating the process. They’d gone through five buildings before she started to panic. They were never going to find her. They were going to be culled and she and Red would have to sit and watch and there was nothing they could do.

They ducked out of the building and raced toward the next. Her heart hammered, the blood thumping in her ears. She was around the corner before she realised the voices had returned. The two men froze, staring at her as her mouth dropped open.

‘Escapees. Well, this is unusual. Please wait there, ladies.’

His hand went into his jacket and emerged moments later. He pointed the gun he held straight at her. ‘Please, stand absolutely still.’

Part One is here

She stared into the wolf’s eyes as it howled. The sound split her in half. It was, in many ways, similar to mum shouting. It had the same inhuman edge and carried the same note of insanity that came with a real flip-out. Unfortunately, this was unlikely to end with her phone being taken away and no pizza for a week.

Scarlet took a step back and bumped into a tree. At least she had something to her back, something she could lean against as it tore her throat out. She would die standing up. Why was that good? Given the choice, she’d spend her entire life lying down, preferably on something soft and warm. Maybe she should lie down.

The wolf moved, faster than she could follow, and stood before her. It was close enough to feel the warm breath on her cheeks. And the smell. This bad boy wasn’t big on the teeth cleaning. Trying not to breath she slipped a hand into her pocket, resting it against her spell book. There had to be something she could use.

Her mind was trying to race but in reality it raced much as she did. So her mind was far behind the pack, stopping every three paces to draw breath and gasp. She had nothing. The eyes were still staring at her, massive and eerie. The irises were yellow run through with thick black veins and they were almost luminous, drawing her in so the forest around her blurred and disappeared.

She took a step away from the tree, one hand held out. Now that she was really looking, she could see the love in those eyes. The wolf didn’t want to kill her, it wanted to mate with her and such an honour she’d never thought to have bestowed upon one so lowly as she.

‘One so lowly as she?’

Hang on, what the hell was she thinking? She blinked and the eyes lost their grip. Unfortunately, so did she and she screamed and dived to the side. One enormous paw caught her on the head and checked her dive, slamming her to the floor. She landed with a howl of pain and curled up, waiting for the teeth.

She heard the crunch of feet on the pine needles and sticks and the wolf grunted and moved away. She sat up, arms wrapped around herself and stared in wonder. A girl was clinging to the side of the wolf, one hand wrapped around its long fur. Her other hand gripped the handle of a knife that was buried deep in the beast’s side.

The girl was wearing red. Tight-fitting crimson leather. Oh boy. She wiped the imaginary drool from her lip and forgot for a moment all about the nearly dieing thing. Then the wolf charged her and all her thoughts, naughty and otherwise, fled as she scrambled back. Her heels shoved through the loose forest floor and she moved by all of a few centimetres.

Fortunately it made little difference. Red Riding Hood pulled her knife free and slammed it in again to the same place. The wolf stopped in his tracks, head thrown back and howling. He shook like a dog, shaggy fur whipping around until his attacker was lost among it. Scarlet thought she saw the knife come out again and once more dig deep into its side.

The shaking slowed, then stopped altogether. The wolf dropped to his knees. Had she ever seen a tree fall, she imagined this was what it would look like, ponderous and sad. It slumped onto its side, final breath rushing from it like a popped balloon.

Red Riding Hood, and how cumbersome was that for a name, pulled her knife free and dropped to the ground. She wiped her blade on the wolf’s fur and slipped it back into a sheath that hung at her side. Scarlet stared. She had long black hair and pale green eyes and a face that could only really come from a fairy tale. Scarlet whistled softly under her breath, trying not to pant. Only then did Red Riding Hood look up and apparently see Scarlet for the first time.

‘Who are you?’

‘Joanna… Actually, I’m called Scarlet.’ What was that about?

‘Well, Joanna Scarlet, you shouldn’t be here.’

‘Why not?’

‘Because you aren’t ever here.’

‘Um, except I am, like, right now.’

‘Which is why you shouldn’t be here.’

Riiight. Scarlet rubbed her arm where life was just returning after her trip to the ground. This hadn’t started well. ‘You’re Red Riding Hood, right?’

The girl nodded. ‘How do you know my name?’

‘Honey, everyone knows your name.’ If I knew you looked like this I’d have visited sooner. Too soon to say that? Probably.

‘Who is everyone? Do you mean the villagers?’

Scarlet had one of those moments. They were called clarity, possibly, or maybe insanity. Swap a few letters round, what’s the difference? Red Riding Hood had no idea she was in a story. To her, this was normal.

‘How come the wolf was still alive?’

The girl sighed and leaned against the massive corpse. ‘He is always alive. Every morning I wake up and every day I come here and slaughter him. Tomorrow I will wake and do it again.’

Man, that sucked. ‘That sucks. Why do you do it?’

Red sighed and waved a hand toward the mansion cottage across the clearing. ‘Because my grandmother lives there and without me, she would die.’

‘Why doesn’t she move? I mean, it’s a nice house, but surely if this is happening every day she could just move somewhere safer?’

Red frowned and shook her head. She squinted at Scarlet, as though making her blur would make more sense of what she’d just suggested. ‘I’m sorry, I don’t understand.’

‘Mmm.’ Could fairy tales be stupid? Apparently yes. ‘So, look, I’ve come here to ask you for your knife.’

Red put a hand to the hilt and turned her body to put it between Scarlet and the knife. ‘My father gave me this knife. The only way you’ll get it is after I put it in you.’

Scarlet shuddered. The squint was gone and the beautiful lines of her heart shaped face were set as she scowled. Still hot though. Scarlet held her hands up before her. ‘Hey, fine, don’t kill me, I’m not a wolf.’

Red relaxed a tiny bit and her hand returned to her side. She came closer and Scarlet smelled her. There was a hint of wood smoke and pine and lots of something indefinable that made her neck hair stand up and her insides go funny. She wasn’t actually going out with Lara, not right at this moment. The thought made her blush, shame and lust warring within her. Shame lost. It would be fair to say shame snuck out before the battle even began.

‘So, um, do you live alone out here?’

Red cocked her head to one side. ‘I live in the village, with my mother. Who are you, why are you here?’

‘I told you. My name’s Scarlet, and I’m here because I need your knife.’

‘Why?’

The scowl was back. Scarlet told her about the other her and the council and tried to do it in words that didn’t mean lots more explanation. The phrase ‘other worlds’ was pretty safe. She tried dimension once and got a blank look. Which was fair because she was only going on what she’d got from old episodes of Star Trek.

When she’d finished, Red was frowning again. Her hand wasn’t on her dagger, so that was a good sign, but the frown was scary on its own. And hot.

‘Why did you not just rescue her?’

‘Um, excuse me, how? Not some hot fighting goddess like you, in case you hadn’t noticed.’

Red’s cheek turned the same colour as her outfit and she looked everywhere but at Scarlet. That was cute, just completely adorable. She felt the urge to slap herself round the face. Red nodded. ‘That is true.’

Okay, maybe it was, but she didn’t need to say it. Scarlet folded her arms, waiting. Red frowned, which seemed to be her default expression. Scarlet was pretty certain she was thinking, looking past her into the forest. She came to a decision, because she put her hand back on her knife and nodded.

‘Fine, well, I think we should return to this other world and rescue her.’

‘What, together?’

‘Is there something wrong with that?’

Scarlet shook her head violently. ‘Not at all, no, that’s fine, great, really. Um, are you sure?’

Red nodded. She was about to say more when a voice came across the clearing like the detention bell.

‘RED! RED, ATTEND ME AT ONCE.’

Red groaned, putting her face in her hands.

‘Is that granny?’

Red nodded. ‘Can we go, please?’

‘Shouldn’t you talk to her?’

‘She doesn’t want to talk. She wants me to get the ashes out of her oven.’

‘That doesn’t sound too bad.’

‘It is when the ashes are what’s left of the children.’

Next Instalment Friday 18th April

Part One is here

‘Have you ever heard of Red Riding Hood?’

As far as questions went, it was about the last thing she expected to be asked. She blinked and took her sage from behind her ear. Maybe this stuff was hallucinogenic. Maybe it leached through the skin. She kept it there more than she should. Martin kept telling her off for it. She looked at the sage and put it back behind her ear. It was too late now anyway.

‘Sorry?’

‘Red Riding Hood. Most dimensions know it as a fairy tale.’

‘Um, yes. I mean, I have heard of it and it is a fairy tale.’

He nodded, coming around the table to sit on the end. The other three looked bored and impatient. He clasped his hands before him, eyes lit up.

‘There are dimensions where it is more than a fairy tale, though in truth, most fairy tales have some basis in reality. Red Riding Hood has more than most. You know the story, yes?’

‘Um, girl wears red hood, goes to granny’s house and finds wolf instead, chops him up.’

‘That will do. What we are interested in is what she used to chop him up. The blade had been gifted her by her father when she was still in the cradle. It may not surprise you to hear that her father was an assassin, mostly absent from her childhood due to the demands of his unusual occupation. Red was adept with the blade before she became a teenager. A wolf is difficult to kill, but still no match for cold steel and the skills that she possessed.’

Scarlet burst out laughing. ‘Okay, this is too cool. You guys are completely mad, but it’s still cool. Any chance of getting something to eat please?’

The man waved to those behind him and one pulled a phone from his pocket. The man brought her attention back with a wave of his hand. ‘The knife wasn’t just a good blade. It was enchanted, engraved and blessed by one of the gods and highly valuable. We would like it.’

Scarlet was nodding, trying to keep the smile from her face. ‘So you’d like me to go and get the knife from Red, right?’

‘Exactly. She isn’t fond of men, but you are not much younger than she and you have power.’

‘Oh. Hang on, Red Riding Hood happened ages ago, surely she’s ancient by now?’

The man shook his head. ‘Stories do not work like that. Once someone is immortalised in story, well…’

‘Wow, that sucks. Is she old enough to buy beer?’

His face reddened and he flapped his hands. Scarlet smiled and walked past him to sit in his chair. She leaned close into the other three and whispered in a loud voice. ‘Is he the only mad one? I mean, do you guys think he’s mad or are you in it with him?’

She finally got a smile from one of the others but the man himself laughed and turned to look at her. ‘They think I am unhealthily obsessed. But mad would be a little too strong a term I believe. You will do it?’

She shrugged. ‘Why not? Where is she?’

‘You will need to travel to another world, a different dimension.’

‘Oh bloody hell. Can’t you just put me in the van and drive me there?’

A uniformed guard entered with a plate of food and she fell on it, trying to ignore the strange green stuff that might have been salad but could easily have been an alien species trying to attack her. Same difference. She finished and pushed the plate back. ‘Before I do this, you have to show me that Scarlet isn’t being, what did you call it, reconditioned any more. Sounds like something you do to a car anyway.’

One of the men pulled out a tablet and tapped on the screen. When he showed it to her there were four screens, CCTV cameras if she was any judge. Which she was, cos school had a bunch and these had the same dodgy-budget-horror-movie quality to them. On one, Skinny Scarlet was sat in a cell staring at the wall. Her hands were clenched tightly together in her lap and she looked tired, but otherwise alright. The camera wasn’t adding any fat at all.

‘Okay, let’s go. Quick.’

Before I have the time to change my mind or realise how stupid an idea this is and bottle out and just go home. She thought about her bed and sighed. She could go, right now. Why should she save her anyway? If they hadn’t run, she’d be at home, wallowing in a nice normal, comforting pit of depression. These guys seemed perfectly nice anyway, not like she’d said they were.

She remembered the weird sick feeling in the back of the van and the smile Martin who wasn’t Martin had worn. Yeah, okay, they were evil. Maybe not Hitler evil, but just as bad. How could you have magic and ban people from using it?

The ingredients were already mostly laid out and the man who’d convinced her to do this incredibly stupid thing finished them off while she stared at a photo he handed her. It was of a forest, sunlight streaming through the trees to illuminate a hut. Hut wasn’t the right word. This was a hut as much as Harrods was a shop.

It had levels and a thatched roof and veranda and granny had been seriously loaded if this was where she lived. She stared at it until her eyes began to water. Then she checked the ingredients. They were laid out perfectly. She made sure she had everything in her bag to get back and pulled her phone out. She had about 20% left so she took a photo of the room and switched it off.

With a deep breath she cast and the light appeared. Beyond it the four men smiled. That probably wasn’t good. She stared at the photo and stepped through until the concrete beneath her feet became the crunch of the forest floor. She still held the photo and moved it up before her, matching the house on it to the one right before her.

She was here, wherever here was. She was about to meet Red Riding Hood. Possibly. Or a very confused old lady. Far more likely. She took a step toward the cottage and froze as a howl split the air. Suddenly, the peace of the forest struck her as more of a hush, a pregnant pause as though everything was waiting for something.

She spun, sweat trickling down her forehead and saw a pair of yellow eyes, huge and staring straight at her. This then, was the something. The wolf howled again.

Next Installment Wednesday 16th April