Adapt (I)

SCARLET

“Hi. No one is available to take your call. Please leave a message-” I growl and angrily hang up. Why isn’t Boe answering his phone? I know that he isn’t the type to ignore his phone.

I redial the number, glad Boe had given back my phone this afternoon. “Hi, no one is available to-” I throw the phone on the passenger seat.

I don’t know where Boe is staying but there isn’t a whole lot to choose from in Green Haven. I check the Tourist Park first. I wind through the park, rubber necking for any sign of Boe, whether it be an official looking car or one of Boe’s black shirts. I peer between the pull trailers and RVs. I scan the cabins. Nothing. As I look around, though, I realize this isn’t the type of place Boe would stay. I spin out of the park and roar toward the motel in town.

My Jeep tears through relaxed little Green Haven. The elderly people out for an afternoon stroll to stop and stare. I am sure that my rush will be upon everyone’s lips by tomorrow morning.

I bounce into the parking lot of the ‘Sea Breeze’ Motel. The salt air has worn at the varnish on the pine wood siding. I drive past the green-tinged pool and spot a sleek black Hummer, double parked. I don’t bother pulling into a spot, or even shutting off the engine. I march up to the door corresponding to the Hummer’s parking space. I go to rap on the door when I hear voices from inside.

“Mercury, you have until the end of the week to make her comply. I am warning you. Do not let your feelings for this girl jeopardise this mission any further.” A voice scolds.

Mercury? That is an unfamiliar name. I step toward the next door along, figuring that Boe isn’t in that room.

Another voice responds before I move out of earshot. “I never signed up for abducting teenage girls from their home.” Boe’s voice hisses.

I stop in my tracks, waiting for the reply.

“Comments like that are not recommending you for this job. I will remove you if need be.” I recognize Alex’s voice now.

“I’m sorry, but I am not a kidnapper.”

“Mercury, you are whatever I say you are, and right now I am telling you that you being a pain in my ass.”

There is silence in the room for a moment. I listen eagerly, waiting for more information.

Finally, Boe breaks the silence. He lets out a long sigh. “I need more time. I can bring her in willingly, but I need more time.”

“No. She must be contained as soon as possible. The end of the week is as much slack as I can swing. She cannot be allowed to remain in the human world any longer. She is too dangerous and unpredictable.”

I frown at Alex’s words and look down at myself. Dangerous? My 5’3” statue would disagree. But I am an accomplished fighter, and a lot stronger than my human peers. Unpredictable? Well, up until Boe arrived in town, I had near perfect attendance at school, and a routine I hardly ever strayed from. Yet, in the back of my mind, I see what he is saying. What if there are parts I don’t know about my therian side? What if sensing hunters and my ability to heal quickly aren’t the only therian qualities I carry? The thought rocks me to my core, causing me to take a few steps back.

“Contained? Unpredictable? Stop talking about her as though she is a threat.” Boe laughs, but there is no joy in the sound. It is cold and sarcastic. Maniacal. “Stop talking about her as though she isn’t a living, breathing person. A hunter, none-the-less. Does her Therian genetics mean so much to you that you are willing to overlook the fact that she is one of us? She has done nothing wrong. She is one of the most skilled hunters that I have ever seen. She has lived as close to the Hunter’s Handbook as any of us.” Boe is hysterical. I can tell that he is on the cusp of rage filled tears. Something about that makes me ache for him.

“I see.” Alex says, drawing out the words. Through the walls I can hear faint footfalls.

“...What?” Boe’s tone turns questioning and wary.

“I have seen the way you interact with her. You do not think of her as a subject, but rather a damsel in distress.”

Boe scoffs. “She is anything but a damsel.”

Alex continues. “You care for her in a way that has clouded your judgment.”

“No, I think it is your judgment that is clouded-”

Alex cuts Boe off. “Mercury, you are falling in love with a Therian!”

The room goes silent, but that silence is the only queue I need. I pivot on my feet and bolt back to my Jeep. I slam the vehicle door behind me and floor the gas, spinning the wheels in the process. Out of the corner of my watering eyes, I see a shape burst out of the motel room, but I don’t bother to see if it is Alex coming to capture me, or Boe running after me to explain what I just heard. I don’t need an explanation. What I need is to get the hell out of dodge.

My whole world is crumbling around me. I thought I was handling it fine, but I was in denial. The truth is, all of the walls I had built, to keep me emotionally safe, are liquefying. They wash around my ankles and ebb away into the abyss.

All I can see now is the hurricane questions, whipping and surging above me, ready to devastate my perception of reality.

Tears break their banks, spilling down my cheeks. I don’t wipe them. I turn down roads, aimlessly, unsure of where I am going. I sniffle back the next round of sobs, trying to clear my head. The next thing I know, I am pulled up out the front of Caron’s house. The eggshell white walls with sunflower yellow trim seems like a fairy tale land, in which I can escape into and never have to remember the past. I leap out of the Jeep and run to the house. Suddenly a smile is plastered across my face because I know that inside, I will be safe. I will be able to shed the weight of my despair in Caron’s arms.

I swing back the screen door. The sight before me completely crushes my sudden euphoria. My eyes follow the footsteps of blood to a shape wearing a grey suit, who is holding Caron’s limp body in his arms.