Life of a Street Fighter

Moving On

* edited on 11/18/15

Alex gasped and darted away from the room, while Kaiden leapt fully out of bed. "What's happening? I mean, what happened?" Kaiden asked, his brain clearly still in sleep mode.

Quickly, Scarlett explained and handed him the note, and then holding up the knife. "Recognize it?" she asked sharply, not caring if he replied.

Alex came running back into the room, Ellie at her heels. Scarlett gave a sigh of relief when she saw Ellie unharmed. Then Alex handed her another sheet of paper. "This was over Ellie's bed, similar to yours, except there was a knife through her doll and stuffing all over the place" she said.

Scarlett quickly scanned the paper, her eyes darting back and forth as she read the short, chilling message.

Want your precious girl to be safe? Come to me and we'll bargain or I'll find you and kill her. Don't bother running, I'll only find you again.....although, it does make the game more exciting.

Scarlett scowled at the words, before crumpling the piece of paper and tossing it on the ground. "Alex, take Ellie and go back to her room. Pick up all the stuffing and put it back in the doll, also bring me the knife" she said. Alex nodded and walked back out the room, Ellie following and by the look on her face was asking a question.

Scarlett walked over to the window and pulled up the blind before opening the window, looking up at the sky, trying to judge how long they'd slept. Then she looked down at the street, out of habit, to see if anyone might see her. Her sharp eye caught a dark figure standing directly below the window, smoking. She wrinkle her nose as the cigarette smoke hit her nose. Whoever it was clearly wasn't smoking a good kind.

As she watched, the person smashed out his cigarette and gave her a wave before walking off, and Scarletet could swear she heard him whistling cheerfully. "Nico" she growled.

Kaiden looked over her shoulder and Scarlett drew back, seething mad. "What?" he asked curiously.

"Nico, he was standing under the window and he waved at me" she said furiously, also wanting to kill Kaiden just about now for bringing her into this.

"So, what are we going to do?" Kaiden asked, pulling on his jacket.

"We're going to my place, where I was staying before, you got me into this" Scarlett replied in a chilly tone.

"But didn't Nico say in his note not to run?" Kaiden asked mildly.

"Since when have you started taking orders from that bastard? He might find us again, but we'll be ready for him" Scarlett said with confidence.

"You can't run forever you know" Kaiden said, catching her arm as she tried to leave the room. "Wait, aren't you forgetting something?"

"Um...no?" Scarlett replied, looking at him confused.

"What happened between us, yesterday?" Kaiden said, softly.

"What about it?" she asked, scuffing the floor with her boot.

"Are you just going to pretend it never happened?" he asked.

"Well, you didn't seem like you cared and we're kind of running from a psycho, so...." she said, trailing off and looking up at him, hating the awkwardness of the situation.

Kaiden smiled, and hugged her, before suddenly changing the subject. "How's you're hand? Any better?" he asked.

"Huh, oh, fine. Just like it was yesterday" she said, looking down at the bandage on her hand.

"Good" Kaiden replied, as Alex and Ellie appeared in the doorway seconds later.

"I got it" Ales said, holding the mutilated doll, along with the stuffing in one hand.

"Good toss me the knife" Scarlett replied, catching the handle of the knife as Alex tossed it towards her.

Beside her, Kaiden gave a sigh of relief and she flashed him a smirk. "What, were afraid I was going to cut my other hand?" she asked in a teasing voice. Kaiden shrugged and looked away.

"Ellie, come here" she said, and Ellie quickly came up to her. Scarlett placed the knife in one of her hands and curled Ellie's hand around it. "Use this if you have to" she told her quietly.

"So if the grass man tries to hurt me or you, I get to stab him?" Ellie asked, looking down at the shiny knife in her hand, and Scarlett nodded.

Ellie turned and lined up with the wall, the corner of her tongue sticking out of her mouth as she concentrated. Then, she threw the knife as hard as she could, the knife ending up sticking firmly in the wall, hovering by its tip.

Scarlett applauded her, while Alex and Kaiden just looked impressed. "How'd you learn to do that?" Alex asked, as Ellie retrieved her knife.

Ellie shrugged. "Red was always talking about learning to defend myself, but she was never around to teach me, so when she took me out, I watched people use knives and when she left me at home, I practiced with the ones that I found" she said nonchalantly, sitting down on the bed with her legs tucked underneath her, as she stared back at the three teens.

Scarlett smirked, pleased that Ellie was picking up traits that would help her later in life. Kaiden laughed as he said, "Street fighting sisters, through and through"

Both Ellie and Scarlett turned to look at him in exasperation, but he only laughed harder. "See what I mean?" he said.

"Great minds think, and act alike" Scarlett said, rolling her eyes, before saying, "So, are we going soon?"

"Going where?" Alex asked with a frown.

"Oh, we're going to abandoned apartment where I was staying before I met you guys" Scarlett said, as Ellie hopped off the bed, tucking her knife into her waistband.

"It's abandoned?" Alex asked.

"Yeah, haven't you guys ever stayed in one before?" Scarlett asked, curious if they were true street fighters or not.

"Well, not really" Alex said awkwardly, looking over at Kaiden, who shrugged in return.

"Oh" Scarlett said, cringing inwardly.

"Uh, won't Nico know where we're going though?" Kaiden asked.

"Not if we leave under the cover of the night" Scarlett said, looking out the window at the darkening sky. "Which will be soon" she added.

"Alright" Alex said with a shrug. "Kaiden you got any food around here? I'm starved"

Scarlett turned to look at Kaiden who blinked at her, before turning to Alex. "Um, there's some food in the kitchen" he said.

Alex and Ellie raced off, clattering down the stairs, talking with each other happily, while Scarlett and Kaiden followed at a slower pace until Alex shouted up at them. " Come on you slowpokes! There won't be any food left by the time you get down here!"

Kaiden and Scarlett exchanged glances, and then Scarlett pushed Kaiden aside and raced down the stairs, Kaiden following close behind though he was complaining, until they burst into the kitchen.

Alex and Ellie were sitting at the table, laughing, a pile of food in front of them. "Nice of you to show up, but I'm afraid there's just not enough food to go around. Sorry guys" Alex said with a laugh.

Scarlett pulled up a chair and sat down, snagging a plastic-wrapped sub. "Yeah right. In that case, I'll just steal something from you. You won't deny food to a poor beggar would you?" she said, widening her eyes as she unwrapped the sub.

"They might not, but I would" Kaiden said, reaching around her and plucking the sandwich out of her grasp and biting into it as he sat down.

"Hey!" Scarlett protested, snatching her sandwich from him and slugging him in the shoulder before biting into it.

Nico sat outside the window on a small ledge, watching them laugh and joke with each other. "Just you wait" he muttered, before melting into the darkness, glowering.