Little Red Riding Hood Never Forgives

Amanda

6

"What is it?" Alex's voice was barely above a whisper.

Scarlet didn't speak, she just stared at the ruby cloak that had washed onto shore. She shamefully wiped the tears off her chin as she walked towards the water. Her steps were uneven and clunky, as if she had jello for legs. Chilled water met her hand as she scooped the cloak up and dragged it to shore, bits of sand coated it.

"What is it?" Alex repeated.

"A cloak." Scarlet's voice was distant and quiet.

Alex examined the fine craftsmanship, it was made from a silk and was unusually light. As his eyes raked the beautiful garment, Scarlet found the ground much more interesting.

"Who's is its?" He looked to Scarlet as she bit her lip uncomfortably.

Scarlet flopped down on the ground and Alex joined her. She plucked a withered dandelion out of the ground and twirled it with her fingertips. She took a deep breath, and like a whoosh of wind the answer came rushing out of her mouth almost involuntarily.

"It's Little Red Riding Hood's."

Alex raised his eyebrow, "And who exactly is she?"

Scarlet sighed, "It doesn't matter."

They sat quietly for awhile, completely forgetting to meet Sin and Hawk at the largest tree in the grounds. After a while Alex finally spoke.

"She killed him." He said suddenly.

Scarlet whipped her head towards him, thrown into momentary surprise. "Who?" The words barely left her lips before he answered.

"My mum, she killed my dad. Right in front of me."

"Oh, I'm so sor-"

"Don't," He interrupted, "don't apologize. Just...listen. Okay?" Scarlet nodded. "My mum shot my dad right in front of me when I was twelve. She threatened that if I ever told anyone about what I did she would shoot the person I loved most. A couple years past and one day a guidance consular took me aside and asked me if everything was alright at home. My mother had struck me the night before so I had come to school with bruises. I...well I spilled. I told her that my mum had shot my dad and that she was beating me. For a few days everything was normal, nothing changed and the guidance consular didn't speak to me again."

Alex swallowed and his gaze flickered to a nearby tree, it fixed on the tree like a life line. "And then one day when I was coming home from a date with my newest girlfriend, my mom was home. Amanda and I had been going out for half a year by then, she trusted me and I trusted her. When I opened the door mom was standing there, frowning. The second our eyes met she burst into a whirlwind of anger. She slapped me and started swearing like crazy. She had to go to court in a week because the consular reported the crime. That's when she...she picked up her baseball bat and smashed Amanda's head in..." Tears streamed down Alex's shaking face.

"She was the first girl that I ever loved."

Scarlet didn't speak, she couldn't. She had never seen Alex like this in the past few days that she had to share with the werewolf hunters. She had never seen someone so heartbroken, it made her feel the sting of oncoming tears as well. For a long time the two opposites sat on the mud, dwelling in their unfortunate pasts. When Scarlet opened her mouth to tell Alex her darkest secret, he shushed her.

"I chose to tell you, you don't have to repay me with a secret of your own." He had said.

Scarlet dipped her head in agreement and they lapsed into another moment of silence. Alex stood up after awhile and started swimming to the other side.

"We should get to the other side now, the others have probably already gotten there." He motioned for her to join him. Scarlet nodded and dived into the lake once more.

The swim was quiet and peaceful, a welcome change. Alex helped Scarlet through the tougher currents since she still couldn't swim. Soon enough, they arrived at the shore.

"So where do you suppose the tree is?" Scarlet shoved her hands into her pockets and looked around.

"No clue, how about you? Wolves can sniff out this kind of thing, right?" Alex's old cockiness returned.

Scarlet raised an eyebrow and rolled her eyes, slightly relieved that the gloomy atmosphere had changed. "Uh, no. Besides, we could be searching for the rest of the day without finding it. I know an easier way."

Now it was Alex's turn to raise a brow, "Oh, really? What is it, pup?"

"SIN! HAWK!" Scarlet yelled, her voice boomed through the forest, ricocheting off trees.

Alex slapped his forehead and muttered, "So much for stealth."

A second later Scarlet heard a twig snap and she could feel herself tensing, the hairs on the back of her neck standing up and adrenaline hovering at the edges of her senses, ready to leap in at any moment. But instead of meeting face to face with a Skinner or even a malicious bunny rabbit, Sin poked her head around a thick tree.

"What's wrong with you? Not only did you show up late but when you do, you start screaming your head off!" Sin hissed and slithered towards them. Hawk marched in after her, an irate look plastered on his face.

"It's getting late, and thanks to you," Hawk swung his ferocious gaze at Scarlet, "we have to wait until nightfall to attack. Their probably sending out troops to find the source of the noise right this very minute. So, would everyone just hunker down until nightfall?"

The hunters and the hunted nodded obediently and they set up a small temporary camp for the evening. Scarlet watched Alex quietly as he set up the fire, the ghost of his tragic past still haunted him, she could see that now. She felt an astounding amount of pity for him, and she didn't even know why. Why was she catching herself staring at him subconsciously? Why was she wondering if he was alright deep down? Why did she care for him? She'd known him for less than a week, he was a jerk to her most of the time, and he couldn't even compare to Nick in Scarlet's perspective. So, why did she care? Scarlet didn't know, that or she wouldn't admit it to herself. Once the moon rose Scarlet would get Nick back and they'd leave the hunters and everything would be back to normal.

Only, deep down, Scarlet knew that nothing would be normal ever again.