A New Life

The Ally

It was thirty minutes past ten, and Scarlet had just finished serving her last table at the diner. She gathered her tips and stuffed the money in her jeans pocket. Scarlet then found herself another ally to sleep in for the night. She took off her leather jacket and folded it inside her bag of clothes so that it wouldn't get dirty. Scarlet then zipped up her bag, pushing it against a wall and laying her head on it, using it as a pillow. Scarlet's back was on the hard ground as she tossed and turned, unable to get comfortable, so she just laid on the cold concrete and looked up at the stars.

Suddenly there was a crunch of gravel coming from behind the dumpster where she was laying, but it wasn't the kind of continuous noise you would get from a rolling car, but the defined short crunch of a footstep. Scarlet fought the urge to turn around, hoping whoever it was would pass and not catch her. Scarlet listened to each footfall, which was chaotically spaced from the last, no rhythm at all. Scarlet assumed whoever it was, lacked confidence, or was likely scared. As it approached the ally, Scarlet heard the faint mumbling of a male voice. Scarlet couldn't figure out what the man was saying, but when he came into view, she could, then, hear every word. It was a tall man that entered the alley. Scarlet couldn't make out his face but heard him on the phone, and she couldn't stop herself from eavesdropping.

"Don't worry, he won't suspect a thing," the man replied to the person on the other line.

"I know, I know. He will be dead by the end of the night." A second set of footsteps came heading towards the ally. Scarlet began to worry as she sunk lower, trying to make herself appear invisible behind the dumpster.

The man quickly hung up the phone and stuffed it into his pocket, hearing the footsteps approaching. Then the footsteps stopped, and in front of the unknown man was a tall young man that appeared from the shadows. He had black hair and wore a black shirt and leather jacket with ripped jeans. The realization then sunk as she saw the face of the young boy. It was Aiden. Scarlet's jaw dropped as she began to panic. The man was planning on killing Aiden. Scarlet wanted to do something to let him know what was coming, but she couldn't have him see her. Scarlet looked through her bag, put on a hoodie over her crop top, and put on a hat to cover her face. Scarlet scanned the area for a weapon of any sort. She saw a glass bottle and a protractor on the ground near where Scarlet was hiding. Scarlet noticed the sharp point at the end of the protractor, so she took hold of it and broke it in half so that it took the form of a dart, then she waited.

"Did you bring it?" asked Aiden with his arms folded across his chest. Aiden's voice was deeper than Scarlet was used to. It was colder, sending shivers through Scarlet.

"Of course," the man replied and grabbed the bag he had brought with him and threw it Aiden's way. Aiden looked through the bag, and the man notified Aiden that it was all in the bag.Aiden nodded, then dismissed himself as he turned around and walked off with the bag in his hand. Scarlet started to relax, thinking nothing was going to happen, and it was just her paranoia until she saw the man reach for the gun that rested at his side. Scarlet didn't know what the hell she was doing. She just knew she had to do something.

"Look out!" Scarlet shouted towards Aiden. He quickly turned around, and the man did the same. She took their time of shock and threw the protractor, dart, at the man who held the gun. Scarlet then ran towards the man, smashed the bottle over his head, and took the gun away. Scarlet slid the gun towards Aiden, grabbed the knife that was tucked inside the man's jacket, and pressed it to his neck.

"Who are you?" Scarlet questioned. She was confused by what she was doing, but her adrenaline overrode the confusion.

"You're crazy if you think I will tell you anything," he replied in a fowl tone.

"I will ask you again who are you, and who were you talking to on the phone?" As Scarlet said this, she started to carve her new initials into his skin. The man screamed in pain as Scarlet asked again. Scarlet saw a glimpse of fear in the man's eyes. She made sure he would fear her, so she paused her carving and brought the knife down into his knee cap. Scarlet heard a gasp come from Aiden, who was shocked. The man screamed in agony as she pulled the knife out.

"I will ask you one more time. Who were you on the phone with?!" Pure fear rose in his eyes, and he began shaking.

"Okay, okay! I don't know his name. He just contacted me and said that if I killed him, he would give me all the money I needed," he shouted at Scarlet, terrified.

"Why do I feel like you're keeping something from me?" Scarlet said as she pulled the knife back up to his throat and pressed lightly, proving she had no fear in killing him.

"I swear that is all I know!" he shouted while shaking.

"Then how were you going to get the money?" Scarlet asked, knowing the answer.

"I was supposed to call after I killed him, and the man on the phone was going to give a location for me to meet up with him."

"Great. Thank you." Scarlet stood and offered her hand to help him get up.

"Now you are going to give that man a call and tell him the job is complete. Then you will tell Aiden where to go to do whatever he wants to with the man who wants him dead. Got it?" The man nodded his head frantically and did what Scarlet had told him. He handed Aiden the address, and he started to walk off until Scarlet stopped him.

"You know money doesn't mean shit if you don't have people around you who care. Take it from someone who knows. And sorry about the limp, I just needed the information." He nodded his head in confirmation and limped off to a hospital. Now Scarlet had to find a way to leave Aiden without him knowing who she is. Scarlet turned around with her head down slightly, so the hat covered her face.

"Who are you? And why did you help me?" Aiden asked in a demanding tone. Scarlet still was surprised by his harshness. She was used to the sweet and caring boy who has fun, not the cold, demanding guy who has secret meetings in alleys.

"It doesn't matter who I am. And I helped because if I hadn't, you would be dead," Scarlet answered in a soft, calm tone to show he had no effect on her and that she was not someone who he can boss around to get information out of.

"It does matter who you are, and no one risks their life for a stranger whether they need help or not," he stated harshly.

"Well, I did. And you should appreciate it." Scarlet snapped back at him in the same cold, harsh tone, then walked off. She heard Aiden saying something behind her but didn't care. What Scarlet did care about was getting as far away from Aiden as possible. She had no idea where that came from, and she didn't know how she will face Aiden at school after tonight. It was like everything was an instinct. Scarlet had so many questions she couldn't answer, but she knew she couldn't answer them tonight, so she found another ally and drifted off to sleep, settling down from her unplanned, eventful night.