La Fuerza: The Hunters

Chapter 4

Five days later, María and Jennifer were walking down the sidewalk around 8:30 pm.

"¿Cómo empezaron a salir tú y Will? (How did you and Will start dating?)" Jennifer asked.

"Hemos sido amigos desde séptimo grado. (We have been friends since seventh grade.)" María replied. "Me convertí en le atrajeron en noveno grado. (I became attracted to him in ninth grade.)"

Jennifer nodded.

"En décimo grado estábamos en el mismo grupo para un proyecto. Una chica llamada Hanna nos invitó a su casa a trabajar en nuestro proyecto. Más tarde, la hermana de Hanna, Bianca, me llevó a casa. (In tenth grade we were in the same group for a project. A girl named Hanna invited us to her house to work on our project. Later, Hanna's sister, Bianca, took me home.)"

María blushed as they turned and walked down a row of narrow, two-story houses. To their right, five men in their early to late 20s - two white, two Latino, and one black - sat on the front porch of one of the houses playing what appeared to be poker. As María watched, the one facing the street - a skinny, bald, white man wearing an unzipped hoodie over a faded Rush t-shirt - grinned as he laid his cards down on the table, prompting groans from the others as he added an unseen pile of chips to his own stack.

"De camino a casa, nos detuvimos y tuvimos sexo. (On the way home, we stopped and had sex.)" María continued.

Jennifer chuckled. "¡Bien por ti! (Good for you!)" She exclaimed, beaming with pride.

"Señoras, un momento, por favor. (Ladies, one moment, please.)" A man's voice called out.

María and Jennifer stopped and turned to see one of the poker players - a Latino man with his hair in a ponytail, a purple and green bandana, a t-shirt that said "Grito, gritas, la policía llega, es incómodo. (I scream, you scream, the police arrive, it's awkward.)", and tattoos on his arms, lower neck, and presumably chest walking down a short flight of stairs towards them.

"¿Qué quieres? (What do you want?)" Jennifer asked.

"Soy Miguel. (I am Miguel.)" The man replied. "Sólo tengo una o dos preguntas, si está bien. (I only have a couple of questions, if it's okay.)"

María shrugged. "Seguir adelante. (Go ahead.)"

"¿Estás visitando a alguien en esta calle? (Are you visiting someone on this street?)" He asked.

They shook their heads.

"Sólo estamos de paso. (We are just passing through.)" Jennifer replied.

Miguel nodded and gestured for them to follow him. "Algunos de mis amigos tienen poderes. Con estos cazadores por ahí, mis amigos se han vuelto paranoicos. Caminaré contigo hasta el final de la calle para que sepan que no eres una amenaza. (Some of my friends have powers. With these hunters out there, my friends have become paranoid. I will walk with you to the end of the street so they know you're not a threat.)"

They walked in semi-awkward silence until the end of the block, where Miguel waved goodbye and turned back.

"Después de eso, Bianca dijo que estaba sorprendida de que yo hubiera tenido sexo con ella. (After that, Bianca said she was surprised that I had sex with her.)" María continued after a minute. "Bianca dijo que sabía que me atraía Will, y ella dijo que Will también se sintió atraída por mí. Después de que mis padres murieron, decidí tomar el riesgo. Cuando regresé a la escuela, encontré a Will y lo besé. Hemos estado saliendo desde entonces. (Bianca said she knew that I was attracted to Will, and she said that Will was also attracted to me. After my parents died, I decided to take the risk. When I returned to school, I found Will and kissed him. We have been dating since then.)"