Amethyst 1. Inception ✓

30. Crystal

We ran through the dusty, windy streets for a long time, our feet hitting the ground as a flurry of loose dust flew behind us. 

It seemed to me like we were going deeper into the town. The deserted streets were slowly filling with people and squalor alike. Waste littered the road on either side as ungodly smells wafted to my nostrils. We ran for a little longer, ultimately coming to rest at the turn of a narrow dark alley. The woman stopped running and turned around to face me.

 It was then that I noticed that she seemed scarcely a few years older than me. Her platinum blonde hair and her dark eyes were framed with heavy lashes. She had sharp cheekbones and nose, which made her look refined. She spoke between lungfuls of deep breaths as both of us panted from our wild run. "Wow. That was awesome!" 

She beamed at me, her eyes twinkling gleefully, and I couldn't help but grin sheepishly back. Her smile faltered and vanished entirely as her gaze shifted to my hand, which I realized now was smeared with blood. "You're hurt." 

She walked over to me and tried to touch my arm. I flinched backwards reflexively, quickly rambling on before the awkwardness could settle. "It's fine."

"You look like an egg. Your colour, I mean," she said calmly. I looked at her, puzzled. She smirked. "I mean, you look pale. You've lost a lot of blood, kiddo."

I felt a twinge of annoyance at her calling me a kid. I cradled my stinging arm close to me. I knew the cut would heal itself soon. However, the metallic smell was making me dizzy. "I'm not a kid," I muttered. 

She smiled as if amused, and I realized how childish I had sounded. She glanced around her surreptitiously and leaned in closer to me. "Wait here. I think it's better if we do this outside."

Before I could ask her what she meant, she had disappeared into one of the rundown buildings. A moment later, however, a chubby, older woman walked towards me, leaving her post by the door of the wooden, dingy apartment in the narrow alley.

 She had loud makeup on, her light hair was set in elaborate curls. A prominent mole near her chin seemed to amplify her somewhat rugged beauty. She leaned forward slightly, almost making her bosom tumble out of the deep necked dress. She batted her eyelids at me, and I felt my face prickling with sudden embarrassment. The familiar anxiety at being in a new place clawed at my chest and I decided I needed to focus on my breathing to tether my sanity. 

"Who is this handsome lad?" she purred, smiling at me, coquettishly. "You look a little young, but I could take you."

It was a split second later that I realized her implication and took a step back; horrified. I glanced around the shanty building behind her and saw a woman with similar suggestive clothing milling all around.

"Are you here for a good time, honey?" Another woman, much younger than this one came out of the shadows. She smiled lasciviously. "Still a virgin?" she cooed to the raucous laughter of both the women.

I blinked, my heart hammering almost painfully. Instinctively I took a step backwards. "I-I'm not here for-er-"

"Come on, honey-'' the plump woman said, walking uncomfortably close to me. My heart beat rapidly in my chest. I could smell the stale scent of beer and tobacco from her breath and wanted to run. She lowered her voice and whispered. "Let me teach you what life is about."

"Clara!" 

A stern voice sounded as the woman stepped back, and I let out the breath. Relief gushed through me. I saw the woman from the bar standing with a roll of bandage in her hand and glaring at both the woman angrily. Her eyes flashed, her jaw set. "He's not a client."