Chapter 217: Interlude: Scarlet - Red and Blue Lights

Edging away from the ginger vampire and further into the alley’s shadows, Scarlet refocused. Staring across the street, she peered through the darkness as the police nervously squinted into the veiling downpour, fearful eyes searching for monsters. The flashing red and blue lights of their vehicles put a screw into her gut, taking her back to the night her life had shattered.

The spinning colors drew her into an internal loop, and memories of her dad and mom slowly pulled the world into a hypnotic swirl; things could have been so different. Her father’s last message, the pain he felt while breaking down, knowing this was his last opportunity to make a change to help his daughter—to help her—made Scarlet want to cry again. She just wanted to hear his voice one last time, telling her it would be okay, and a bloody tear fell down her cheek.

"Scarlet, are you okay?"

She jolted as warm fingers pressed against her arm, Illa’s concerned blue eyes pulling her back to reality. Reflexively rubbing the stream away, only to find it rising up to the crimson disk keeping the rain at bay, Scarlet buried the emotion.

"I’m fine," she smiled, refocusing on the police car. "We’ll just wait until they— Umm, I think he’s going to give us away..."

"Stupid guy..." Illa’s glossy orange lips creased with exasperation as Terry broke out of his handcuffs, beginning to make a fuss upon spotting them with his enhanced night vision. She made a few gestures to calm him down. "No! Let yourself be captured!"

"Mistress! Mistress, I... Huh?"

Scarlet pressed closer to the wall, shadows pulling in to obscure them as more police cruisers arrived and the men who had cornered the vampire drew their guns.

"Hey! Hey!"

"Relax, bud. What’s got you agitated?"

"Yo, he called out to his mistress, or some shit—"

"Keep an eye on the perimeter... The report said there were potentially three vampires."

"Dammit! When the hell did we start dealing with this supernatural shit? Jack said he had stakes in his trunk, right?"

"Shit, I don’t know— Jeff, watch our six! Possible hostiles in the area."

"You’re shitting me," the new officers snarled, pulling their guns and moving to their trunk to take out assault rifles and shotguns. "How the hell are we supposed to handle vampires? SWAT is on the way, but shit—c’mon, man!"

"What’s up with the vamp, Rex? He’s not moving after that outburst— Did he break the cuffs?!" the other officer exclaimed, keeping his gun trained on the suddenly still vampire, who was letting the rain fall over him. "That alley..."

"Don’t agitate him!" Jeff shot back. "Let’s just hold the zone until backup— Is he..."

Terry dropped to his knees and spread his hands over his head. "I surrender myself. I will cause no trouble."

"Son of a— Rex, cuff him again."

"The hell?! I did it last time, bastard! You do it— He snapped my cuffs like butter!"

"Shit..."

Scarlet breathed out her stress, fang biting into her lower lip as Illa’s arm pressed against hers, the ginger scooting closer and looking a little nervous.

"What do we do now, Scarlet?" she hissed, leaning in to whisper; again, it was weird how warm the 16-year-old girl felt to the touch. "I could tell him not to hurt them and escape? He’d probably take a few bullets, but that’s whatever."

Trying to keep her guard up around the Noble Vampire, as Rachel would, Scarlet shook her head. "No. Let’s just wait for things to calm down. Everyone’s just really tense right now; it would only hurt our image, too."

"True... Ugh." Illa fidgeted with her broken bra strap, which was hanging over the top of her somewhat damp dress front; the back was soaked from when she’d been thrown against the wall. "I’m sorry for making you uncomfortable, Scarlet. I just... wanted to help, and now everything is a total mess. I’m so stupid..."

Trying to force a smile, Scarlet hesitantly nudged her. "Things will work out. We just need to be patient; I can already feel their fear diminishing. See? They’re putting the cuffs on him and getting him into the car."

The ginger’s vision fell to the wet road. "Thanks... I was afraid you might abandon me. I just... want to make— No, never mind! Don’t be the clingy-weird girl! I’m not totally oblivious. I can—"

"Wait, wait," Scarlet hissed as the girl pulled away. Scarlet grabbed her hand to keep her from exiting her shadow field and blood disk. "My range is very short. Just stay... here," she prompted.

"Oh, okay... Sorry, sorry..." The blue-eyed Noble Vampire looked even more distressed at upsetting her, and she fell silent, gripping her elbow and acting as if she’d been scolded. "I’ll just try to be quiet."

Scarlet’s fang dug into her bottom lip while she fidgeted with her own hands, feeling her social anxiety acting up.

Dammit, I’m supposed to be over that! Illa is trying really hard to be helpful. How can I be mean to someone who isn’t mean to me?

Rachel’s brow-thumping frown smacked her brain as Scarlet recalled the lunar hare’s advice to her when starting this special OP:

’If you notice something is wrong, act. It’s what I’d do, and trust your instincts. Think carefully, and don’t trust anyone. If they’re approaching you, they want something. You will have to make decisions that are uncomfortable, Scarlet, and that is the only thing that I am worried about...’ How right you were, Rachel...

Her gaze occasionally wandered to the awkward orange-haired vampire girl beside her as she waited for Terry to be cautiously placed inside an armored SUV that SWAT had brought. Illa didn’t peep a word while they waited, once again playing with her broken bra strap and occasionally fixing her dress as it slipped from the displaced weight from her undergarment.

What am I supposed to do about her, Rachel? She really does seem like she admires me and wants to help... which is crazy. Why would anyone admire me?

Putting the thought on hold, she studied the calming scene with the dozens of soldiers and police officers now securing the area and talking with the diner staff and patrons.

SWAT had brought a muzzle to put on Terry, and the police coordinated with the local National Guard battalion to bring in even more personnel to go on a vampire hunt for them. Sadly, these weren’t soldiers under Captain Barbara.