Adapt (I)

SCARLET

I let out a snort. “Energy? What does that even mean?” My tone is full of derision. I cannot begin to list all of the ways he must be crazy.

Logan’s eyes narrow. “It means I have the power to bend energy to my will.”

I roll my eyes. “Yeah, okay.” I turn and make my way toward the road that will lead me back to Trent’s home. I am done listening to Logan’s fantasy.

I am stopped dead in my tracks when a sudden thunderous crack shakes the ground. Then, the entire beach is alight with white-blue veins of electricity. The tendrils snake over the sand, contouring every valley and peak where people have trodden. It seems to caress the beach, but it does not touch it. It shies away from the waves as they lap at the shore. It also seems to edge around me, the fingertips of electricity acting as though they have been forbidden to touch me. The currents of blue pulse in a disjointed way - not quite in time, but not randomly either.

And as quickly as the beach is blanketed in electricity, it is dark again. I slowly turn back to Logan, who has resumed staring out at the sea. His form is silhouetted in the night, to my now unadjusted eyes.

“Is that supposed to be a threat?” I ask.

Logan bows his head in a resigned way. “I wonder how long it will take for you to see that I am your ally, not enemy.” He sighs. “No, Scarlet, it is not a threat.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Because I know what you are thinking. I know you plan to turn yourself into the hunters.” He turns to me again, his eyes still the far away white lights behind the deep brown. “I’m telling you this because you need to know that you can trust me, so that I can help you.”

“I’m not planning-How did you...” I trail off, realizing that he must have seen the background thoughts I have been having. I had been contemplating surrendering to the hunters for a few days, but never made the thought whole, hoping that a solution would present itself. I straighten my shoulders and steady my stuttering tongue to form some coherent words. “Help me how?”

“Rather than handing yourself over to them, I can provide you a place to hide. You have seen the way I can move. I leave no traces. The Hunters Guild will not be able locate you.” He says. “I can provide a secure place for you to reside, one that does not lack for luxuries.”

“I don’t need luxuries.”

He shrugs. “No one does, but given the choice, wouldn’t you prefer to cry in a Mercedes than perched upon a bike.”

I raise an eyebrow. I would prefer to not cry at all, think but don’t say. I don’t have to. Logan can read my thoughts.

“Yes, well, be that as it may, I do not see another way around it. If you would like to keep some semblance of your freedom, I suggest you take my offer.”

I swallow. “It seems that I would be putting a lot of faith into a man that I could have sworn is supposed to be my enemy.” I say. “What do you get out of this whole ordeal?”

“To guide you through your coming of age. Adapting is a very tumultuous time for all Therians. I would rather you not endure it alone.”

I put my hands on my hips, annoyed. “And you are doing this all to recruit me. I hate to break it to you, but I am a hunter. I have been since I was six. Do you really think that some Therian version of puberty is going to make me switch sides?” I shake my head. “You will have better luck pushing a rope up a beach.”

The light in his eye’s flashes. “You seem to be under the impression that my people are the only to have committed heinous acts in the Long War, but for every vile act my people have done, so have done the hunters. Your mother was a dear friend of mine. I do not want to see her only daughter be submitted to whatever the Hunters Guild has in store for you: someone I am sure they will perceive as an abomination.”

I flinch at the last word. I try to cover it by diverting the conversation. “You say you knew my mother. How long did you know her?”

His lips purse. “Scarlet, I think that may step into territory you are not ready to explore.”

My face scrunches up. “Oh, yeah!” I say, sarcastically. “Because I was so ready to find out everything else!” The sadistic part of me awakens and starts clawing at the wall Logan had built in my mind.

“Scarlet.” The honied cadence returns to his voice. “I want to tell you everything. I really do. But I do not want to overload you. I told you once before that you are the most powerful being on this planet, and that is true. Which is why it is crucial for you to remain stable. Telling you information before you can process what has already been put before you will only send you over the edge, which could lead to terrible things. You know you can trust me. You know I will never do anything if it weren’t for your safety. I need you to trust in that trust.”

The sadistic part of me pauses mid-way through her thrashing. She is responding to the word ‘trust’. She doesn’t like that word. It hasn’t been a word that served her well.

Then another part of me surfaces. She is buried deep within me and seems older than my years. She smiles and guides my sadistic side away from the wall.

I am going to end up with a split personality disorder before everything is finished.

“Why do I trust you?” I whisper, realizing that something very deep seeded did trust Logan implicitly, with no real grounding.

“Because your mother did. Now, I need you to go home and sleep. Get your affairs in order. I will see you at midnight. Meet me at the corner of 4th and Rosewood.” He smiles softly, before grasping my limp hand at my side. He lifts it and clasps it in both of his. Energy flows from him, tingling up my arm. He smiles, revealing perfectly straight teeth.

Then he is simply gone.