The Stronghold

Tom's New Crush

"Who the heck are you?" Tom asked. I stared at the woman in part horror, part curiosity.

"Elenia Harrows," she replied, sashaying closer. "And who may you two fine boys be?"

"Blur Jerries," I said, pointing to myself, "and William Rogers. What were you saying about a boner?"

"I was just jesting," Elenia laughed, tossing her auburn hair over her shoulders. "I like to joke, especially with runaways."

"What do you want?" I asked warily.

"I wanna help you," Elenia said. "I saw you tackle Bester and his gang back there. Nobody beats him, he's one of the big fish. Yet you just left him bleeding on the pavement with no way in Hell of making grandkids anytime soon. Well done on that."

"No problem," I shrugged. "But why should we trust you?"

"Bester was a bad guy," Elenia began, "and he roughed people up pretty bad. Anyone he took a disliking to died and anyone he took a liking to ended up either pregnant or working for him, sometimes both.

'I don't wanna end up a young mom working for some thicko with a gun. I want to be free, to fight my own battles. But if you're a woman on the streets of LA then there are only two choices for ya.

'One: work in a club or joint of some kind. The casinos are always looking for more staff and everywhere else always wants more dancers.

'The second choice is sort of worse. Join a gang. That may not seem too bad but sometimes just going near one of these tight packs is a certain death sentence. There's no way in Hell they'd accept me - I've been around, learnt how to defend myself. Broken my fair share of boys yet Bester always wanted me. Stupid man, yet he persisted. He thought that everybody loved him yet all they did was live in fear. I wasn't afraid of him and for that he kept on hunting me down, trying to get me into bed." Elenia paused and shuddered.

"So I just keep on running away. I could do with two people to help me, though. Strength in numbers and all that. And hey, maybe people will go harass Will over here instead of me." She smiled thinly and glanced at Tom.

"Do you know somewhere we can stay?" he asked hopefully. Elenia nodded and walked back the way she'd come, beckoning to us over her shoulder.

"Last one there buys pizza," she called.

*

Elenia led us over the roofs and then down into brighter streets than we'd exited. It was becoming daylight and we'd been heading further and further into LA, trusting that we wouldn't be shot dead.

As we walked I took the time to look at our tour guide. She was tall, only a little taller than Tom. I'd put her at 5'10". Her hair was long and slightly wavy, rich auburn in colour and bouncing constantly down her back. The leathers she wore made no sound as she walked, no squeaking or rustling. It was like she was a panther, silent and smooth.

She spoke quite fast, explaining everything about Las Vegas and all the buildings we passed. In recent years LA had grown in size and power with more tourists coming to visit every year, the clubs getting larger and more extravagant. You wanted a good night out? You went to Las Vegas.

Tom was watching her closely. I could tell that he wasn't really listening due to the misty look in his eyes but he was nodding and smiling, eyes never leaving her face.

She's adorable, he sent to me subconsciously.

Do you have a crush? I teased.

What?

You just told me that she's adorable.

She is, Tom said defensively.

She's okay, but I wouldn't.

I would.

That much is obvious! If she turns to look at you properly she'll see the pink lovey-dovey fog all over your face.

Is it that obvious?

Yes!

Tom blinked once or twice and dragged his eyes away from Elenia for the briefest time, his face bright red. I chuckled to myself and that drew Elenia's attention.

"Am I amusing you?" she snapped.

"No, To- Will is," I replied. She frowned and tossed her hair.

"We're here, anyway." Elenia unlocked a red front door and directed us up the stairs.

"Make yourselves at home," she said, following us up the narrow stairwell. "It's kind of a mess, but it should be okay. If you're fussing then go screw one another, I don't care."

"It's brilliant," Tom assured her with a smile. I raised an eyebrow and brushed a pile of papers onto the floor, clearing a seat on the red velvet sofa.

Everything in the room was relatively tatty, weathered and old. The cabinets were dark oak and varnished but with chips and scuffs, the various plates and empty mugs were cracked and broken, jumpers and sweatshirts that were randomly thrown over the back of things were dirtied and crumpled.

"By the way," Elenia said, "if you sit on something that moves, it's probably a stray cat. Just toss it out the window, it'll be fine."

"I'm used to dealing with the insane," Tom murmured, "but I've never met anyone that cares so little about cats."

"I'm the queen cat around here," Elenia said. "You see, I know that you aren't using your real names. I don't use my real name in public either.

'Trust nobody, boys, apart from me. You know my name, I want to know yours. Then I'll tell you what to call me when the rest of the world is around."

"Tom," Tom said, standing up and kissing the back of her hand gently. "Tom Rogers."

"You kept the surname?"

"I don't really have a surname so it's fine." Tom smiled again and I saw Elenia's eyes soften slightly.

"And if anybody cares, my name's Pepper Rogers," I said loudly. "And I'm not related to this idiot."

There was no reply.

"Hello? Anybody inside those thick skulls of yours?"

Nothing.

"Tom? Elenia? Is anybody going to talk to me?"

Silence.

"Have I turned invisible?"

No answer.

"You two are complete twats that should breed and create a race of sub-twats."

"I have been hearing you, just ignoring you," Elenia said softly. "And I don't take kindly to being offended."

Within seconds I was pinned against the wall with one arm twisted behind my back. The other was trapped in front of my chest, hand pushed into my throat.

"You see why I'm feared?" she said quietly. "You saw how quickly I moved?"

"Only I have speed like that," I replied, beginning to feel my airways close.

"Well look at that," Elenia hissed. "It appears you got competition."