Scarlet Prison

Chapter 28

Carmell was pretty smart, and she knew she would never convince me that vegetables could indeed be eaten for breakfast. Instead, she took a different tactic. "No, but carrots are food for the road," she declared. This so called "food for the road" was a new concept to me, and, as such, I was in no position to argue which food was meant to be eaten on the go.

"Really?" I sounded skeptical, but she already had me sold on the idea.

"Of course. Carrots aren't messy, you don't have to cook them to prepare them, they're yummy, and they're an easy way to get lots of good nutrients so that you'll be fueled up for wherever you're going."

I tentatively took a bite. It tasted like carrot. I began to eat with more enthusiasm.

Novashi looked at my carrot with jealous eyes. "Mommy, why don't I get food for the road?"

"You already ate, Novashi."

"But, Mommy, it's not fair."

I swear Carmell must have had magic powers because after that, she had us practically begging to be given the carrots she brought in the car each morning. The "carrots for breakfast" phase ended as soon as I learned how to manage my time enough to eat before school. The "food for the road" concept never died, though, and whenever Novashi and I needed to eat on the go, we took carrots. Sometimes we took a jar of peanut butter and passed it between us, as we walked or drove, dipping our carrots in for extra flavor. Carmell had never been a believer in salad dressing, and Novashi actually didn't like the taste of it, or so she said (I had never seen her try the stuff). So I made do with peanut butter, eventually learning to prefer it over ranch dressing, which was my family's first choice for dip.

Eating a carrot while stationary, as I was now, made me feel sad, especially since Novashi wasn't here to eat one with me. She and her mom were responsible for my existing healthy food habits, and I was responsible for their separation from each other. Even if I found Novashi, I wasn't sure I could reunite her with Carmell. Novashi certainly could never return to her old life. She would simply be sent back to be a Vein again. I wondered, though, if we could sneak in to see her mom briefly. We would just let her know that Novashi was free and safe, and then we would leave before the vampires could catch us.

After finishing the carrot, I left to visit Ekai, contemplating the plausibility of this plan as I walked.

           

***

Ekai wasn't there when I arrived. His room was empty and quiet, save for the humming of his computers. This unsettled me a little because even though I knew he left from time to time, I had yet to encounter the hideout without him.

Everyone else still seemed to be asleep, and since Ekai was the only person I was comfortable with waking, I decided to nap until he got back.

I threw off my combat boots and tucked myself into his bed, inhaling the soothing smell of his pillow.

***

"You're not Ekai!"

I woke up to Casey hovering above my face.

"You don't know where he is?" I asked groggily. I sat up and looked at the clock. I'd slept a couple hours. That was just enough to leave behind the rejuvenating nature of a nap and enter into the realm of feeling more exhausted than before.

Casey shrugged. "Sometimes Ekai and Mera are gone when I wake up. It's not fair. They never take me. I'm only a year younger than Mera, you know."

"Do you mind giving me some space? Your breath stinks like toxic waste. Don't you ever brush your teeth?"