Teen For Hire

She's Come Undone.

Her answer caused him a decade of suspense before it came. "An ice-cream shop? I'm not sure, something... Bex?"

Bex... Bex.. Where the hell did he recognize that name? Images flashed in his head, scouring through every single memory he could possibly pull out in the short span of a second, all the things he remembered seeing in this town from the second he arrived. From the hours he had spent sneaking out to discover every inch of the place where he had to call home.

Then it came, the series of thoughts stopped at the scene of a quaint, pink little shop at the edge of a street.

"Okay, thanks!" Reece immediately broke out into a sprint, turning around the other direction as his legs took him on his way as fast as they possibly could.

Auntie Bex's Ice Cream Parlour was what Halley would describe as a hub for 'Pink Diabetes', because that's essentially what it was known for: sugary pink soft serves that made cavities party in your gums every time you had one. And it was, much to his discomfort, at least 5 blocks away.

There wasn't really any time for him to stop by and ask around where the place actually was, much less struggle his way through Waze, so Reece had to rely solely on his own sense of direction. Which was probably the most dangerous gamble that he had ever played. Luckily enough, Auntie Bex had made quite a landmark in his memories last year. Not her ridiculously sweet ice cream, but the surprisingly bitter owner herself.

She was, after all, one of the first victims in Reece's grand business with Halley.

4 minutes and two almost-wrong turns later, the familliar scene of the 7th street finally came to sight. Little beads of sweat trickled down his forehead- not so much of small drops but noticeable enough for him to feel like a 20-minute shower was in order. Each breath was short and ragged, there was even a cold stain on his jacket from his brief run-in with a rather angry man and his froyo. But at least, he was finally here.

The ice cream parlour was right smack in the middle, an eyesore when you compare its glowing pink with the dull tone of the workshop or gloominess of the run-down bookstore on either side, so it stood out. Sort of.

But then he noticed how the three shops stood closely beside one another, no clear line keeping the tragic colors apart. And the chain of shops continued down the right side of the street- the part where he stood- and they didnt end at the corner, instead the shops faced another direction and went on.

"Shit..." he muttered, suddenly every part of his body felt sluggish. There weren't any lanes in between the stores. The only way Sierra would've been in the back alleys was if she went through the end of the blocks on the left side, all the way down the street and back up on a couple of blocks. "Here goes another round..."

----

"Sierra!" The boy called out with what little energy he had. "Sierra!" It probably wasn't a good idea to suddenly give away her name to the potential creepy stalker that might just be crawling in the dark corners of the brick walls but really, he had to get this done and over with.

Reece looked around, eyes meeting the exposed red brick walls standing on every side. He could see the sign for Auntie Bex's Ice Cream over one of the back doors, neon pink and obnoxious as ever, but the chirpy brunette was nowhere in sight.

Dumpster cans rowed up the alley, identical and equally disgusting, behind each of the stores till the end where he couldn't even see. About a couple hundred yards in and all was simply pitch black.

There was no way in hell was he going to venture out that far.

"Sierra, come on!" he said loudly though the only response he received was the empty echo of his own voice bouncing off the walls. "I did not just run half a mile here in these blood-sucking jeans just to get ghosted by you! Sierra-"

The sudden rustling of plastic stop him mid-way, his head whipped around to his right where the sound was heard. Reece's shoulders squared up and he felt his body go tense, shifting his feet slightly as he readied himself to take off running. There was no use staying around to try and help somebody if you die first, he thought to himself. He stayed still, barely even breathing as he tried to pay attention, focus on everything and anything that he could possibly hear. His eyes darted around, though he could see nothing unusual apart from the odd stains at the side of a dumpster a bit further down. 

But something was there, he was certain of it. Hidden enough to keep from his sight but close enough that he could feel the slow chills travelling down his spine. 

A feeling of dread began to wash over him, like a creeping gray clouds just before the thunderstorm starts flashing around. There was no way to explain it, just the solemn realization that he shouldn't stay for long. And he wanted to; the other end of the alley where the cars zoomed past the wide streets wasn't far, just slightly out of reach. If he just stretched-

Reece shook his head and the thoughts backed away slightly, waiting to approach again. He needed to find her first, he had to. "Sierra!" he shouted one last time. But he got the same reply as he did a few minutes ago: the lonely echos haunting him.

Just this time, something moved behind him, quiet and smooth, before he felt a light touch on his shoulder.

He didn't really know what to expect when he turned around, but anything else would've been miles away from how Sierra looked now. There she was; the cheerful smile stretched on her full lips were gone, no trace of the playful glint in her brown eyes and her body as rigid as stone. 

And in her hands was a crowbar, with something red dripping of its end, filling up the silence more than it ever should.