Neon Afterlife

2

Miami, the warm night air carried the scent of salt from the ocean, across the beach, and into the city. It drifted between high rise condominiums and office towers; where the aspiring wealthy spent over eighty hours each week attached to their computers and mobile phones, hustling deals. Through barrios the wind blew, rustling palm fronds and the hair of children playing baseball in the streets. It mingled with the scent of Espresso Colada and Café Cubano as it chased the exhaust from a bus into the city station. The bus that Alex, carrying only her backpack, stepped out of.

She caught moments of people moving through the station, snatches of conversations, as she tried to get her bearings amidst the chaotic rush and swirl of humanity around her. Families, businessmen, immigrants, and teenagers brought the place to life, an energy that a girl from a small Midwestern town had never experienced. Her innocence was apparent to anyone who may have been watching. And someone was.

A slick, good-looking man, dark hair combed back, expensive shoes, and a loose blazer suddenly took her arm in a gentle, but unrelenting grip and started to walk with her, "Señorita, it looks like you could use a guide." He had hard eyes, cold.

"No, I'm fine." She said as time seemed to slow down and speed up simultaneously. She knew something was wrong, in her gut and she tried to pull away, but found his fingers, while not uncomfortable, also would not budge. As he continued to guide her towards the exit, her stomach began to twist in knots. Her mind raced. What's happening? Should she scream?

Someone called out, "Liz. Lizzie." A guy in his early twenties, lean and with a graceful strength in his stride, approached them - looking straight at her. He wore a beaten leather jacket that carried its age like a badge of honor and jeans that had too many holes to be trendy, and he had his sights fixed on Alex. "Lizzie. Where are you going?" He said, "I'm supposed to pick you up."

The man holding her arm stopped, his hand locked like a vice around her arm. Staring at the interloper, he looked at Alex out of the corner of his eye. She knew he was watching her closely. She had to choose; play along with this new stranger or disappear at the hands of her abductor.

"Who's this?" the new guy, who was calling her Lizzie, asked.

"Get lost," the man gripping Alex's arm replied.

"We don't have time for this now." The new guy grabbed Alex's hand and pulled. She didn't know him, but his hand was soft, warm. There was a confidence in his touch that she felt surge into her, giving her strength.

Her eyes darted back and forth between the two of them, recognizing that she was suddenly the rope in a tug-of-war between strangers; one of whom had clear intentions and they weren't for her benefit. But the new guy didn't let up and she was thankful. She didn't know why he was helping her or why she thought he was any better than the first guy, but she had a feeling; a connection, like she'd known him all her life. As he moved next to Alex and her captor, his body pressed against hers with a reassuring pressure as he forced his way between them.

The slick man, surprised by this unexpected interference, let her arm slip free momentarily. That was all the new guy needed and he gave Alex a good pull to get her moving. "Come on."

Alex let him guide her another direction with quick, purposeful strides..

"Wait," the man said. He clutched at Alex's retreating backpack, barely getting a finger hold. "She's coming with me." He tried to reel in his catch before it was too late.

"Keep going," the new guy commanded. He shot a glare over his shoulder, locking eyes with the other man. "Let go," he demanded.

The man's control slipped. He was sure he could handle this boy, but what he didn't want was attention. And this moment was quickly escalating to be more trouble than it was worth. He knew he could just grab another girl later. One was the same as another to him; just something to be sold. He hesitated.