Anita

Anita ran her hand along the heater, enjoying the feel of warm air on her frozen skin. She tugged her shirt over her head, the material soaked with snow, and leaned back in her seat, nodding in satisfaction that her wounds had stopped bleeding. The woman shot her a confused look, eyes widening in surprise before she averted her gaze, “Um... what are you doing?”

Anita glanced at her, tilting her head to the side, “What does it look like?”

“You can’t just... undress in public. People will see you.”

Anita frowned. “It’s really not a big deal.”

“Maybe not to you, but it kinda is to humans,” the woman insisted, her gaze still turned to the window.

“Okay, sorry,” Anita muttered, tugging the slim fabric back over her head. “Better?”

“Uh..yeah,” she swallowed nervously, “Look..if I offended you, I didn’t mean to, please just don’t...um kill me, please.”

Anita turned to her, surprised, before bursting into a fit of laughter. “Me kill you? That’s just,” she snorted, “I should be saying that to you.”

“Says the one with the magical abilities,” she said, chewing on her lip.

“Magic?” Anita gave her an appraising look, “You don’t know?”

“Know what?”

“Guardian magic has no effect on humans,” Anita explained, “We’re defenseless against your kind.” At her disbelieving look Anita went on, “Look, I’ll show you,” she glanced at the road, “but whatever you do don’t freak out and crash the car. I promise you won’t come to any harm.”

The girl swallowed nervously and pulled the car to the curb, shutting off the engine and turning to Anita. “What are you talking about?”

Anita didn’t bother trying to explain and summoned a small spear of ice in her hand, smaller than a pencil. “Just watch,” Anita said, lightly throwing it like a dart at the center of the girl’s forehead.

She flinched backwards in fear, her eyes shut tight. Anita watched the ice fly towards her face and before it got within a centimeter of her skin it dissipated, drops of water falling harmless on her lap. Slowly the girl opened her eyes, blinking a few times in surprise. “I can’t hurt you,” Anita murmured, “And I have no intention of doing so.”

“Oh, well okay then.” She put the car back in drive and slowly eased it back onto the road.

“Hey, what’s your name?” she asked after a few minutes of silence.

“Anita, yourself?”

“Meriam, nice name.” Anita shrugged and glanced out the window, reeling back in surprise.

“What, what’s wrong?” Meriam jerked the car slightly.

Anita grit her teeth, watching the Alpha slowly disappear behind them. “I need to get out of this car, I never should have gotten you involved.”

“What are you talking about?” Meriam asked, shooting her a panicked glance.

Anita waved her hand at the back window. “The Herects. They’re drawn to us, our crystals. They’ll be following me. I’m sorry, I should leave now.”

Anita fiddled with the door handle and Meriam reached over, grabbing her hand and gently pulling it away from the door. “Relax Anita, it’s fine. Herects don’t attack humans and as long as you’re in this car they can’t catch you.”

“Are you sure you don’t mind?” Anita chewed on her nails, she’d never escape them on foot. Fighting an Alpha alone, in this weather, if the Alpha didn’t kill her the cold would.

“If it wasn’t for you I’d still be in that snowbank, I promised you a ride and you’re going to get one.”

A debt. Anita could understand that, “Look you’ve done enough, you don’t owe me anything.”

“This isn’t about owing you. It’s human decency. I don’t know why you’re on the run from home but you’ll freeze out there and those things. I can’t just let you go out there alone.”

Human decency? Anita scowled, “There’s no such thing as human decency, not when it comes to Guardians. We’re just experiments to you, toys to play around with and dogs to beat if we don’t roll over fast enough.”

Meriam gaped at her. “What?”

“You don’t know a hell of a lot about Guardian compounds do you?”

“They’re sanctuaries for Guardians, where you can be safe from the Herects.”

"Sanctuaries? Safe?” Anita snarled the words, “You’ve got to be kidding, they’re prisons and they don’t keep us safe from the Herects, they pit us against them daily.”

“That’s not what they told us...” Meriam trailed off, uncertain.

“What, they tell you it’s all rainbows and kittens?” Meriam nodded once and Anita scoffed, “It’s a hellhole, experiments, fights, abusive Keepers,” Anita tugged off her shirt and turned her back, revealing skin long scarred from abuse, “that’s your human decency.”

“Oh god,” Anita barely heard her whispered words, “I didn’t know..” soft hands brushed the stones on her back and Anita flinched, her body immediately tensing to prepare for a hit. Meriam pulled back instantly, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“You didn’t,” Anita let out a slow breath, “I’m long used to only pain when humans touch me.” She turned back around, pulling her shirt back over her head and glanced at Meriam out of the corner of her eye.

Her fingers were grasped tightly around the steering while, her knuckles almost white from the force, eyes blazing with rage. “That’s not right, they shouldn’t...Are you okay?” Her gaze softened when she looked at Anita, voice gentle, like she was talking to a wounded animal.

“I’m fine.” Anita gazed out the window, watching the snow fly by. Several minutes passed in silence and the car suddenly jerked to the side. Meriam reached over, shutting off the engine and opening her door. She leaned on the open door, “Are you coming?”

Anita glanced up at her and she continued, “It’ll get cold in here, warmer inside, and you can get cleaned up a little bit in the bathroom.”

Anita frowned as she looked over her blood covered clothes and climbed out of the car. Meriam nodded in satisfaction and locked the doors. When they were inside Meriam directed her to the restroom, “Do you want anything?” she asked. Anita paused, one hand on the bathroom door and glanced back at her.

“I don’t have any money.”

“That’s not what I asked.”

Anita chewed on her lip, she hadn’t eaten at all that day and she was starving, but she didn’t want to be an inconvenience. “Whatever is cheapest,” she said after a moment of internal debate.

She saw Meriam frown at the menu, shooting her one last look before she disappeared into the restroom.