Red, Evil Eyes

I woke to sunlight filtering in and yawned in the face of a tall, slim man in black suit.

"Ma'am" He shook me gently, his voice warm and inviting.

"Yes?" I groaned, yawning and stretching my arms in his face with all my strength.

"The train is now in London. All passengers are disembarking." He related in a bland tone, his face betraying no emotion at my uncouth behavior.

I sat up immediately and glanced around. Ours was a private car so there was no other person here besides mother, the conductor and myself, but I could here the sounds of people moving and talking.

"What time is it?"

"It's 6 o'clock in the morning ma'am."

"Thank you." I murmured to the still standing conductor. He nodded his assent before turning smartly on his heel and exiting the car, leaving mother and I alone.

"Where are we Kiera?" Mum gasped in a frightened voice, peering at everything as if they were made of poison.

I groaned once again, working out the kinks in my limbs. Where had the hours gone? When we'd arrived at the train station, it'd been past eleven p.m. The trip that was just a little under nine hours had lasted twelve hours instead. I remembered an announcement about a problem or other in the engine. Had I slept through all the time the train was stuck in place and fixed? Damn, I must have been more tired than I thought.

"Why would your father be here?" Mother's anxious words broke into my thoughts again.

"I don't know how his mind works. You're his wife, I should be asking you this." I replied flippantly and disembarked from the car before she could brave any more questions. I hefted the stolen bag over my shoulder and pondered my next move.

I was inappropriately dressed for....anywhere and so was mother with her blood stained blouise. The ticketer had given us both weird looks. We needed a change of clothes. Stat.

Then we needed to keep moving. I didn't know where we were going, but I knew we weren't there yet. I walked briskly in the direction of the conductor that just woke me up. He hadn't treated mum and I disdainfully despite our disturbing attire so I figured he'd be more receptive into helping me. Catching up to him next to a tall African American woman in the same black suit as him.

"Hi. I'm sorry to disturb you but I need a little favor." They stopped talking and stared at me appraisingly. The look quickly turned into one of confusion.

"Yes?" He questioned, drawing the 's' out.

Oh. I was supposed to elaborate on what I needed him to do for me. I flushed.

"Um yes. The thing is, my mother and I were robbed just before we got to the train station yesterday. We can't go home dressed like we are. We might get arrested for murder or something." I chuckled nervously as they both gasped in dismay on my behalf. "Do you know of a boutique or a Goodwill store or something?" I rushed out before they could ask me any questions.

"You need to report the theft to the police. Don't you need to go to the hospital or something? You know what? I'm going to call 999 right now." The lady shrieked in alarm. She was already reaching into her pocket to retrieve what I was sure was her mobile. Shit.

"No!" I thundered before I could stop myself. "No. You don't need to do that." I continued in a normal tone of voice.

The shocked lady was struck dumb for a few seconds before her coworker, the conductor I'd believed to be nice piped up. "Why not?" He queried, suspicion rife in his voice.

"Because it's my aunt's funeral today. We can't miss it and we will if we have to speak to the police now. Besides." I added as a bout of inspiration struck me. "The theft happened in Amtrak which is in the United States. This London. Calling the police now won't help our cause."

They both nodded and made agreeing noises. "I'm so sorry you had to go through that, okay? Are you okay? How old are you? Where is your mum?" The inquisitive lady blabbered on, lobbing one question after the other at me.

Mehn, I really missed the days when people minded their business and did as they were told.

"She's fine but tired and upset. If you could point me in the direction of a boutique?" I called loudly, cutting right into the middle of her ramblings.

"But why is she upset?" She asked in confusion.

Are you kidding me right now? I glared at her and enunciated clearly. "She is upset because she just lost all her belongings just a few hours before she has to bury her only sister. If you could be so kind as to direct me I to where a boutique is, I will be out of your hair and we will be on our way to the funeral."

"Right after this block, turn left and you can't miss it." I nodded at the conductor gratefully and marched away from them before his companion can aggravate me further with stupid comments.

I found mother right next to our train. I clasped her hands and dragged her with me. Something on my face my face must have prompted her to stay quiet because she didn't protest as I shoved my way out of the station, pushing everyone in my part to the side. This uncontrollable anger was new. Intrusive though her question night have been, she was just trying to be nice. Her statements were not enough reason to feel like ripping someone's head off.

"Kiera!" Mum shrieked and I jumped, releasing her hands like they were on fire.

When the red haze cleared from my eyes, we were in the middle of the street. There was a lot of foot traffic here, people were jam-packed everywhere I looked, barely any breathing space amongst them, but even though there was barely any space, every single person passing by that street made sure to give me a wide berth. 

I didn't know why until I glanced at mother and saw the fear in her eyes. Behind her was a square display glass. The red glow was back in my eyes, but more than that, my arms... They had been extremely hot, which was why I dropped mum's hands earlier. 

Staring at my hands in the mirror, my hands weren't just hot, they crackled like there was a living, breathing volcano beneath my hands.