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“Carmen,” that low growl said in my mind.
Flashing lights ahead of me woke up all of my senses.
Green and red.
A Guardia patrol car, the first I had seen since the forest. It didn’t seem like they were searching for me, but not hiding would be insane.
I girded up any strength I had left and walked backwards. Luckily, I hadn't gone too far from the shadowy corners of the streets.
While trying to hide, I made the mistake of looking over my shoulder to the direction where the Guardias were passing by, and my foot connected with a small set of stairs.
I tumbled forward this time, my numb hands still burning as they scraped against cold cement and dirt. I cursed feebly and looked up to find a door.
Upon the door was a white circle painted around an iron knocker.
I blinked and then rubbed my eyes with the back of my dirty hands to make sure I wasn't seeing something. The description wasn’t exactly what the woman had given me, but I would take it. Especially since the lights were moving closer, so I scrambled over the steps to hide.
The flashing lights beat against my eyes. They played no shrill sound like they had a few short months ago when I watched a man murdered right outside of my window.
I pressed my hand to my left breast to still my pounding heart before hugging my knees to my chest while squatting down. My eyes squeezed shut, and I waited for them to pass.
It was an agonizingly long stretch of time before the lights faded. As soon as they did, I pushed myself up. Leaning partially against the wall, I picked up the heavy door knocker and let it release.
One metallic thud, louder than I had hoped, shattered the silence left in absence of the patrol. Just as I rallied for more strength to use the knocker again, the door cracked open.
"Who are you?" a woman asked. Her brown eyes were piercing. From the narrow slice of her features, I could see she was middle-aged and quite beautiful.
She studied me as I swallowed with difficulty.
“Vengo a vender algo.”
She paused. “¿Eres una Guardia?”
I froze. “No soy una Guardia.” To prove my point, I rolled up Santiago’s suit jacket and held out my sleeves which were a little too long, not to mention worn in patches.
She stared at my arm like it was a snake, and then her eyes trailed back up to my face. Even with the uniform, I sincerely doubted I looked the part.
Despite the plummeting cold, more sweat broke out on my back. There were tendrils of heat reaching from the inside out, beckoning me to come in. To get warm.
“You can search me,” I said at last.
She stared at me for a moment longer before thrusting the door open further. Her face was round and her smile wide and inviting. Small, round spectacles framed her shining brown eyes, which matched the black cardigan she wore over her emerald green dress. She smelled of springtime flowers, honey, and a touch of vanilla. As if she had been baking moments before.
She seemed harmless. This woman could be someone’s aunt.
Her lips curved naturally into a smile. Her teeth were perfectly straight and white. "I will search first, and then we will see what we can do."
Despite her beauty and openness, there was a warning in my gut. She was not a good person, no matter how much she tried to appear as if she was. The one thing that didn’t make me run away was the lack of recognition flickering across her face. My image had been pasted everywhere, but my makeup was long gone, and my hair was a rat’s nest. Everything that had been carefully curated for the public was scraped away like rot.
Except for my jewels.
As she reached out and took my arm, helping to pull me inside, I noted just how firm her grip was. How invasive her hands were as she helped me take off the coat, and slid her fingers and palms over my chest, my back, and into any notable crevices. She wasn’t really groping, but I hated the way her fingers touched my skin. I shut my eyes and tried to block it out.
More doubts flooded into my mind. I was basically helpless. They could just as easily steal my jewels and cast me back out. Her fingers skittered over my neck, brushing against my necklace, and I trembled.
This was too much.
“Me llamo Lidia," the woman said, flashing me an artificial smile, no doubt meant to put me at ease after several moments of invasive touching. "Now let's get you situated, shall we?"
