"Oi! Isabella watcha doin' out here?"

     She shuts her eyes, "Not today, dude".

     "Ahhh, are you havin' a bad day? Welcome to the club!"

 

     "Goddamnit, Skyler! I said not today!"

     Isabella leaps from her "bed" to face Skyler, her best friend in the whole world. Not that her world has expanded much.

     Skyler smiles, taking pleasure at her friend's display of anger. Her blonde curls cover most of her scar-covered face. The clothes she wears hardly leave anything to the imagination, a positive. 

     "Morning", Skyler says.

     "It's afternoon".

     "Well, I just woke up, so it's morning for me", Skyler falls onto the trash, "You look like you've got some shit on your mind, what's up?"

     Isabella frowns, "You wouldn't understand".

     "Try me". 

      

      So, in an attempt to express her concerns she retells the story of Alonso. She paces in circles as she recounts her worries. Her dry lips move and she shuts her eyes to tell the story. When she finally opens her eyes---

     "See! This is why I don't tell you shit! You don't even listen!"

     Skyler lies down and plays with her fingers. Indeed, she does not really care about the situation at hand. Or at least she doesn't seem to care much. She yawns so wide, the entire earth could fit in her mouth. 

     "I did and well", she stops to stretch, "I don't even know why you even started that conversation with him. He's only a kid, what did you expect?"

     Isabella begins to blush, "I don't know dude, he feels like my little brother. Who would want their brother to stay in a place like this?"

     "Nobody, I guess", she starts off with, "But, let's be real that kids probably gonna die here, too".

     "Wow, who pissed in your drink this morning?"

     "I did".

    "That was a rhetorical question", Isabella sighs, "Fuck, dude...I really don't wanna leave him here".

    "Why not? It's your life, a kid shouldn't get in the way of it", Skyler spits on the trash, "At least, that's how I see it".

     "I get what you're saying, although it's a bit cruel, but...well", Isabella sighs, "I don't think I'm leaving without him. I'll just wait until he's older so he can take care of himself better---get this, he told me that somebody tried to kill him at home! I know we live in the slums, but damn that's still tough".

    "I mean, somebody tried to kill me yesterday", she scoffs, "He kept going on and on about how women only live to serve men or something like that. I wasn't really paying attention to him".

    "How'd you get outta that?"

    Skyler laughs, "I gave him a piece of my mind!"

    "Which means?"

    "I grabbed some nearby trash and threw it at him", she laughs, somehow proud of herself, "I'm not dumb enough to fight those pieces of ass. Also, well, although I look like it I'm not one to look for fights".

    "You sure 'bout that?"

     "Positive", she states, "So, where is that kid now? From what you said, it sounds like you left him with his pants down".

    "Huh, so you were listening", Isabella says, "He's back at his house".

     Skyler blows raspberries, "Wrong! That fools probably on his way towards the Northern Mound".

     Isabella's expression sours, she playfully frowns at her best friend. 

     

     "No, for real," Skyler says, her tone a bit more urgent, "Trust me, kids his age are run by their feelings and not their noggins. He's probably thinking something like Argh! I gotta prove her wrong, although it contradicts my previous trail of thinking!"

     "I don't think he's...like that...", Isabella facepalms, "Goddamnit, yeah you're right he's probably hauling ass over their right now", she scratches at her face in frustration, then with one loud shout she walks past her friend.

     "Where'ya going?"

     "I'm going to go fishing", Isabella says, "The traffickers there will drool over a strong, healthy boy like him. I've gotta get him before he goes in too deep".

     "And what if he's already in too deep?"

     "Then I'll save his dumbass".

     "And if he's dead?"

     "I doubt he's dead and if he is", she sighs, "That's just disappointing".

     Skyler watches as her friend keeps walking further and further into the slums. Her dull expression becomes an amused one, she laughs and rushes to her friend's side. A hop to her step.

     "I'll come with you", she puts her hands on her head, "I didn't have any big plans for today anyway".

     "You sure? We could die, y'know?"

     "And? I only see this as a win-win!"

     Skyler laughs her head off, the thought of dying not concerning at the least. She genuinely seems amused by the thought of dying.

     Isabella eyes her friend, concern obvious in her eyes, I'll address this later.

     Isabella stops to stretch her legs. Skyler does the same. They both stand in place for a couple of seconds, ignoring the judgmental gazes of their fellow citizens. 

    "I can probably beat you right now".

     Isabella scoffs, "As if".

     "Wanna bet? I'll give you my recent find if you beat me there".

     "You sure you wanna lose that?"

     "I'm not going to lose", Skyler confidently says.

     The two friends give each other a small smirk. Without missing a beat the two begin to sprint all the way towards the Northern Mound. 

     ***

     Despite the smog becoming thicker and thicker the two continue to run at a steady pace. The "pace" for them, however, seems to be, "Running with everything you have".

     They both stretch out and lean forward in attempts to get the edge over the other. The thick sweat falls from their rough skin and drips onto the floor. They leave a trail of sweat behind them. Right now, the thick smoke doesn't seem to affect them too much. 

     Finally, a winner is chosen.

     With her long legs, Isabella gains the edge over her friend reaches the "entrance" to the Northern Mound. Since these two have been here so many times, they already know where to stop at. To normal citizens, the place they chose as the finish line is just placed in the middle of nowhere.

     "Let's fucking go", Isabella pumps her fist into the air. A mocking smile on her face she looks down at her friend, who only gives her a scowl in response. 

     "I guess you've gotta gimme your shit", she jokingly says.

     "You don't say those type words in front of that kid, right?"

     Isabella scoffs at her attempt to change the subject, but she goes along with it. 

     "No", she says, "I try to act a little older than I am in front of him. If his mom does come back I don't want him saying those type of words around her".

     Skyler nods, "Good, good", she rolls her shoulders, "So, where do we even start?"

     "Good question", Isabella says, "If he kept going this way he woulda ran into the small mini-town ahead. But, well he probably didn't so don't count on that".

     "So, where should we start our search then?"

     Isabella scratches her chin, "I guess let's just keep moving forward. The best-case scenario is that he already realized how dangerous the Northern Mound is and left. Worst case, he's uh...he's dead".

     "That would suck, like a lot".

     "Yeaahh", Isabella sighs, "C'mon, let's go.

     With that, the women in shining armor go looking for the damsel in distress.