I think I'm done for now, and I think she is too.

Your cock was softening, and as Scarlet caught her breath, you realized she was done now too. Her eyes went from “keep fucking me” to “don’t look at me anymore” in one moment.

She sat up straight and covered herself. Her eyes eventually went up to her gear. Her eye swelling had gone down but still looked pretty bad. A slight tinge of guilt overcame you, and you apologized without much thought. Scarlet again covered it before regarding you.

“You were right,” she said. “I should have told you that was a contract.”

“I should have trusted you. I know something was wrong.”

She shrugged. “Don’t trust a drunk girl. You’ll end up regretting it one way or another. I don’t think you would have enjoyed what I did anyway.”

You moistened your lips. “And why would that be?”

Scarlet moved closer to you and swung her legs off the bed. “I like cutting people to see where their limitations are. I like teasing ****, so I get intimate with my target. I punch above my weight class, hoping to get some dopamine or to die myself. Last night was stupid. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t stress about it, Scarlet. It’s done, so there’s no reason to dwell on it.”

She shakes her head, sighing heavily. “I like you, Warren. You’re more alright than my last partners.”

“I’d rather have you than Alexandra, that’s for sure.”

“Fuck her,” she says, deadpanning. “She was a bad salesperson anyway.”

…

…

The next day, early morning, you and Scarlet get ready to embark again. The weather was slate and poor, and by the time you were leaving, it had started to snow again. Scarlet screwed her eyes up, and you suspected her to say something. Instead, she frowns, grabs a fist full of fresh snow from a pile in front of Tiny’s Tavern, and presses it against her eye. A throaty “fuck” leaves her mouth, and she trails forward.

You both thoroughly reviewed this contract's details last night to discuss plans and troubleshooting. The actual location of this contract was just an area to search in, but it should be simple since the site is connected to an ARS trail system that allows all types of smuggling to ensue. Weapons, ****, women, and so forth came through here, and it was often contested now that would have come out explaining the use and purpose of these trails. Even though the “Toymakers” was suspected of using this specific system, there was little desire for any neighboring towns to do anything about it.

Someone where, in the forest, there are up to 6 other members of the ARS, more specifically, Amara’s goons. They’re NSH of the “Fox” variety. Scarlet said it wasn’t likely you’d run into them but still said if you saw anyone with large ears or a bushy tail, you’d better hold off and confirm whether or not they were a target. However, other than that, it was a straightforward “Search and Destroy” contract with no fuss. However, even with the additional confirmed bodies in the forest, you and Scarlet come up empty-handed.

You had been shadowing Scarlet from a fair distance, but when the sky darkened, she turned around to join you. She spoke to you for the first time in over an hour, and it sounded as though she was nearly shouting since you had grown so used to the silence.

“Let’s head back to Tiny’s,” she said. Her swollen eye had healed a lot since you last saw her, and much of her beauty had returned, but it was tainted by frustration still. “We’ll look closer at the rims overlooking the routes and hope we run into our contracts.”

“I was thinking the same thing,” you looked up; the dead trees loomed around you, some thick with snow. Many trees lost their ability to grow due to the radiation, but the signs of returning were obvious, even as it was the dead of winter. Then it clicked. “If there would be a camp nearby, they’d be wherever the living trees are.”

Scarlet considered this and then shook her head. “What?”

“The living trees— they provide natural cover from the weather and snowfall. Not to mention, they’re less likely to fall on top of you while you’re sleeping.” You gesture to all the dead trees on the forest floor,” you tell Scarlet. “It might be pointless now, but in the morning, we should climb a tree and see where the most living trees are.”

“Right,” she grins. “You’re climbing. Thanks for volunteering!”

The following day, you and Scarlet return to the same tree. You glance up and feel your knees become weak. You look down and find Scarlet idling by picking her nails with her other fingers. “Were you serious about me climbing this?”

“I’m scared of heights,” she says so flatly you can’t tell if her voice has any humor. “So, yes. It’s up to you. Just don’t yell or do anything noisy. You’re already going to be obvious once you’re up there.”

“Oh,” you put on a face while dismantling some of your gear, including your rifle. “I thought I made it abundantly clear I was going to wish everyone a happy birthday.”

She rolls her eyes and looks around. “Make it quick. I hate this forest.”

You adjust yourself as Scarlet helps you get ready with some rope, but honestly, you aren’t sure how much weight the branches can take, so you decide it’s best just to use friction on the main body. You think this was a bad idea once you’re about 15 feet off the ground.

“Get’em, spider monkey,” Scarlet says just loud enough that you can hear it.

“Hey, Scarlet?” You look down and see her looking up. “Shut up, please?”

She smiled and then turned away, wandering off to the treeline to look busy after stowing her weapon beside yours, clearly indifferent to the dangers in the area. You climb higher, and the forest soon becomes an ocean of dead and living things. Birds fly by, chirping as they go around you. You see trails and traveled parts of the forest until you're above the halfway point. You left a majority of your equipment below, but around your neck was a pair of binoculars which you use to scout these areas that stick out. Some of these places you’ve seen before, some of them you’re unsure of. However, as you penetrate the thicker, more alive side of the forest, you can make out weird shapes, lumpy ones that look like they could be tents or maybe snow-covered rocks…shrubs, perhaps? You look around more, hoping to see something else standing out, when you see a slight reflection of something clear. “Shit.”

You put down your binoculars and started to descend— that was someone looking at you, and you had a feeling that it wasn’t the other ARS crew in the forest. Somehow, you get pretty far down the tree without incident before something terrible happens.

“We got you surrounded, dude. Don’t do anything stupid.”

Scarlet’s voice would have been a great thing to hear, but below you was a man’s voice.

“Come on down. We won’t shoot you unless you give us a reason to.”

When your feet land, you notice that everything you set down before going up was taken and set behind the men now surrounding you. The man called out first, screwed his eyes up, and cleared his throat.

“How was the view?” A subtle southern accent invades his voice now that he’s speaking level with you.

“I could see everything,” you eye them all. “Besides the important stuff, apparently.”

The man laughs friendly enough, but you know you’re not in a good position to be playing. Your hands remain up and bent. You're sure all of them are men besides one, who is further in the back. Their physique is smaller, slimmer, and judging by the hair sticking out by their beanie, an actual red-head. You swallow hard, and despite knowing you are fucked, you try to think of ways to get out free.

The man perks up. "What should we do with you, kid? What's your name?"

"Warren," you say.

The man doesn't press for a last name, which you're fine with. He looks at the others briefly and then at you. "And what's your occupation?"

"Mailman," you smile and you both laugh. "I'm a contractor."

The smile blinks out in less than a second. "I like your honesty, and to be level with you. It's catching me a little off guard."