Shouldn’t Ignore the Bum

     The orange Kawasaki pulled up, idling at the curb as the rider pulled off his helmet. Dark red hair, twisted into short dreadlocks, flopped out, to be immediately covered by a rust-colored bandana. Gleaming, pale grey eyes flickered up and down the street as the rider swung one leg over and dismounted the bike. He wasn’t very tall, maybe six foot even in his heavy steel-toed biker boots, but very stocky, with the build of a bulldog. Tattered, stained jeans and a battered Pantera shirt were hardly stylish, but he wore them as a second skin. Oddly handsome, for all of the scars marring his throat, the eyebrow piercing, the tattoos working their way up his bare forearms. He didn’t seem particularly uncomfortable with being out, alone at night in the Downtown District, which to some ears was known as the Vampire District. Nor was he hesitant about pulling the dark red Razor phone from his pocket when it began playing Rob Zombie’s ‘Superbeast.’

     Glancing at the bum curled up on a bus bench nearby, Tyler Kindrick leaned against a light post and rolled his eyes before answering the phone.

     "Did you find her?" The snappish, icy tone was all too familiar to him. His ex-girlfriend hadn’t mellowed one bit in the two years since they’d gone their separate ways, and Tyler had to restrain the urge to snap the phone shut and eat it. Instead, he sighed and put the phone to his ear.

     "Hello Amelia, how is your night? Mine has been fine so far." The redcap knew that the sidhe hated it when he pointed out her lack of manners, and he had to restrain a laugh when she spoke again.

     "Good evening, Tyler. I am delighted to hear that your night has been pleasant. Mine has not been, which is why I have called you. Do you have any news as to Iris’s whereabouts, if you would be so kind as to tell me?" Her voice was syrupy-sweet, making him grin even wider. He was the only one who’d ever gotten a rise out of her, and when she lost her temper with him, it just made him laugh.

     "No, Amy, I haven’t found her. Checked the Waterfront, University, Hospital and Courthouse districts. I’m in the Vampire district now."

     "Did you check carefully? She can be quite difficult to find if she’s trying to hide."

     Tyler frowned at the evident concern underlying her tone, and his fingers tightened on his phone. "Yeah, I know how to fucking look for your girlfriend, Amelia. Don’t patronize me."

     "I am not patronizing you, Tyler. Were I patronizing you, you would know it. Now go look for her."

     "You know what, you stuck up little bitch, why don’t you go look for her yourself, rather than having everyone else do your job for you?!?" Snarling, the redcap snapped his phone shut and stuffed it back into his pocket, restraining the urge to just eat the damn thing. He stomped back to his Kawasaki and jammed the helmet on. When the phone began to play the song again, the redcap growled and tore away from the curb, peeling up the street and skidding around a corner.

     As the echoes of the Kawasaki’s engine died down, the bum lifted his head, oddly clear, pale violet eyes watching the street for a moment before he sat up. A moment’s pause to glance about and reassure himself that he was alone, and the bum pulled a large, silvery-white feather from beneath his rumpled coat. Brushing it against his fingertips, he considered what he’d seen that night…the wandering girl, the pursuing man with creepy eyes, whatever he’d done to her that had made her collapse suddenly…for the length of a breath, he’d felt something move in his back, and a flash of righteous fury had flooded his wasted body…and as abruptly, had died. Frowning, he stuffed the feather back in his coat and lay back down on the bench. He fell asleep within moments, but remained frowning all the while, the scent of fresh rain on pine needles haunting him.