The Big, Bad Wulfe

Synopsis: City Heidi goes to the country to stay with her grandmother. She meets three brothers who live nearby. One by one, she corrupts, except the last one, who confronts her and makes her review her life thus far. She does not take it well and even turns against her own grandmother.



Heidi Wulfe thought about the world. It all seemed so unfair. So futile. She sat in the cold Baltimore rain on the bus stop bench. It was so cold, she'd give up shivering. The street lights flicked on in the gathering dusk. A few cars rattled down the pothole-ridden street. Where was that bus? She was supposed to stay with her grandmother. And now her suitcase was getting wet. She'd have to throw everything in the dryer once she got there, and hope that mildew hadn't taken hold. That was just be excellent, she thought sarcastically. Just what she needed.
A man in a black raincoat jogged down the slick sidewalk. Seeing her, he stopped. "You know the transit workers are on strike, right? No buses are running tonight."
"God, really?"
"Do you need a ride somewhere? I've got a friend running a hack tonight."
"No, I'm just sitting herein the rain with my suitcase because I feel like it." The man took in her bedraggled hair, streaming black into her face.
"Suit yourself. If you change your mind, he's parked down at the end of the block." Heidi said nothing, wishing him away. Great. A taxi. She would be out of money after that ride.
 The man shrugged and walked away. Heidi waited until he was out of sight and the grabbed her suitcase and stood. That damn cab better still be there. She loped down the cracked pavement. There it was, just pulling away.
"Hey!" She flagged it down, stepping off the burn into a puddle in the process. The driver screeched to a stop and Heidi trotted over, wiping her face with a sleeve. "Can you take me to Welshire?"
The driver frowned dubiously. "That's a long drive."
"I can pay." Heidi flashed her wallet at him. He jerked his head.
"Get in. Your bad will have to sit with you - the trunk is jammed."
"Thanks." She yanked open the back door and clambered in, dripping a deluge of rainwater into the seat.
"You're getting my seat all wet!"
"What's it to you? You're not sitting back here."
The driver shrugged. "Half up front." Heidi handed him a twenty and sat back as the car cruised away from the curb.
The wipers beat a steady rhythm as they drove through the rain. Heidi thought about what she was leaving behind. Not much. A dungeon-like sixth-floor subsidized housing room with a cracked and barred window holding a rusty A/C unit. Peeling paint and stained carpet. A fitful stove that only sometimes worked, and a job that had just laid her off.
The good thing about taking a cab was that no one would search her bag and find the ounce of coke and other pills she'd tucked away. She leaned her head back against the seat, letting the street lights flash over her face.
She was looking  forward to getting way. Her grandmother was a 'live and let live' type of person and didn't ask questions. And Heidi could use a few weeks in the country. It had been years since she'd seen a forest, or even a meadow for that matter. She wondered how it would all smell. She hoped there would be a decent tavern or at least a shitty dive bar in the nearby town, preferably within walking distance. She shifted off her red raincoat and set it to the side, settling down for the ride.