The Family: Ties That Bind (VOL. 2)

Chapter 22

"Rrrun, lil mouse, rrrrun. Cat's on the prowl," was the last utterance I heard before the stranger's body hit me like a ton of bricks and tackled me to the earth. All the breath was forced out of my lungs from the impact and I gasped for air, only taking in mouthfuls of the dust we'd kicked up in the tussle. I tried to dig my nails into the ground and crawl away, but he overpowered me with ease and flipped me on my back, straddling my waist to keep me in place.  My throat was being shredded raw by the torrent of shrill screams I emitted but that was all I could do besides thrashing my lower half and slapping at his face.

I grabbed ahold of the hair on his head and gave it a yank. My goal was to pull him off me, but instead, his entire head of hair came off in one piece. Needless to say, that only made me scream louder. I didn't know if it was a wig or a harvested human scalp with the hair still attached, but I chucked that thing as far as I could.

"You thievin' b!tch! That was my Sonny Bono wig," he shouted, watching the hair piece disappear into the darkness surrounding us. Catching my wrists and wrestling them still, he pinned them over my head with one of his hands and slapped his other over my mouth. "Why's it lil mice like you always got the loudest pipes?" he huffed, out of breath from subduing me. With my freedom to move or call for help quelled at last, he laughed in my face, a breathy heckle that brought tears to my eyes. The fear I exuded only fed the vicious monster beneath his calm facade.

While I might've been prey in the situation and he the predator, there was one thing he forgot to consider. A mouse, though it be small and timid, can and will still defend itself. This little mouse wouldn't surrender to the cat's claws without a fight.

I chomped down on the skin between his thumb and pointer finger, sinking my teeth into his calloused flesh until a metallic liquid spewed across my tongue. The contents of my stomach churned, but I pushed away the thought of how repulsive the taste of his blood was. Like a dog with a bone–or Comet with his favorite stick–I locked my jaw and didn't let go when he tried to pull his hand away.

"Let go, b!tch, I ain't no chew toy!" When the pain got too much to bear, he finally yelped and yanked his hand out of my mouth, falling back on his heels and releasing my arms. "You-you bitin' b!tch! God damn it, ya got me good." He looked over his bloodied hand and the impression of my teeth dented into his flesh.

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of the silhouette of Bubba and Nubbins outlined by the fire behind them speeding my way. He saw them too.

"Oh, hehe, you're in trouble now," he said, holding his injured hand to his chest. "Me and my brothers, we'll have them pearly whites strung 'round my neck 'fore the night's–"

My heel collided with the no-no spot between his legs and shut him up before he could finish threatening me. Everyone knows that's a man's Achilles heel...besides the actual Achilles tendon on their heel, of course. Both leave men crippled when injured and boy, did the mystery creep drop when I kangaroo kicked him in his junk.

He toppled off me, landing on his side with his hands shielding the sensitive area between his legs. Leaving him to groan and rock his way through the pain, I stumbled back to my feet, only making it a yard or two before running straight into Bubba's arms. "HE'S TRYING TO KILL ME!" I turned and frantically pointed at the thin figure in the darkness rising to his feet and letting out growls of pain. "BUBBA, HELP ME! HE-HE'S GONNA KILL ME!"

Bubba didn't jump to action as I hoped, only stood there squinting at the outline of the man limping through the darkness and drawing closer to the fire's light. I dropped to the ground and clung to his pant's leg. Why wasn't he doing anything to protect me?! I legit just said some creepy guy was trying to murder me and yet Bubba wasn't concerned in the least bit. Let me get this straight, Zack spitting on me was worthy of a beatdown but being tackled by some creep who threatened to wear my teeth as a necklace was A-OK. Yeah, no, I couldn't wrap my brain around that.