Dusk

Chapter Twelve

When Ezra and I first met, I'd almost killed the both of us.

It was a little over a year ago. Blake had just begun to work at the textiles factory. I was anxious; his hours were few and far between, but even a little bit of time away from him had been torture to me.

I stood atop our mattress and peered through the lone, grungy window in our unit, watching the road. Children chased each other around with baked scorpions in hand, two nearly naked women kissed an unusually large man, and a pale, scrawny boy ran at top speed towards my unit with a greasy leg of chicken clutched in his fist. He sidestepped food stalls and stumbled a few times; in the distance, I spotted a bulky, dark-skinned man struggling to catch up with him. The man bumped into countless people. I could practically feel his irritation.

The boy with the chicken ran straight around my unit, to the alley behind it, slipping through the always-ajar window. He was scrawny enough to fit through. We stared at each other for a moment, both of us equally surprised at the situation. Then he spoke.

"You gotta hide me," he panted, looking around frantically. He noticed the space between the bed frame and the floor. "Mind if I just lie down under there for a few minutes?" Without waiting for my reply, he smiled nervously. "Thanks, I knew I could count on you."

He tried to slide underneath the bed, but I blocked his way with my feet.

"Get out," I said, pointing at the door. "Out! Blake will be home soon!"

"Come on!" He whined. "I'll explain everything to your boyfriend later. Just let me get under there!"

"Blake is my brother, idiot! If he finds out someone else has been here-"

I stopped as I heard someone trying to kick down the door. Ezra and I locked eyes, and, panicked, we both slid underneath the bed just as the door slammed open. I covered my mouth to hopefully silence the sound of my heavy breathing; I did the same to Ezra as well with my free hand, so we wouldn't get discovered.

The man was looking for us. He went into the kitchen first, pushing away the ragged curtain that separated the rooms. He stomped to the bathroom, moving the curtain there, too. He muttered something unintelligible under his breath, and stomped out. He stopped in front of the bed. I could see his feet- they were huge.

Ezra's stomach suddenly growled. I looked over at him, glaring daggers, but it was too late.

"Found you, thief," the man growled, and reached underneath the bed. He felt around and grabbed my arm, thinking it to be Ezra's. I gasped as he pulled me out from underneath the bed. His grip was strong and I was too shocked to resist him. He narrowed his small, watery eyes, and said, "Is he under there, too?"

I gulped. Maybe he would leave me alone if I told the truth. I nodded quickly, pointing downwards. He threw me to the side. I hit the concrete floor hard. The impact knocked the breath out of me. I watched the man bend down and grab hold of Ezra. There was a short scuffle, one in which Ezra held onto the legs of the bed, but the man won out easily, pulling him out by the ankle.

"I have you now, you piece of shit," the man said gruffly, grabbing Ezra's collar and pulling him to his feet. The chicken leg had been dropped underneath the bed in the scuffle, but the man paid it no mind. "You know what I do to people who steal from me?" He paused, savouring the fear on Ezra's pale, thin face. "I steal from them."

A bit of relief seemed to wash through Ezra. "What are you gonna steal from me, huh?" He sneered. "I'm poor as all hell. You can't steal jack."

"I can steal your legs," the man said, grinning sadistically. "I could feed a lot of hungry people with meat from you. There's a lot of money in meat these days."