Pandemic *CANCELLED*

OUT

A lump formed in my throat, no matter how many times I swallowed it wouldn't go away. All I could do was stare down the barrel, straight into his eyes where I saw nothing, not even a slight trace of humanity was present behind those blank voids of darkness. What could I expect from someone who calls such atrocities his "art"? He stared at me as if I was transparent... was I there to him or not, I wasn't sure if he could even see me for a brief moment.

"Well? Did ya like it? It took me while, the kid was a tough'an but I got there in the en'." He croaked, his accent was heavy. "Well, play the ar' critic! How many stars d'ya give me?" His laugh rang in my ears, I didn't know whether to reply or not. Taking a deep breath I managed to take a step backwards before replying.

"5 stars mister." I whispered with uncertainty, feeling my heart drag downwards in my chest. These are the kind of people you have to entertain no matter what, especially when you have a gun in your face. He gave a hearty, raspy laugh rattling the shotgun in front of him, finger sliding over the trigger ever so slightly. I could feel the blood rush around my body, I took another step back a creak rang low throughout the whole floor. Suddenly the man's expression changed and he squared up again and pointed the gun back at me.

"Not tryin' ta get away are ya? I can blow yer brains out righ' now and leave ya to them things walking aroun' out there. You'd be a fancy new edition to the collection, little Mancheste' lass like ye'self. Tell me, what is yer name?" Those cold eyes still looked me dead straight, the barrel was almost pressed up to my nose. I needed to get away now this man was clearly deranged.

"Lucy... What do you want?" Idiot. I wish I'd never asked that question. I still don't know why I did it, I guess a part of me was sick of this mess and how the only people I'd met since "it" happened were insane. Something set off inside him, though his eyes stayed empty, his expression changed and he lunged forwards at me screaming profanities. The only thing I could do was stumble backwards. My leg wasn't much use to me so I couldn't run, only hobble. He continued shouting until he'd had enough, the threats kept coming and he kept pushing forwards until I reached the wall in one of the empty bedrooms, that's when I saw his finger push towards the trigger and in a split second, all I heard was the shattering of the wall behind me. I pushed my fingers in my ears and couldn't bear to look up, the plaster was flaking down around me.

"Well, have yer learn'd yer lesson?" I looked up to see him still staring dead in front of his face. Somehow I'd narrowly missed being blasted to bits and staring up at him from the floor of the bedroom all the pieces began to click. The reason he'd been looking so vacant and like he couldn't see me, is because it was exactly so. I wasn't sure if he knew I was still in front of him, or if he thought he'd blown my brains out. "I know yer there lass, I'm not an idiot." I sighed and stood back up. "Tha's righ', you be a good girlie and do as yer told, so now move, out of the door, head down into the kitchen and give me everything you have." I mumbled in solemn agreement and marched out slowly, down the stairs and into the kitchen.

The tile in the kitchen sounded like they'd break under the heavy tread of this man's boots. He seemed sure of his surroundings despite his... impairment which made me wonder how long it had been since the outbreak and how long had he been staying in the area.

"Excuse me, mister? How long has it been since..." I couldn't find the words to finish, heck I don't really know how I found the words to start.

"Three an' a half weeks, now get movin', I wan' everything, yer own, put everything in 'er." He threw me his bag which was sitting on the door frame. I didn't have anything but out of sheer fear for my life I started grabbing whatever. I opened cupboards, pretended to rummage through a bag all the while, this guy was breathing down my neck the whole time, following me everywhere I went, holding the gun slightly lower than before. After a few empty cupboards, some sponges thrown into the bag and a bunch of wooden cutlery, I handed him the bag back, hoping he wouldn't check the contents before leaving.