Qualities that Kill

Chapter 8- Jax

"So why don't you come out of that corner and come with me?" the girl says, eyes scanning me, cold and calculating.

She says she can keep me safe. She claims that she's not going to hurt me. But I saw her kill those men, seven of them, then walk down here, through their blood, without even a glance at their corpses, not even a shred of regret or guilt visible in her emotionless green eyes. It was terrifying when she approached me, although of course everything is terrifying with the fear occupying me.

I consider her offer, then eye the gun laying on the ground at her feet. Should I go with her? What do I have to lose, anyway? My life? It's not like it's worth much, anyway. Death would be an escape from the battling fear and bravery inside me.

I step out of my corner and grab the gun she left on the floor. I don't want her to have it and shoot me in the back with it. Then I stand to face her and say,"Let's go."

As we walk out of the alley, the girl lets out two sharp, loud whistles and a wolf with thick grey fur and completely out of place brown puppy dog eyes materializes out of the shadows, and prowls toward us. I shy away from it, sure that it will rip me to pieces.

"Watch out!" I warn the girl as the wolf heads straight for her.

She just looks at me, rolls her eyes, and says, "Relax. This is just Altius. Get used to him."

***

We finally reach our destination: one of the many deserted houses that line the streets. She tells me to wait outside, and then pulls out a knife and cautiously walks into the house, her dog by her side. I wait, nervous and fidgeting, while she scouts the house. It's not safe for me to be out on the streets in broad daylight. Anyone could see me, take aim, and then my life's over. Although it's not like my life's worth much anyway.

Finally she walks back outside and says, "Come on," waving me over. I follow her inside the house, and that's when the fearlessness overtakes me again.

And as I forget all my fears, I remember the reason I even left my shelter in the first place: to find food. And I never did, which means I can still feel the pangs of hunger in my stomach.

"Hey... I don't know your name. Anyway, do you have food?" I ask the girl as she pulls out her knife and starts sharpening it.

"It's Lyra, and no I don't, not right now. But if you want we can go find some," the girl- or Lyra, I guess- says.

"Let's go, then," I say, walking toward the front door.

In the blink of an eye, she is in front of me, blocking the entrance with a knife in hand. With a slightly confused look on her face, but mostly angry, she says, "Okay, I don't know what game you're playing, but you need to stop."

"What are you talking about?"

"You... when we were out there, you acted like you were afraid of everything, trailing me like a lost puppy. And then you come in here, and... and you're ready to just walk out again, not even scared of what could happen to you out there? Going from scared of everything to completely fearless like that isn't normal. It's insane actually. And you were just going to walk out of here, oblivious to everything that could happen. I thought you'd be smarter than that, seeing that you survived on your own out here for this long. Really, how stupid can you be?" The girl finally finishes yelling at me, and I raise my eyebrows at her.

I need to dodge the subject of my madness, so I say, "Really, it's nice to know that you have so much concern for me. But last I checked, you normally should not start randomly yelling at someone. Or pull a knife on them. They may find it offensive. Of course, I'll forgive you, because you may not have had any normal human interaction in a while, but please remember that for next time."