Unsteady

Stranger

       Waking up to deafening silence and blinding darkness he lays still for a moment, trying to figure out what awoke him. There it is again, that cold feeling in his gut that warned him of the intruder creeping into the house. Sliding his hand under his pillow he grips the handle of his knife, pulling it towards him before slipping out of bed. His father always said that a gun would be better, but knives are silent and a soundless kill won’t alert anyone else of the death. Easier to get all of them without them making such a fuss. Stalking on silent feet he advances down the hall, passing the empty bedrooms of his parents and three siblings. Blood pounds in his ears as he rounds the corner and finds one small person, searching through his cupboards diligently.

       Swiftly walking up behind them he presses the edge of his blade to their throat while immobilizing their arms. He calmly whispers in their ear that if they scream or struggle their throat is going to be slit. The person stands there against him, stock still with their head angled back and hood covering their face. Pulling the stranger with him, he drags them to the light switch and flips it on, purposefully catching them off guard. He shifts the smaller person around effortlessly, switching their positions so that he’s holding the person by their sweatshirt out in front of him, the countertop pressing into the strangers back and his knife against their throat still. He holds the cards here, both in strength and weapons.

       Momentarily flicking his knife up he knocks off the hood, eyes widening at the person standing before him. From the back he had assumed it was some punk, leeching off of him for food. But this is no boy, and most certainly not a punk. It’s a girl, and she can’t be more than 16. Plain face, easy to conceal under baggy clothes, mixed in with a skinny body and a shaved head. All of it combined together must make it easy for her to pass off herself as a boy, except to the watchful eye. There’s anger showing in her greenish eyes, and a quiet will to live that hasn’t been beaten out of her yet by this world that they live in. There’s fear there too, mingling in the corners of her irises, but she does her best to hide it behind her fury as she claws at his hands. Her hands are beaten and bloodied, showing that she’s had to fight to survive. Weighing no more than 110 pounds he slightly lifts her off her feet, arm still outstretched to still her movements. Immediately she stills once again, clenching her jaw in annoyance. Keeping an eye on her he searches her with the hand holding the knife, finding two knives and a 9mm hidden under her sweatshirt.

      “Why were you robbing me?”

      Wordlessly she stares at him, tight lipped and tense under his fingers, on guard for anything. He had noticed how she flinched as soon as he spoke, but for the moment he ignores that.

      “I said, why were you trying to rob me for food? Don’t mess with me sweetheart, I won’t ask you again.”

      She suddenly moves, raising a kick to hit him in the balls. Her blow doesn’t land its mark though, as he effortlessly maneuvers his hips out of the way. Together with the kick she tried to give him an underhand punch to the side of his stomach, but her hand met a rock hard ab that barely moved. If anything it hurt her more than it hurt him. Her actions don’t even phase him as he responds by sweeping out her leg and taking her to the floor, straddling her hips and capturing both wrists in the knife-free hand. His 200 lb. weight easily stills her movements, but does nothing to eliminate the defiance in her features as she stares at the center of his forehead.

      “I won’t hurt you if you explain to me what you’re doing here. Think about it. If I wanted you dead I would’ve already killed you. What I want to know is why a 15-year-old girl is here at my house trying to steal from me, when she should be with a clan somewhere protected from the hell hole our world has been for the past year.” His mind runs fast, attempting to make sense of her actions. Everyone knows that it’s a very dangerous world out there since all the major cities were bombed by nukes and everything went to shit, she should be more careful.

      When she still doesn’t answer him he shifts his weight so he’s more on his knees and left hand, with his knife still against her neck and tries again.

      “Either you tell me why you’re here alone, or your throat is getting slit. And trust me, I won’t give a damn either. But, if you explain to me and you tell the truth, maybe we could come to an… agreement.”

      “I’m not 15 you asshole, I’m 17.”

      These words, spit out at him with the look of rage on her face make him smirk and chuckle a bit. “I’m sorry sweetheart, but with nothing under your sweatshirt I’d assumed you weren’t too far along yet. Looks like I’m wrong, huh?”

      Huffing in annoyance she looks past his shoulder, face staining red. “If you’re going to insult me you may as well just kill me. Also, my name is Em. Don’t call me sweetheart, Jerk.”

      “And my name is Bobby, nice to meet you sweetheart. Now, tell me why you’re here before I get impatient.”

      Actually looking into his eyes for a moment she seems to think about what she wants to say. “I came here for food. My clan is running low and I was hungry, okay? Kill me if you want, but they’ll come for you if they find out what you’ve done.”