Hope II

Assault II

He walked behind Brad, standing behind him for a moment before suddenly grabbing his head, pulling it back slightly and putting a knife to the muscular skin, slicing a tiny piece of flesh as a warning 'You do not talk to me like that' said the man in a deep voice, releasing Brad who immediately put pressure on the small scar on his neck. 

'You are safe' he said 'From whatever danger is out there. We saved you from the streets' 

'You paralysed us' Aaron appointed 'You dragged us here' 

'If we asked you to come, you wouldn't have trusted us enough to come with us' 

'Listen' I said, breaking the conversation and trying to turn hostility to hospitality 'Thank you for saving us from the streets, but with all respect, I think we'd like to take our weapons and be on our way' 

The man shook his head 'Unfortunately it doesn't work that way' he said, looking at me from across the table as he stood behind Bryan, the knife firm in his grasp. I stared him back, not wanting to be the one to break eye contact and show weakness. 

'Who are you?' I asked. 

He stood up straight and walked closer to me 'I have more than one name' he said as he approached. Standing in between me and Aaron, he looked directly down at me 'They like to call me "The Ripper"

***

When I found this place it was deserted, housed only by the spiders and crawlers that prowled along the dusty floorboards, ravaged throughout the years of decay by termites and deterioration. I built this place from the ground up, rebuilding every last inch of it to make it feel more like a home. I created life where there was none, people had families, they settled down. After four years on the road we had finally found a safe place to stay, a home. But we always had a backup plan, a rendezvous point in case of emergency. We designed the main interior so that in case of an attack we could easily pull everything together and make a fortress of some sorts in the centre of the room. Never did I think we would have to use it, never until today. 

For years we lived in peace, living like we did before the infection. Safe. And then my brother shows up and less than a month later, all of it is threatened. 

This place is my home, my refuge, my safety from the outside world. I will not let these men take that away from me. I will fight to the last ounce of energy I have, I will die if I have to, but I am not losing my supermarket to a couple of thugs who want my brother dead. 

'They're here' I informed the men the second I walked out into the main floor of the supermarket, deserted with none but men who shielded themselves inside a square fort in the centre of the room pulled together by tables and sofa's overturned to match their requirements with gaps in between to provide aim without the risk of being capped. 

'They found us?' asked Ger, stepping up and perking his head above the chest high fortress, Sam by his side looking at me fearfully while I spoke. 

'They never lost us' I replied 'We won't kill any by staying in here. They have snipers scattered around the town, watching us, starving us out and our men are stuck up on the roof. We've already lost two' 

'Who?' Alex asked worryingly, his young face riddled with fear. His life has not been in danger since he was three years old, when we encountered those maniacs in the hotel... this is the first time in his life he will have to fight to defend himself, and I fear it to be the last. 

'Brad and David, both taken out by snipers' 

I sensed the sorrow build throughout the room. David was one of the men who we met back in the crazies hotel, he wanted out just as bad as we did. A loyal fighter, all he wanted was safety... just like the rest of us.