CONTENT WARNING: death
“Who’s there?” K asked, her hands trembling as she gripped the cold metal of the gun, snow cascading down from the decrepit roof above.
“It’s okay, baby, it’s dad.” John said, stepping as silently as he could towards K. He knew that bandits were prowling close by, and hoped to keep hidden for as long as he could, though the longer he waited, the more inevitable their confrontation seemed.
“What happened, who was shooting?”
“I need you to be quiet, K, just for a bit, I’ll tell you soon.”
K nodded, pulling her legs up to her chest, as she leaned against the wall.
John slid his hand across the floor, snatching up a few bullets, before slipping them into his revolver; he had spent the rounds on him in the tree line. He didn’t know if he hit anything, he just shot and ran, unable to look back. Peering over at K, a smile growing in his lips, as a pit formed in his gut. They had to move, and move quickly, yet when he looked at his K, with little lines of light shining through her blonde hair, he felt some semblance of peace, if only for a moment.
There was a commotion outside of the ruinous house, metallic footsteps sending echoes through the decaying concrete expanse.
“Damn it, we just wanna talk! No one has to get hurt, just come out!” A voice said. It was grizzled, and old.
John turned to K, placing his finger to his lips.
K nodded.
“You’ve got something of ours, trader, we just want it back.” Another voice said, this one much younger.
“We’re gonna find you, one way or another, but if you come out now, with your guns on the floor and hands on your head, nothing’ll happen! We’ll stand aside and let you go, you just need to give us what we’re fucking owed!” K looked over at John, a desperation flashing through her eyes, as she began to jitter.
John laid out his hand flat, before rubbing her cheek. She smiled, as a stream of tears dripped from her eyes, and her chin began to quiver. She understood what it meant to die, but John wished she didn’t.
“You’ve got 60 seconds, trader, then we’re not sparing the bullet!” The old voice said.
K pulled on John’s sleeve, as the desperation in her eyes worsened.
John shook his head, placing his finger to his lips again. He pulled the gun up to fire, gesturing to K to close her eyes.
John looked forward, his heart pounding in his chest, till all he could feel was that rhythmic drum beat, as sound and time blurred together in an indistinguishable tangle of threads.
The footsteps grew closer, as John slowly clicked the lever of the gun, and readied himself to fire. The men outside weren’t people anymore. They were paper targets.
They stopped for only a moment, as a faint whisper could be heard. There was a breath of calm, before a young man burst through the door, John squeezing his finger on the trigger, as a flash of light blinded him, a slam defining his ears. The man fell to the ground, before a second came in, ready to fire back. Instead, he stopped, looking down as he seemed to realize what had happened.
The old man fell to the ground, as the younger one began to cough up his last breath.
“Jesus, no!” The old man cried, holding the younger one’s head in his hands.
“Keep your eyes closed, baby.” John said, before pulling back the lever, and firing.
The old man dropped, a hole in his skull, as a splatter of brain and blood painted the doorway behind him.
K’s scream was barely audible under the jarring buzz which shot through John’s ears.
“Keep your eyes shut, understand?” John said, panting out his words frantically.
K nodded, her eyes clamped shut.
Reaching for K’s hand, John pulled her out of the house. He held his eyes away from the blood. He couldn’t look at them, they didn’t exist.
“Can I open my eyes yet?” K asked.
“Just a minute.”
“What happened?”
“Nothing hon, men came to hurt you, and I dealt with them; it’s okay now.”
After they had passed the tree line, John stopped, kneeling as he held K’s hands.
“You can open your eyes now, sweetie.”
K looked up at John, her eyes puffy from tears, as she broke down, wrapping her arms around John, as she pressed her head into his chest. His jacket was wet with melted snow.
“Shh, shh, it’s okay, we’re safe now; they’re gone, you don’t have to worry.” John said, petting her hair.
A howl in the distance turned John’s attention towards the thick of the woods.
“We need to hide!” K said, pulling on John’s arm.
John nodded, picking up K, and carrying her off down the vacant road.