She kept her eyes on me as she reloaded the shotgun one shell at a time.

“Now, hun,” she began, “why in all hell should I begin to believe anything that’s been coming out of your mouth, especially after finding you trying to fit through my bedroom window?” She came to a halt with the reloading, twirling the next shell between her fingers.

“I take it you don’t pay attention to what’s going on outside, do you?”

“Oh trust and believe me, I’m fully aware of what’s going on in them streets—” she stops mid-sentence and, in one quick and fluid motion, reloads the next shell in her hand and cocks the shotgun, “—and I know how to deal with those things roamin’ in the streets.”

I felt a cold chill travel down my spine when I saw her cock that thing with just one hand. And on top of that she did it all without even having to look down at the gun on her lap. The entire time, her piercing gaze was right on me, trying to look into my mind to see if I wanted to harm her.

“So, Goldilocks, you gonna explain yourself? Why did you break into my home?”

Considering my current situation, I figured talking would be a good way to try and pass the time. “I suppose I should. Honestly, the main reason I thought about coming to this house was because I thought it was deserted.”

“What made you think that?”

“Well, your windows weren’t bordered up for starters, which explains how I managed to even get into this situation. On top of that, all the lights were off, so I figured electricity had ran out here. I honestly thought the house was abandoned.”

The woman kept her eyes on me for a bit, almost trying to size me up from my spot. After a solid minute of eye contact she placed the shotgun on the cushion next to her and got up from her seat. She walked over and crouched down in front of me, grabbing at the thick rope that bound my feet, “If I got rid of this rope, you won’t try to run away, will you?”

I lifted up my wrists to show the other set of rope she used on me, “I promise. Besides, I can’t really do much with my hands tied like this.”

She looked at me one more time; I tried not to blink just in case she read my eye moments as a sign. After a moment of silence she unbound my feet and collected the rope in the back pocket of her jeans. I thanked her, finally able to feel the blood rush back into my feet. She nodded as she went back to her seat.

She reached behind her and pulled out a small pistol, taking out the magazine and counting the bullets already in it. Her voice was a bit more rasp, but had a sensitive tone as she spoke, “A youngin’ like you shouldn’t be alone in these times. You’ve got no family lookin’ after ya?”

I shook my head” Use to.”

“What happened to them?

“The outbreak got to them before I could.”

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