Page 145 of Afflicted

“Fuckingbitch.” Earl clutches his groin. “Stupid fuckingbitch.”

I pull open the backpack just as the skinny guy advances on me. I bring the gun up, pointing it right at his face.

“Don’t fucking move!” The gun’s heavy, and I have to drop the pack to hold it with both hands. But both of them have stopped with their hands up, and the men that are still with the truck are frozen where they stand. “Anyone moves, and I’ll blow your fucking brains out!”

The skinny guy attempts to swagger a little, putting his hands back in the pockets of his worn out grey pants. “Now, a little girl like you doesn’t know how to use that does she?”

“Try me, asshole.” I cock the gun, and his face drops. “My dad was a cop who made sure his little girl knew how to deal with creepy fucks who might try and jump her on the street.”

“Come on now.” He holds his hands up, palms facing me. “We just want to be friends, honey. You don’t have to be scared.”

“I don’t need friends, now fuck off and leave me alone.”

Earl seems to recover from the kick to his manhood, and his face goes red, veins popping out from his temple. “Fucking little bitch.”

The skinny one puts his hand on Earl’s shoulder. “Hey man, she’s got-”

But Earl is as dumb as he is big, and lunges at me. “I’m gonna fucking kill you!”

The gun goes off, and Earl howls, his hands flying up. The bullet has torn open the side of his face, blood spraying over the skinny one, who jumps aside with a shout. His eyes are wild as he looks back at me.

“You crazy little bitch!” He moves towards me, the shock of being showered with blood clearly making his brain short circuit because I’m still very much armed.

I squeeze the trigger, and he jerks backwards as the gun clicks - and nothing happens. I pull the trigger again, and again, but all that meets my finger is resistance. The gun’s jammed. The skinny guy hesitates, but on the third click, his lips pull back in a grin that reveals his mouthful of browned teeth.

“Oh no,” he tuts. “Guess you’re just shit out of luck, huh?”

He rushes at me, and I raise my hands to defend myself, but he’s got surprising strength, and slams his first into my cheekbone. White stars explode in my vision, and I cough as I’m thrown onto my stomach, the gun wrenched from my hands.

“Now, you little shit,” the skinny guy drawls into my ear, “you’re gonna listen to me or-”

He cuts off with a cry, and his weight is lifted off me.

“You touching my wife, you fucking cunt?” A voice roars. “Which hand did you hit her with?”

There’s a scream of pain.

“I asked you which hand you touched my wife with, you disgusting decrepit fuck.”

I roll on to my back, and through the fog I see Silas with the skinny guy dangling by the collar of his shirt. Silas looks down at me, his eyes blazing red.

“Which hand did he hit you with, angel?”

“H-his right.” My vision clears but my face is on fucking fire. “It was his right hand.”

Silas bares his fangs at the skinny guy. “You hit my wife with your right hand. Guess you won’t be needing it anymore.” He drops the guy to his feet, seizing his right arm in his hands, wrenching it from the guy’s body with a loud crunch.

The guyscreams, a fountain of blood shooting into the air. Beyond the scene in front of me, I can see the bloody bodies of the other men draped over the truck. Earl is still stumbling around clutching his face, shrieking and gurgling.

The skinny guy has collapsed to the ground, his body convulsing as he bleeds out. Silas walks over to Earl, who holds up a hand, garbling thickly through the wound. Without a word, Silas tears his head straight from his body. Earl’s enormous frame collapses, spilling blood across the road.

I try to get to my feet, and Silas turns on me.

“You stay down until I say.” He points a bloody hand at me. “Stay right there.”

I’m so relieved to see him I burst into tears. I curl my arms around my knees as he stalks over to the skinny guy, who’s about to die if the fluttering rise and fall of his chest is anything to go by.

“You dared touch what’s mine.”

---