A Visitor

Bianca and I were at home when it happened. Since I was feeling a little under the weather mentally Jan had decided she would go out in search of fuel for our generator. We had a lot of food still left from the daycare. It was amazing what the woman there had been able to collect. I wish I could have spoken to her before...

Jan was out looking for fuel and Bianca and I were exploring the mysteries of the looking glass with Alice. Everything was just fine. We were reading by candle light even though the sun was up (with the windows boarded up not much light gets in). Around page 47 there was a pounding on the door. It was hurried, frantic. I jumped up and grabbed for my pistol.

"What's going on?!" Bianca stammered with fear.

"I think it's a person. I have to check. Stay here." I could hear a mans voice outside the door. He was panicked, screaming for us to open up. I rushed to the door and looked through the peep hole. He was so close and flailing so much I couldn't see anything. I grabbed hold of the kick bar we have against the door but I couldn't dislodge it because of the pressure coming from the other side.

"Stop pushing!" I shouted but he just kept screaming and pounding. I set down my pistol on the table in the entry way. With my shoulder against the door I was able to dislodge the kick bar. I put my shoulder into it again and turned the knob. The door burst open sending me sprawling to the floor. The man; thin, dirty, and wild eyed, stepped into the entry with a revolver pointed at my head. He slammed the door shut and quickly scanned what he could see of the house but the barrel of the revolver never wavered. It was not a big gun but from my vantage point it looked like I could crawl down the barrel.

Looking around he asked quietly, "Is there anyone else here?"

"No it's -"

"What happened?" Bianca said as she rounded the corner to the entry way.

"On the floor girl!" he shouted at her. She dropped to the floor next to me and I took her hand. "No more lies. Is anybody else here?"

"No. She's the only other one. What -"

"Get up. Show me where the food is. And anything else you got."

We slowly got to our feet. I made Bianca walk in front of me in hopes that if he shot my body would stop the bullet and she would have a chance to run. I led the man into the kitchen. He handed me a dirty cotton bag with no straps.

"Fill it." he said.

I started pulling canned goods out of the cabinets and placing them in the bag being careful not to make sudden moves. All the while my eyes were fixed on that revolver.

"Got any batteries?" he asked when the bag was full.

"Yes. In the back room." We made our way down the hallway into the back bedroom we were using for storage and the generator.

"Double A's and and D cells. All of those you got." I bent down and started sorting through the box of batteries still trying not to make any sudden moves. He became impatient and dumped the box all over the floor. "You get down there and help!" he shouted at Bianca. As we were down on our hands and knees searching for batteries I could see the gun shifting from me to Bianca and back. His eyes were darting about and he didn't seem to sure about what he was doing.

When we had sorted out the batteries he wanted he didn't let us get up off the floor. Instead he nervously told us to turn around. I knew what was coming. I had to do something. I had to at least try to save Bianca even if I died in the process. If I could just buy her enough time to get away. I saw a wrench in front of me on the ground. I could grab it and turn and swing with all my might at the hand with the gun. I can do this. I tensed my legs for the spring into action and -

"Drop it or I will kill you where you stand."

Jan! I spun around just as the man dropped his revolver to the floor. Jan stood behind him with the barrel of her shotgun pressed against his head. I picked up the revolver and grabbed Bianca and hugged her.

"Are you two alright?" Jan asked without looking away from the man she now held at gunpoint.

"Yeah. We're fine; we're okay." I said in reply. I could feel Bianca shaking against my body. Jan had the man drop the bag where he stood and she marched him to the front door.

"Open it James." She said when she got him there.

"Hang on Jan." I went back into the storage room and grabbed a spare backpack from a pile. I unloaded the revolver, only three rounds in it, and placed the ammo in the bottom of the pack and stuffed the mans bag in on top of them. I then placed the gun in the outer pocket. When I got back to the entry way I grabbed my pistol from the table. I approached the man cautiously.

Jan tensely asked, "What are you doing?"

"Trust me Jan." I said to her without looking away from the man. "Here's some food. Your gun's in the bag. It's unloaded. I am going to open the door and you are going to leave. If you try anything we will kill you. If you come back we will kill you. Just leave and don't tell anyone about us. That's all we ask."

I opened the door and he left. He left in a hurry.

Later over a can of tomato soup Jan questioned me about what I did.

JAN: "He didn't deserve the food. He tried to steal it."

JAMES: "I know Jan but we have plenty of food. Besides sending him out there without some food and especially without a weapon -"

JAN: "You said it was unloaded."

JAMES: "It was - but the bullets were in the bottom of the bag."

JAN: "What?!"

JAMES: "Relax. I didn't let him look through the bag while he was still here did I. But what I was saying was sending him out that way would be murder."

JAN: "He would have killed you if I hadn't shown up."

JAMES: "We don't know that for sure. But even if he had it doesn't mean we should. I don't want to be like him."

BIANCA: "Neither do I."