We walked for an hour or so(my car was all kinds of messed up and I couldn't fit in it anyway), noticing all the different buildings and such weren’t as destroyed as we previously thought they’d be. Maybe the café and other buildings on the beachfront took the brunt of the breeze since, as you’d expect, the wind came from the sea much like the storm that was pushing it.
The hour was peaceful. Despite the slight awkwardness our lack of conversation brought on, it was nice to simply walk along, looking at all the still wet and damaged buildings and items strewn about.
The walk ended with a loud explosion just a block or two away followed by shouts and… was that gunfire?
Me and Eva met eyes, both scared. “Should we… Y’know?” I tilted my head towards the sounds.
“Maybe? Could be dangerous though…”
The gunfire was getting closer.
“Uhhh…” Please decide sooner!
Before I could voice my frustrations at my fast, yet slow companion, I heard growling. I looked towards an alleyway used to collect garbage from the various stores that lined the streets and found the source. What the fuck is that? It looked like if one of those naked cats turned into a tiger, rippling muscles, very large stature and all.
I grabbed Eva and pulled her behind me to which she replied with a small yelp of surprise. As I was still holding her arm I could tell she was slowly backing up and I followed. I really didn’t want to fuck around and find out about whatever that thing is. But it certainly wanted to find out about us as it slowly put its head down and hind up, ready to pounce. Just as I saw it about to leap, I let go of Eva.
“Run!”
Even as I turned around to run as well, Eva was already a good 20 metres in front of me. I know I’m saying this a lot but how? How was she able to do that?
I was able to get into a half decent run as I felt the weight of the hairless tiger on my back and I could tell that to me, it wasn’t that much. The concrete was just slightly lighter and that didn’t seem like much of a feat to me at the time. I could easily lift the ugly, hairless bastard given the right circumstances but this was definitely not that and in addition it had already forced me off balance. I turned around as I stumbled and my ass hit the road. My arm was already up to stop the tiger and it was all too eager to bite down. My eyes were shut and the cry of pain was ready to leave my mouth but nothing happened.
I opened my eyes to see the tiger furiously gnawing on my arm but ultimately getting nowhere. In other words, My arm was just fine. I grabbed one of its two protruding teeth with my spare hand and forced its mouth open until I had enough room to slowly move my other hand to grab onto its lower jaw whilst still pressing down so the mouth didn’t snap shut. My feet finally found purchase under me and the tiger was really struggling now, moving and shaking its agile but muscled body in hopes I’d let it go. I didn’t. Slowly but surely, I stood up and raised my hands as high as they’d go so the tiger was barely on its hind legs.
As I was thinking of what to do next, a very intrusive thought came to my mind. Could I throw it? And if so, how far? I may as well give in, seeing as this odd creature clearly can’t hurt me. Even with its jaw so tightly clenched around my arm earlier, there wasn’t a single scratch on my arm.
I allowed the tiger's mouth to slowly close before letting go of its bottom jaw. The sheer pressure it’s jaw forced onto my single hand was ridiculous but my body was even more so apparently since I was somehow completely in control of the situation. Before it could do anything more to struggle, I wound my arm and shoulder back like a baseball pitcher and launched my arm forward with as much force as possible but before my hand fully left it’s mouth, it somehow managed to chomp down but that was a mistake. For the tiger, that is. I could see the exact moment in time it realised my arm wasn’t stopping. The concrete of the sidewalk was destroyed in a split second and a small cloud of dust formed around the impact.
It didn’t struggle anymore and I was free to pull my arm out.
I looked around, in search of Eva. I quickly found her blazing red hair which stood out a lot peeking around a parked car not too far away, eyes wide again. Opening my mouth with the intent to talk, I was halted by the sound of metal clinking and Eva focusing her attention behind me.
“FREEZE!” Was that an American accent?
I turned around to see 5 people dressed in SWAT gear pointing guns at me and that was perhaps even scarier than the encounter I just had with the tiger creature thing.
“I SAID FREEZE!” Yep. That was definitely American and after hearing that second command, I was definitely frozen.
“WHAT DAY!” did they not know the day? Wasn’t it… Fuck.
“I uhhh… I dunno.”
“FUCK OFF YOU DON’T KNOW! WHAT DAY ARE YOU?” Why so much yelling? I’m literally 10 metres away from you and did he ask what day I am? Is this some sort of star sign thing?
My confusion must’ve been evident as the shouty guy started shouting again.
“WHAT DAY DID YOU WAKE UP?” He was starting to get angry. Well, he was already seemingly angry but my confusion was apparently making him angrier. Asshole.
“Today?” Everyone in the shouty guys team tensed up.
“THE TRUTH!” Ok I’m getting even more confused. Was that hard to believe or something? Despite the 5 guns trained on me I was starting to get pissed.
“That is the truth though?”
“I WILL SHOOT YOU IF YOU DON’T COMPLY!” Until this point I was looking over my shoulder at them but their insistence at my telling a lie was getting really annoying so I very, very stupidly turned around to face them fully and the sound of gunfire rang out as their fully automatic rifles were put to their paces for 5 whole seconds. Once it was over, I slowly looked up at them. Each bullet hitting me felt like a punch from a toddler. It was certainly more force than the tiger but still not even enough to draw blood somehow.
“Well I’ll be damned. I know a 5-day can barely withstand a bullet but 5 entire magazines…” Hey, look. He’s not shouting anymore and is instead muttering to himself.
“Could you please come with us, sir?” Now he was being polite? Well he can fuck right off, then.
“Absolutely fucking not! You cunts just tried to shoot me!”
“Please sir-”
“Let’s go.” I had already turned around to face Eva whose head was poking out from behind the car and at this point, she was all too eager to leave as well. We were only looking for other people and when we found them, they shot at us. The previously shouty guy was about to add more to his already shattered sales pitch when one of his friends reined him in.
Once we were out of earshot, I broke the silence. “Do you think everyone we meet will be like that?”
She quickly turned around to give them an apprehensive gaze which then turned into a thoughtful one as soon as she looked forward before a frown came upon her. “I think we should be much more careful when we meet other people but I don’t think so. I usually wouldn’t generalise a group of people like that but so far the only Americans I’ve met have only shouted and shot at us.”
After we had a bit of a laugh at that, we continued walking, this time without much of a destination in mind.
