Hostile Kid

The reflexes that I attained after fighting numerous foes was the only reason why I was able to raise me hand fast enough to block the bat.

It struck the hand intensely and for a moment I felt that the bones would break. But that moment passed and the bones in my hand were still intact.

The same couldn't be said for the wooden bat.

'The boy's not powerful enough.' I thought. But even that much would have been enough to knock me out cold if he had struck my face.

The boy looked at the broken bat with bewilderment and then at me and his expression changed to that of fear quickly.

The fear lasted only until his gaze met that of the little girl on the other side of the room. After that, it was replaced with determination.

The bat was broken now. But it's broken edges could have a use of it's own.

The boy took the handle like one would hold a knife and ran forward in order to pierce me with it.

Wrong choice.

The 3rd tier Defensive suit might not protect against blunt attacks but it cannot be cut or pierced so easily.

But still. Why take the chance to get hurt.

I moved my body with practiced ease as the broken bat missed my torso by inches before I caught hold of his hands.

I could see the panic in his eyes as he tried to squirm out of my grasp. He punched. He kicked. He scratched. He bit.

But he never made any noise.

'He knew about the abnormals out there.' I guessed. 'Maybe he doesn't want any more problems than he already has.'

'Maybe he just doesn't want the girl to be in any kind of danger.' Lily said and my attention when back to the girl who was at the point of crying by now.

She was scared. The fear was etched across her face as clear as a day. But she was also desperate. And worried.

'For him.' I thought and looked at the boy who was still tried to free his hand from my grasp.

The farce went on for a few seconds before I finally lost my patience.

"Stop." I whispered in a harsh tone that suggested that I wouldn't take no for an answer.

And the boy stopped struggling.

Instead, he looked at me with eyes full of hate and an expression that filled with loathing and anger.

The boy was so hostile that I wondered if I had killed at some point during the apocalypse.

But then I saw it.

The worry and fear in his eyes as he take momentarily glance at the little girl.

But then the expression of loathing and hatred came back once again as he looked back at me.

"Stop struggling." I said. This time in a gentle and tired voice.

I had not wanted to fight the boy when I saved him back there.

Just wanted to protect him.

I sighed.

"I am not your enemy." I said slowly but the expression of hatred and loathing didn't diminish. And I wondered if what I was going to do was the right thing or not.

I kept my left hand where he could see and then slowly and carefully, I released the grip on his hand.

He jerked back immediately as he broke free and I wondered if he would lunge back at me for revenge.

But then, as swift as a cat, he jumped to the other side of the room and came in front of the little girl.

There he once again stood protectively over the girl as he face me with a glare that was not a bit less hostile than before.

I wondered if saving the kid was really the right thing to do.

'Maybe he would have been able to protect himself even without my interference.' I thought but I doubted that such was the case.

'They are afraid.' Lily said. 'The boy is afraid for the girl. And the girl is afraid for the boy.'

'But it's not like I want to hurt them.' I said.

'I know. But they don't. To them you are just a stranger. And even if you saved them, the boy is still wary of you.'

'That's true.' I chuckled at the thought and looked at the girl who was looking worriedly at the boy.

"Don't be afraid of me." I said and then kicked myself for saying such a cliched line.

I took off my helmet and the boy scrutinized my face for a long moment. As if he was trying to remember if he had seen me before.

After a long silence in which the boy stared at my face, the girl took his hand and nudged him a bit.

The boy looked back at her which peering at me through his peripheral vision. They communicated with each other through their eyes and I wondered if they had known each other for a long time.

They were not siblings. I could tell that much by their appearances.

The girl looked Asian. Probably from the North eastern part of India. The boy on the other hand looked like a Punjabi.

'They're not siblings.' I concluded. Maybe adopted siblings but most likely not.

The chemistry was different here somehow.

Even brothers and sisters were not as close to each other as these two.

I would know.

After they communicated with each other through their eyes, the boy finally nodded to the girl before giving me a suspicious glance.

'They act mature for their age.' Lily commented.

'Like I don't know that already.'

The girl finally came forward and looked at my face for a long moment before bowing her head and said.

"Thank you for your help."

I looked at the girl for a moment. Her expression seemed genuine. I looked at the boy behind her. He was alert and wary.

As if I would attack him at any moment now.

"You're welcome." I said as I looked back at the girl and silence came over the room once again.

The silence would have been awkward if the circumstances were not so grim. It was still a bit awkward but Ashok was far too worried about the kids to care about such things.

After a long moment I finally took a deep breath, raised his right arm and said.

"Hi. I'm Ashok Singh Rana."