The Disbanders

Chapter 15: The Man In The Coat

"No," I say back.

My mind immediately begins to race to see what he will do in response to my statement. The man remains in eye contact with me, but he then suddenly comes towards me and wraps his arm around my neck, putting me in a headlock. I'm trying to breathe, but he's making it difficult. Through fast movement in an attempt to free myself, I see that he's got the gun pointed at my head. I freeze once I see it, but it doesn't stop me from talking.

"Are you really going to kill an innocent teenager over this? You can still provide for yourself in the world, and find your own place. We have nothing! This is all we've got! Just leave us alone!", I gasp. "Leave us alone! Leave us alone!" I'm yelling now. The man begins to tighten the headlock, putting pressure around my neck. I can feel tears running down my eyes, where I begin to cry uncontrollably as blood rushes to my head. The man tightens his grip yet again, making it nearly impossible to breathe.

"Awww, is the baby crying?", he asks sarcastically. "Well, then maybe she'll have to leave now!", he yells. I suddenly hear footsteps coming up the hill of the cliff. The others have found me.

Aggressively, the man in the coat turns to face them, still holding me in a headlock, but loosening his grip around me and pointing the gun at them instead. I stop moving and face my friends. Through my blurry, teary eyes, I can see the shocked looks on my friends' faces.

"Who the hell are you? Let go of her!", says Will. The man laughs.

"You all think a bunch of teenagers scare me? As I was saying to your friend here, this is my house! I built it. You kids can either leave peacefully, or things are going to get messy."

"How can we know that's true? Prove it," snaps Alexa.

"Fine," he replies, releasing me from his grasp and walking over to the archery targets, despite the pitch black. I take a moment to quietly gasp for air. All too quickly, he pulls out one of the bows, along with an arrow, and shoots it dead centre in our target. He had to know where the bows were stored.

Everyone remains silent for a moment. I see the different expressions on my friends' faces. This all seems to add up. This means, however, that it doesn't fare well for us.

"Hayden, go get it," says Will, his tone becoming much calmer. What does "it" mean?

"Are you sure?", he asks nervously.

"Yes. Do it," says Will.

"What's going on? Just leave, and I won't shoot anyone! If not...", starts the man, walking back over to me. He loads, then places the gun aggressively at my head, "I'll start with the girl here."

"Fine, I'll grab it myself," says Chuck. He takes a few careful steps back, although I can tell that this man is not too concerned by him. His piercing grey eyes still watch me closely.

"Look, we don't want any trouble. This is all we have. You have a place other than this, don't you? Why don't you just leave us here and go build your own hunting lodge somewhere else? Deal?", asks Will, trying to keep the peace. Through the corner of my eye, I can see the man start to look even more provoked, as if he's about to yell again.

"No! I'm not losing this place to a bunch of kids! I can spend the rest of my days out here, even if it means taking out you shrimps!", he hollers. He places the gun more aggressively against my head. "Say you'll leave... or I shoot," says the man, becoming more angry in his tone.

Chuck comes running up the hill with Will's hunting rifle, aiming it at the man. The man looks slightly surprised at first, although he keeps his weapon aimed at me.