sunshine // joel miller

TWENTY ONE

"You parlo inglese just fine," He said with a small twisted smile. "They heard you telling the young girl to go, told her you'd be right behind her."

Fran refused to show her anxiousness, keeping her gaze strong.

"Non parlo inglese," She spoke again.

"You lied to that girl, and you're lying to me." He said to her, shaking his head and tutting, "You see... I don't like liars."

Fran faltered slightly when the man stood and turned, a large knife in his back pocket ringing alarm bells in her head.

It had a similar handle to the one she'd had to stab back into Joel.

Suddenly her head was filled with worry, hoping to whoever was up there that they had got somewhere safe, that Joel had kept the knife in to stop the bleeding. That the two were alive.

"Are you a religious person?" He asks her then, back still turned to her. She wasn't, she knew she wasn't, because if she was she would've been dead outside the university, god would have spared her from this conversation.

"The doom of liars is spoke of in Proverbs 19:9," the man continues when she refuses to speak, staring to walk behind Fran. Her eyes just stay forward, refusing to give into her fear, "he or she who speaks lies shall perish. They will be judged and sent to hell."

His hand reached up then, knife to Fran's neck: her head naturally went back, trying to get as far away from it as possible. He just brought it closer, the sharp blade pressed to her skin.

"Psalm 5:6, you destroy those who speak lies; the lord abhors the deceitful man." He continued in her ear now, his hot breath making her cringe.

The door opened once again, another man walking in and closing the door, observing the scene as he walked closer.

"You see, it's your lucky day," David moved the knife away at the entrance of the man, walking back in front of her as she took a deep breath, "I'm feeling forgiving. So you tell me something, I'll let you live. Where is the man and the girl?"

Fran stayed silent.

The other man came to stand next to David now; arms crossed over each other as he glared down at Fran.

"I don't want to hurt you," David said to her with a fake smile, before looking to the other man, "but he does. Your friend killed his brother. Your friend left a little girl without a father."

She did feel bad for the girl, but if she had to choose between that man dying or Joel, she'd pick the stranger every time.

"Your god killed mine," She couldn't help but argue. How anyone managed to hold faith after outbreak day as shocking to her, no god would allow this to happen. Their god had allowed her father to die, fair is fair.

"Where are they?" He asked, ignoring her argument. Fran swallowed harshly when she watched the other man roll up his sleeves.

Her silence was enough for the unnamed man, him moving forward and punching her straight in the face. She tried her hardest to not make a noise, head falling back at the impact.

Her nose started to bleed again, her whole face stinging with pins and needles.

"You gonna answer him?" David asked, to which Fran glared.