MYSTERY GUARD

A STRANGER IN MY APARTMENT

Shirley Swift grabbed her towel and rushed out of the bathroom as soon as the power went off.
"Who's there?" She asked in fear but there was no reply.
Staggering to reach the wall, she fumbled in the dark for the switch in fear when someone grabbed her hand and drew her out.
"Follow me". The voice ordered.
"Who are you and what are you doing in my house? Are you here to kidnap me or something? Are y... " The man gagged her with his hand.
"This is no time for questions, I'll explain later, right now you have to keep quiet because we're not the only ones here." He whispered.
It was a man, with the aid of the moonlight Shirley could tell he was tall and macho, his voice was something you'd wanna listen to your whole life, but he was a kidnapper, she had to do something.
Before she could think of something, he held her hand and drew her along.
"Let's go!"
"Let go of me this minute or else I'll report your sorry ass!". She managed to say with his hands still placed on her mouth.
"I knew it wasn't gonna be easy". He mumbled under his breath, "but you leave me with no choice Shirley". He replied as soon as he heard some footsteps approaching.
Before she could say anything more he scooped her off the ground to his shoulder with little or no effort and headed outside.
"Let go of me you little bastard, let me go! Put me down!" She screamed hitting and kicking him as he increased his pace.
"If you continue doing that, I think your towel might drop and you wouldn't want that", she kept quiet for a while "that's the spirit". He finished, smrking.
Getting to his SUV he dropped her before opening the door and signaling her to enter.
"And you think I will? Very funny". She turned to leave, before she could take a few steps away from the car, the man was already shot.
"Ahhhrrrggghhh!" She screamed and ran into the car panting.
The man hopped in through the other side, turned on the engine and drove off with full speed. It couldn't get any worse, the man thought, and it won't be easy, he knew. After a few minutes of silence Shirley broke it.
"How am I sure you ain't the bad person here?"
"I got shot trying to protect you and you still don't see reasons, what bad guy on earth would risk that?"
"You". She spat out. He looked at her in dismay, she was really getting on her nerves. "Yea you, you've been watching me or else I don't know which other means gave you my name and a spare key because I'm so sure I had my door locked".
He made a fast curve to the left and two to the right so as to lose the car behind them, the road led to a remote area in the city which had little or no people walking along the road.
"You don't have anything to say?" She asked him.
"I'd appreciate it if you could keep your mouth shut for a while, I mean you should be grateful".
"Oh yea, I should be grateful to you for kidnapping me"
"If you continue using that word, I'll grant you that request".
She turned to look at him, he was already soaked in his own blood, his arm was seriously bleeding but he could still hold the steering firmly.
Shirley continued to stare wondering what was behind everything, in as much as she wanted to jump out of the car, the outside wasn't safe either, she had no choice, but it seemed like she was giving herself up for a kidnap. Looking closely she could see that the man was in pains, the way he regularly clenched his teeth revealing a rock-hard jaw bone said it all. He was strong, she knew.
"If you could stop staring, it'd be easier to concentrate". He said shaking her out of her thoughts.
"You've been looking with your side-eye too".
" We lost them". He changed the subject and turned to look at the side mirror.

The car came to a halt in front of an old bungalow which looked abandoned, no other building was in sight the whole place was lonely, the only noise within was that of the blowing wind.
"We're here". The unknown man said.
"Here? Like we're gonna go in there? no way!" She was perplexed.
"It's your choice". He came down from the SUV and headed inside.
"You can't leave me here". She shouted following him.
The inside wasn't as bad as the outside, it had few pieces of dusty furniture and a tiled floor, a TV set that seemed too old to function, and an old picture album laying open on the floor. Shirley bent to pick it up but the unknown man was faster, he picked it up before she could.
"You don't really have to touch everything".
He went back to the door and locked it. Pulling the key out from the lock, he put it in his pocket ace headed for the bed.
Shirley looked at him suspiciously, then down and saw the trail of blood.
"Let me help you with your wound". She offered.
"I can do it myself, it's not the first time".
"Not the first time?"
He ignored her as he sat on the bed which was placed around the corner, there was only a room in the house which accommodated everything, it served as both a sitting room and a bedroom.
He brought out a first aid kit, under the bed and started attending to his wound. Shirley felt naked with her towel being the only material covering her nudity, and at that she was here standing in front of a stranger, who knows what he'd do with her, she couldn't tell his next action. He'd not stared at her body or her on the whole like every other man would. He looked strange and acted strange. He obviously wasn't interested in her, but there's something in that picture album for sure.
"I can't go all night with my towel on, I have to change into something comfortable".
He looked up from his wound to her. "You can, we're alone, no one's watching you".
" What! You expect me to sleep naked?"
"Sleep with your towel on".
"I can't, I tend to roll on bed and my towel will probably slip".
"If you ain't gonna sleep that way, you can as well stay awake all through or you join me, my shirt is soaked I'd have lent it to you". He closed the first aid kit, removed his shirt totally and adjusted himself to lay fully on the bed.
Shirley couldn't figure him out, he couldn't possibly know that there was a first-aid kit under the bed if he hadn't been there before.
"Are yo..." Shirley tried to ask.
"I'm trying to get some sleep". He cut her off midway.
"Do you expect me to sleep on the couch? There's only a bed here"
"You can if you want to".
"Or? "
"You join me".
"That bed is too small for us both, can't you be gentleman enough and let me stay there? "
"I never said I was a gentleman".
Shirley rolled her eyes and sat on the couch, there was no blanket or anything to cover up with, every piece of clothing around had an awful smell. She looked at him irritated but he seemed already asleep.
"You're seriously gonna let me sleep here?"
There was no response.